I think this is a doomed venture but can anyone point me to an inexpensive (less than say £70) low whistle that, with piper’s grip, might be accessible to a thirteen year old girl wanting to learn. Obviously low breath requirements would also be necessary. Can’t say I’m overly hopeful.
The Dixon TB012D would likely meet your criteria - tapered bore, smaller holes than the usual low d and £70.
David
(edited to remove link to flute rather than whistle)
Thanks for your thought but I would have thought the D to E stretch would be too much for a young girl’s hands . . . and it takes a lot of air doesn’t it.
Hi Mikethebook
Yep it takes a bit of air.
Is playing with others a necessity, if not, then, a low F whistle might suit - Dixon polymer low F - £50.50 at Big Whistle. Low F is my favourite whistle key. Eagle’s Whistle on Dixon low F
David
The D-E stretch is not significantly greater than other low D whistles. It requires less air than some whistles that I have played, and a simple tweak reduces the air requirements to something quite frugal.
I had a rummage, and found four low D whistles, here they are roughly lined up on B1 (B3 at left of picture, T1 at right):
From top to bottom: Dixon 3-piece, Goldie, Dixon TB012D, Copeland.
Strange whistle…
Hi DrPhill
My bad - 
David
Not entirely - the vendor labelled it a whistle first…
Orlaith McAuliffe played (and afaik still do) a Hammy flute when she won All Ireland under 15 years old. Anyone who’s played/seen one of Hammys bazookas with huge holes would agree it seems to be a thing you adapt to, unless you have leprechaun hands maybe 
I thought I remembered an old for sale listing here. https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fs-bernard-overton-low-d/79876/1
If you can stretch your budget just a little this might be a gem…
ecohawk
No . . . too expensive and we’re talking small girl’s hands here. Has anyone had any experience of Whistlesmith low whistles which appear to promote whistles with close fingering?
Does it have to be a low D? A low G might be easier and possibly cheaper? I’ve never tried one myself, but now I’m curious… I do have a problem playing the low D I have for the very simple reason of leprechaun hands…
http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/GR2354G-p-Dixon-Alloy-Low-G-Whistle-page.htm
Why not go for an A whistle? A is a very important key for playing with others, and a particularly nice sounding one for Celtic music. It’s low, but not too low and the finger holes are generally just right. The disadvantage is that there’s not as many to choose from as the common low d.
Alto G is a good suggestion - it’s often referred to as the “gateway whistle” to low whistles. If the lass’ hands are that wee, you may want to encourage her at the Bb - it’ll give her the same warmth of tone as a low whistle and be very manageable by comparison. No point in seeking out a whistle that will merely discourage the girl in the long run…
The problem is, what you are asking for is something that there isn’t much of a market for. Okay - allow me to qualify that statement because that’s going to come as a shock to most people reading, but the reality is that these whistles don’t exist because the compromise between close hole spacing and low breath requirement is very hard to pull off on a low D with any sort of volume or decent intonation. Obviously there would be a market for such a whistle if the best of all worlds could be had in a single instrument, but it can’t really, so there’s no point in trying - because nearly every whistlesmith who’s been at the craft for any length of time has tried and knows this… otherwise, they’d all be making them!
If it’s a low D that she must have after all, then my advice to you is to contact Daniel McGinley (Domnahl Na Gruen) with your request. He will have trace her hands at their most doable spread and he will try to make a whistle based on that. Unless his prices have dramatically increased, you’ll get all that custom service for the price you are looking for too.
I’d suggest you go with the Dixon for “small girl hands”. You may have two issues which I have run into trying to fit low whistles to the hands of a young girl. First is the reach or stretch. Even with the EZ Grip you may run into the second issue which is whether the fingers will be able to seal the holes. Young slim fingers can be an issue. The tapered bore Dixon, at least the one I’ve tried, has the best hole size and stretch I’ve seen on a whistle that still plays rather well. Just as the folks above have suggested.
Having a look at the Dixon site what I played was the DX030 flute body with the DX030WHD whistle head. It’s above your price range but that’s what I think you are up against unless you can find a used one at a good price.
Feadoggie
Try Domnahl na Gruen, he is very accomodating and very reasonably priced.
That is the top whistle that I pictured above - does that small difference in hole spacing make a lot of difference in playability? I think that the difference in hole position is less than one hole diameter, perhaps only half a hole diameter. The holes are smaller, sure, and the taper is more pronounced making the whistle diameter smaller at that point. I actually think that the TB012D is the better whistle, but that is a subjective judgement.
DrPhill, I don’t doubt that the TB012D is the better whistle. I am making my suggestion based on my experience with fitting a low whistle to young hands with slim fingers. The DX030 is a flute I have on hand here to get young ones started before they get their own instrument. I’ve seen a few instances where that was the only whistle (or flute) where such hands could seal the holes. Kind of like using the Sweetone for young kids as a starter high D. It’s the best compromise of playability, stretch and holes size out there. And I have had instances where the Dixon was still too much for them to handle. I’m not a fan of ergonomic hole layouts either. And you know the dance - smaller holes - weaker performance - weaker tone and so on.
Feadoggie
I do not doubt the value of your experience - I was just surprised that what looked to me like very small differences would be significant. I rarely use the three piece as it takes too much air for my liking. It is sweet and pure at the top end, but a little thin at the bottom.
Yeah, it’s the size of the holes that make it work for slimmer fingers. The stretch isn’t so significant a difference as you say. But slim fingers can have trouble sealing up the B2 hole (and others) on some whistles. And I’ve had the same problem with low whistles down to G and A as well. The holes can just be more than the width of their fingers can cover. So you suggest they stick with a Bb a bit longer in those cases.
Mikethebook, do let us know what come of this.
Feadoggie