Hello all. What low D whistles seem to be among the most easiest for finger spacing? Thanks.
Have you used the search function on this site m’friend ?
There should be plenty of info. Here’s a start:
The Sweetheart has a low D whistle that has finger holes off set for easier fingering. Nice mellow sound also. 
Yeah, I’ve been getting a “critical error” message with that lately . . .
I’ll second that one. Mine is very easy to finger with either piper’s grip or “normal” fingering.
I’ve had Burke and Copeland low D’s-- I liked both of them a lot but my wife, who also plays, couldn’t finger them. She handles the Sweet easily.
I put “low whistle finger spacing” in the C&F search function to arrive at the url I gave you earlier.
Well, I consider my MacNeil to be easy enough to reach. I’m of average height (5’10"), and have what I guess to be average sized hands. I seem to be able to cover the holes without discomfort using the pipers grip.
Here are the hole sizes and the space between holes:
T1 - 3/8"
1-3/32"
T2 - 13/32"
1-1/8"
T3 - 11/32"
1-11/16"
B1 - 11/32"
25/32"
B2 - 15/32"
1-3/8"
B3 - 11/32"
The bottom hole is also offset to the right a bit.
Hope this helps!
John
you can always ask a reputed maker to make something to suit your hands. there is a whistlesmith out here who makes also an easier to play low d with closer finger spacing without sacrificing on sound.
berti
By far the low D with the easiest finger spacing is the Susato with keys.
The use of the keys means that each hole can be placed in its ideal position for best tone.
On keyless whistles the fingerhole location is always going to be a compromise between:
-
having all the holes in the location which gives the fullest, clearest notes and best intonation, but nobody could reach, and
-
having all the holes comfortably close together for greatest ergonomics, but gives an uneven, wimpy, out-of-tune scale.
No finger spacing let me repeat NO finger spacing can accomplish both. EVERY low D whistle is a compromise. NONE is pefect. The perfect fingerhole spacing cannot be created.
It’s a sliding scale: for every tiny bit of extra comfort for your finger-stretch you give up a tiny bit of performance. It cannot be otherwise. No maker can defy the laws of acoustics and human anatomy.
It’s why Theobald Boehm invented the silver flute with all the mechanism, so that flutes could finally have EVERY tone hole in exactly the right position, and exactly the right diameter. Take all the keys off a Boehm flute: no one has fingertips fat enough, or fingers that could stretch far enough, to play it without the keys.
All we can do as players is to try a lot of different Low D’s and pick the one that has a finger stretch vs tone quality compromise that we can live with. For me it’s the Burke.