Have any makers ever done a whistle tour of a low E or low Eb whistle here on C&F? I am curious about low whistles in these keys, but not sure I want to make the jump to ownership until I have had a chance to spend time playing some. Any other Chiffer’s out there that are interested???
Any makers wanting to give it a whirl?
Cheers,
Cayden
I am not sure that many makers would be interested in mounting a Low E/Eb tour. While many of us own/play low whistles in those keys they are still pretty much a “nice to have” thing and not the “have to have” type of thing. Potential sales numbers may not be in favor of those keys. The low D makes up the bulk of the market for a maker of low whistles so it makes sense to tour one of those to stir the interests of buyers. I am not sure a maker would see much of an upside from touring low E and Eb models. Of course we could ask if any maker sees an upside in sales from any tour. A tour does bring visibility and market awareness though.
So let’s see what others (makers and players) might have to say on this.
Cayden, do you own/play any low whistles? What are you looking for?
My usual counsel is to start with a low whistle from a maker whom you favor as a maker of high whistles. Sure, a couple low whistle makers don’t make high whistles. And many high whistle makers do not get down with low whistles. But the top makers will offer models across the range from high to low. And those makers are generally pretty consistent in the quality of their products, folks like Burke, Goldie and Bracker for starters.
An Eb whistle is frequently not much different from a low D whistle so you can usually depend on reviews of low D’s for an Eb decision. Low E can fall between the low F and low D bore sometimes. If the maker uses the same bore for low E and F, you should be able to find a low F review or two. Low F is a rather popular key (thank you Lunasa, etc.). But then the best makers may use a dedicated bore dimension.
Bottom line is that the most well regarded makers make the most well regarded low E/Eb whistles. It is the usual cast of well known characters IMO.
Anyway, good luck.
Feadoggie
If no tour… utilize the UIE buy and sell. I see people requesting, swapping, offloading their inventory all of the time.
Feadoggie,
I do play low whistle quite regularly and have had some come and go over the last few years. Currently I own and play an MK Pro and Kerry Optima in low D, a Burke low F, and I have in in G an Overton / Goldie non-tunable and Pat O’Riordan Traveler.
My prompting of a tour of a low E and Eb is driven by curiosity at this point, yet I might buy one if I really liked the whistle. I thought other members of C & F might be equally curious about these whistle keys.
As always Feadoggie, thanks for ye help, you always come through with informative answers.
Cheers,
Cayden
gotta jump in . . . a tour sounds great
however, i just purchase a low E and low Eb from tommy dion. pretty amazing whistles they are. here’s why - i don’t need pipers grip. not sure how he did it, but these whistles are quite nice on the hands. i would say i have normal size hands for a guy . . . i use pipers grip on other whistles (burke low c, reyburn f) but don’t need to on tommy’s. i use an onyx for my workhorse low d as it does not require pipers grip either.
sorry, back to the dions . . . their tone is pure-ish, a little on the low volume side of things, but lend themselves to blending well with other instruments. they are made of a black pvc. very reasonable in cost. i was amazed when i recd them. i’ve purchased several whistles from tommy (B, Bb, A, E, Eb) and found all of them to be an exceptional value. My favorite of his is the B in Olive Wood…quite nice.
I’d participate in a low Eb or E whistle tour. Or F. Or low C. Or low (low) B, Bb, or A. Basically, I’m game. Count me in!
While you are full of enthusiasm perhaps you could approach Tommy for the two of you to launch a tour. Just sayin’.
Feadoggie
Count me in for Low F or Low C from any maker.
I’m game for any tour!
For me, having whistles in Low Eb and Low E is absolutely essential. Indeed I’ve done gigs where those have been the only two whistles I’ve been called upon to use, and rare is the gig where I’m not called upon to use at least one of those. The last church gig I did, just a week ago, required both (and Low C, Low D, Low F, G, A, Bb, C, and D).
My current situation is a mixed bag: a Burke Low Eb and an Overton Low E, which play completely differently.
My A and Bb situation is finally completely satisfactory, with my acquisition of Sindts.
My low Eb is similar to the low D, sharing the same bore and head. The head may be adjusted to individual needs or the slightly shorter tube length, but a whistle combo with one head and low D + low Eb bodies works very well. A Bracker Low D whistle went on a US tour a year ago and got mostly favourable reviews, and many of you may have tried it. The low Eb plays and sounds very similar, with the advantage of less finger stretch.
My low E uses a smaller bore size, in fact the same tubing than my low F, and both low F and low E make a good combo set, with one head and the two bodies. Having a thinner bore than the low Eb, the finger stretch on the low E is similar to the low Eb. Playing characteristics are similar, with similar head design and voicing.
I have no plans to initiate a tour for low Eb or low E whistles. If at all, I probably should get a low D tour going in the UK and Europe. We’ll see.
Right on the money again Feadoggie! Demand for Low Eb &E is very low indeed. Makers (well, me anyway) certainly make them, but as a requested item rather than as a stocked one. They generally use the same heads as a Low D, so its not a big deal to make appropriate bodies for those keys as requested. The lack of demand does not justify the hassle of organising a tour, if you have a Low D of a particular brand, you pretty well know what to expect of its brothers (sisters?)
Hans if you’re thinking of doing a UK/Europe tour I’m definitely up for that.
I’ll give as thorough review.
If you need someone to organise it I’ll do that too if you want.
Nick
Thank you Tomcat 
for the compliment of the whistles I make.
My waiting list at this time does not permit me the time to put togeather an idle whistle, or tour.
How ever, here is a link to what my low E sounds like.
http://praisewhistlers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5971