Low D question: Overton or Cillian O' Briain?

Whistle
21

And in the case of the Overton? And how would knowing the identity of the player tell you whether he or she was playing with ease or struggling to make it sound good?

You weren’t just hearing whistle; you were hearing more or less processed whistle. Did you like the quality of the mic used in the clips too?

Sure it was. But since the controls on this experiment are non-existent what would that be worth?

Well confirmed scientific theory is all I need here. How did you form your ‘opinion on this issue?’

22

I think someone (anyone!) should purchase my Overton low D so that they can experience the Overton sound first hand. Sorry, no O’Briain to compare with.

23

What a good idea Shoner.

24

That’s enough. I formed my opinion much like any other buyer who goes to a website and reads it and listens to the sound clips. My opinion is as I stated, and is based totally on subjective factors, which I already told you, more than once, though without that specific word - “subjective”. I liked the way the clips sounded on both whistles. I liked the clips on the O’Briain better. I liked the way both whistles looked in the pictures. I liked the pictures of the O’Briain better. Nothing scientific at all. I have no information on whether or not the clips were processed, nor on what microphone was used. I don’t process my sound clips at all, but they do sound slightly different to me than a live performance, as I do my recording in a relatively quiet room, rather than a sound booth or on stage. I use a Radio Shack unidirectional mic, 5000 ohm impedance, stock number 33-3002. It’s not the best one in the world, nor the worst. It’s adequate to the task, and I would hope, but cannot verify, that other makers would use something similar or better. If not, then they would be selling their product short on sound fidelity.

To the meat: Were I going to purchase one of the whistles in question, based totally on what I have experienced via the makers’ websites, I would probably purchase the O’Briain.

And, gee, I hope that’s good enough for you, because if you don’t understand it by now, I’m afraid I’ve too much to do to bother with it any longer. Enjoy having the last word. (edited to remove a troll)

Bye, y’all! :smiley:
serpent

25

Oh, we understand you Serpent. Since not a single sentence in your rant constituted an attempt to answer any of Bloomfield’s points or any of mine, you simply confirm what we’ve known all along: you don’t have an answer. As for following up on your red herrings, I have a remedial logic class to give right now which I suspect will be more fun.

26

I emailed Colin Goldie last week and asked about the wait for an Overton tunable low d. Brigitte replied and said it could be as much as 25 weeks, though it might be sooner.

She also suggested I check with Song of the Sea in Bar Harbor, Maine http://www.songsea.com . As of last week they had them in stock. (I ordered one – hope it wasn’t their last.) You can call then at (207) 288-5653 .

–Jay

27

Ok, get an Overton (first) !!!

That should settle the whole argument…at least for awhile.

28

You can hear the O’Briain Low D - as played by Paddy Keenan - on the Shanna Quay website. Follow the link to ‘Sounds of the Irish Whistle’ at the top of the home page.

Steve

www.shannaquay.com

29

All this stuff about trying to describe how a whistle sounds will almost certainly lead to argument or debate, because it’s next to impossible to be dispositively meaningful to another individual when attempting to do so. Bottom line is try it yourself, because there’s a (very difficult to describe objectively) place where whistle and player come together that involves more than sound. Thus, it’s a good idea to have an understanding whether with an indivividual seller or retailer/maker that an instrument can be returned in a given period if it does not suit you.

Every time I get a new whistle (granted, too often), I ask my wife and daughter to listen and opine, which they grudgingly do (except for me, they have good taste and sense). My wife loves anything that’s a lower key because it’s easier on her ears. My daughter plays clarinet, so she’s a bit more discerning. But they seem awfully inconsistent with the “how does it sound” thing as well. I go to a different room, and the darn sound changes substantially. I get a totally subjective sense of how “good” a whistle sounds when I’m playing, but many differences evaporate when recordings are played back. I think I’m more experiencing “how do I feel” when playing the whistle.

A lot of what I like about whistles are the volume level and whether I can play easily at differing volumes, whether I can lean into the notes and have the whistle respond, whether I can sustain notes, air and embouchure requirements, ease of transition, physical comfort (weight, design and size of tone holes, etc.), stregnth and fullness of tone, etc. I guess therefore, Wombat (I think) made a good point: no one can hear from someone else’s playing how the whistle responds and matches up with you.

In some cases, wherein we know each other’s specific preferences and are familiar with each other’s particular shorthand descriptive meanings, sound descriptions can be meaningful. It’s funny how so many times it’s been said on the Board just for the above reasons, “listen to the sound clips (like Warner Wolf, “let’s go to the video tape…”)”, but now we’re realizing that even that is not dispositive. I’ve had very accomodating makers play whistles over the phone for me; that helps, but I still don’t know whether he or she is standing on his head with a last dying breath to get that sound or whether it was routine and effortless.

Good point here, guys. Try the whistle and see how it suits YOU.

Best,

PhilO

Disclaimer: The foregoing applies only to us mortals. I know that Bill Ochs will sound better on an out of tune rusty feadog than I will on a solid gold copeland with my initials engraved in it and which is immersed in my very soul…

30

I wanted to thank everyone for their great input!

I weighed the options, and looked at the issue backwards and forwards, and from every angle, and then decided to go with an Overton Low D.

I tried to find a nontunable, but no go. Brigitte said that ordering through them might take up to 25 weeks.

But she said that Song of the Sea did have a few tunable models, and after internal wrangling and emails sent to various people (thank you, Bloomfield!), I finally decided to go with the tunable model.

In case anyone’s interested, they still had 4 models left today. They’re probably one of the only (if not the only) source of Overton tunables in the country at this time (don’t quote me, though). Everyone else I contacted was out of stock.

I was also planning on ordering a couple of inexpensive whistles–an Oak and a Waltons Mellow D. Just to try something else besides my Clarke Original. That changed when it was suggested that I get a good high D whistle, and so I listened to and ordered a Burke All Pro Brass D whistle. It was either that or the Aluminum model, but I liked the sound of the Brass model better (they played both for me over the phone).

So, now I sit here writing this and listening to the O’Briain sound clips that were posted on the Shanna Quay site…and find myself thinking, “did I make the wrong decision?” Nothing like great whistle playing to sway you, and plummet you into the pits of doubt…ah, if this but what then with that?

At any rate, I’m looking forward to experiencing the Overton Low D, and the unplanned Burke All Pro Brass D. That should hold the creeping feelings of WHOA for a good while (something I never thought I’d succumb to, but with whistles everything seems to change), although I still wonder about the tweaked Shaw’s, or the sound of the Oak, and then there’s the Walton’s Mellow D…well, so it goes.


best to all,
baen

31

I wouldn’t sweat the tuning point either. I’ve owned a lot of Overtons. The tuning is, as Mr. Bloomfield said, spot-on.

If the guys you’re playing with are out of tune with you let them re-tune. Why else do they have all those tuning peg thingies?


Cheers,


Doc