Now that the American $ is so low that an MK low whistle is very expensive (for Americans), what other low d’s can be heard in a small-medium session and bought at a reasonable price, say under $250 U.S.?
Both the Susato ($90) and Burke Viper ($240) have been used effectively in medium sessions around here. Good volume, tone and intonation.
Doc Jones currently lists a nice brass and maple Reyburn in stock for $240.
The Chieftain V3 non-tunable is $230 or less from Kerrywhistles or BigWhistle, even with the poor exchange.
I’ve just acquired a low D Wicked Good whistle. It’s very quiet. Have I reason to hope that when I get accustomed to it the volume will increase?
I’ve played a lot of low D’s and settled on the Burke “viper” as the best session horn. It’s a bit louder than the Susato.
In fact on Sunday I found that I was louder than a guy playing an Irish flute- since when does THAT happen?
We had a fiddle, a flute, uilleann pipes, a drum, and a guitar and the Burke was plenty loud.
And the tuning is great.
The Burke takes more air than most whistles so you have to breathe more often. I’ve had to modify the way I play all of my tunes to put in more “breathing spots”. But taking frequent breaths, if done right, just makes you sound like one of the authentic old-timey flute guys.
BTW I got my hands on an MK and that particular one was not up to the sound of my Burke. I’ve yet to try a Reyburn. The half-dozen other makes of low D’s I’ve tried have just not been as good as the Burke.
Pancelticpiper, I too am a session (“seisun”?) player, but I also play in a band. I would like to be loud enough to be heard, especially since another band member and I are working on some harmonized duets. It’s reassuring to learn that in your case, you actually gained enough unexpected volume to go toe-to-toe with a flute.
I have both the Reyburn wide bore and Chieftain V3.
The Reyburn has a great tone, but is the quietest low D I have played and very easy to overblow. Beacuse it is brass, it is also heavy and I find my hands fatiguing after a few songs. I’ve never tried the newer narrow bore, but it is supposes have a quicker response.
The V3 can be quiet also, but is hard to overblow so you can get some volume. It’s also quite light. The curved windway clogs too easy for me, though.
I have found that the large hole Overton with medium back pressure to be on par volume wise with some Irish flutes.
My MK seems to have adequate volume for sessions; however, I haven’t had a chance to try it out at a session.
I have seen used non-tunable Overtons for sale in the $200 range.
Good luck, Cyril.