So, there’s been a new MK Pro available for a few days now. I know some of you might have already tested them for Misha, but I’m wondering if anyone has a production version and how does it sound?
Any sound clips?
I know some people think it’s the best A whistle they played.
I’ve had one for about a month. In my opinion it’s easy to play, loud, crisp, but also slighty harsh in the upper register. It’s not very easy to overblow this whistle. Despite this it’s fairly air-effective.
The coating is still slightly more slippery than that of most other whistles, which I also find is the case with the MK low Ds I’ve tried. I have an MK low D which I use quite a lot, so I’ve roughened up the surface a bit (I’m intending to keep it). Haven’t done this to the low A though.
The low A is definitely a good whistle. But I prefer my Alba low A, which is slightly less loud and has a mellower tone with no trace of harshness.
So, personally, I prefer the Alba over the MK, but that’s obviously a question of what you like in a whistle.
Other low As I’ve tried include Overton, Chieftains, Dixon Trad. (brass with plastic head),Jerry Freeman, and Burke.
Brilliant, thanks for that.
Any chance of a clip on youtube? (even just a scale or two)
Cheers
OK. Here is my 2 cents:
It plays like a MK. Lovely, complex, lower register with a purer (in comparison to the lower) upper register. If you have another MK you like you will like it.
If you are used to playing something else then give it a little time to get used to. Seems to to take a little less air (in the upper register) and slightly different embouchure than some (same as other MK’s) whistles.
It is fairly loud but I would not say it is harsh if handled with any measure of skill. Is it the best Low A around? I don’t know. It would depend on the player and the music. I do think it is very good.
Thanks for that, I have an MK Pro low D, which is by far my favourite low D. I like the type of sound it has and if the A is similar then that’s great. I am currently looking for something louder than my beautiful woody-sounding Becker A whistle. I’ve been recording duets with my Milligan D and Oz D, but they both drown the A when it is in the lower register and the others are in the high register. I don’t like messing with the volume too much on tracks (because it sounds fake to my ears), so it’s good to hear that the MK A is loud.
Still, only one way to find out for sure I suppose!
This can be taken to mean two different things, and I was wondering if you could clarify. It could mean:
-
the notes are unusually stable, so that you can vary the pitch of a note for expressive purposes with it breaking
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the second octave takes an unusually high force of wind to produce
Which is meant? Thanks!
“It is fairly loud but I would not say it is harsh if handled with any measure of skill”
The basic tone/sound of a whistle is the same irrespective of a persons skill. But a person playing badly will sound bad - on any whistle and almost vice versa.
I’m talking in comparison with another brand (Alba). These are the only tuneable all metal A whistles I have. And when playing with a band they are both loud enough that I can hear myself.
To my ears, the Mk’s tone is less mellow and more aggressive than the Alba low A.
And like the MK Pro low D, the top notes are slightly harsher/edgier than on some (not all) other whistles. Mind you, I still like and play the MK Pro low D a lot.
And, as for low Ds, I prefer Mk over Alba.
It seems, not surprisingly, that these two brands are very common in Scotland. And often the only two you’ll see and hear in sessions.
Hence the comparison.
Put it this way, the MK low A has a (somewhat trebly) presence to its sound that some may like and some not. Obviously many players like this. This is a matter of taste.
I will make a video comparison of the Mk and the Alba.
Richard: What I mean is that you can really dig into the notes. It’s loud and powerful and you can vary the pressure for expressive purposes without it breaking into the next octave. And, still it is air efficient…
Here’s a short comparison:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkL_owJ5r0s&feature=youtu.be
Thanks for that JoFo nice playing. Interesting to hear the MK at last, pretty much what I was expecting but I must say that Alba is a surprise, I’ve tried a low D & F and in the past and wasn’t impressed with either but your A sounds really good.
Until that clip I was thinking of an entirely different instrument. I have an Alba low A. It’s brilliant. It is, however, an octave lower than the ones in your clip. It’s a beast.
It’s always been my understanding that the low whistles started with the low G. So I would consider this new A whistle a mezzo A…not to be confused with the low A that you are referring to Ben.
Which is, I think, what I had always assumed. Trouble is, I’m never very clear on these things. I daresay there isn’t true clarity. I dunno. Oh, and btw, Ronaldo, the low A Alba I have (an octave lower than the one in the video) has inline holes on a solid body (ie not swivellable). So it really is a beast to play. Well worth it though!
I remember years ago discussing with you about getting a low C and whether it was possible to play one with inline holes. I know that now I’d find that a walk in the park!
Thanks so much. Exactly what I was after.
About the nomenclature, seems that only using a two-term system (“high” and “low”) isn’t going to be clear due to, for example, G whistles being available in three octaves. (Wow has anybody ever made a video of the three being played together?)
I would think the bass/mezzo/soprano thing would be more clear. “Mezzo” would have to cover down to the pitch that bass whistles have been produced in, in at least some degree of regularity. I’ve seen bass C’s, B’s, A’s, and G’s so I would, I think, use “mezzo” for whistles down to G or maybe even F.
If you really want to be unambiguous, you need to give octave numbers. A standard high D whistle is D5. Above that, we have Eb5 and F5, below it we have C5, Bb4, and A4, down to a low D4. The bass whistles below low D are C4, Bb3, A3, etc. (Octave numbers change at C, with middle C on the piano being C4.) So JoFo’s A whistle is A4, while Ben’s is A3.
I don’t see it catching on for whistles, though.
Helpful. Thanks. 
I’m inclined to agree. Apart from anything else, in trad circles the aim appears to be to maximise potential areas for dispute rather than the other way round. 
Oh yeah? Sez who??? 
Steve
Ya know, we gotta get a ‘like’ button round here. 