Hi All,
Last week I got a chance to play a MK low D whistle at the local session.
Liked the tone, breath requirements, intonation and overall feel of it.
I did notice that the holes felt rather rough to the touch however. Like they hadn’t been smoothed or otherwise finished after drilling. Not at all like my Reyburns.
Is this the norm with MK whistles or has someone been mucking about with this one?
JD
Hi jadphoto,
I have an MK Low D (non-tunable), and the finger holes indeed feel a bit rough. Naturally I didn’t realise that at first since that particular whistle was the only low whistle I owned or had tried for a couple of years, so I had no frame of reference.
Now, having tried some other low whistles, I agree with you on this one. I suppose it’s just the way they make the MK whistle. A quality, rather than a flaw.
Moreover, for me it has been helpful in the transition from a high whistle to a low one to be able to locate the holes easily by actually feeling them under the fingers.
Another quality I think that I’ve noticed is the slightly out-of-tune B-note on the MK low D, but a very in-tune crossfingered C-natural. Does anyone have similar observations? I suppose that to make one note in-tune you have to do it on the expense of the tune of another note, or something.
I have an MK Pro low D, and don’t find the tone holes to be rough at all.
The B sounds in tune to me also.
A lovely whistle altogether.
Interesting. On mine (tuneable) the B sounds in tune but the crossfingerd Cnat sounds slightly out.
If you’re thinking OXXOOO C nat, it’s C# tuning that might be affected, not B. But I’m also not aware of a B tuning problem on MKs.
I wouldn’t say the edges of the tone holes on mine are rough but they do tend to be quite clean cut, perhaps giving the impression of roughness as your fingers settle into the holes or move over them. They really don’t feel any different from the edges on a few of my other whiles I checked them against, including a few of my Generations. Helps locate the fingers more accurately on the holes though, if you can feel them.
I’ve owned a half-dozen MK Low D’s and the holes aren’t scooped out, or rounded, like some whistles.
I would describe the edges as crisp/precise rather than rough. The entire surface of my MK’s have been smooth as glass.
About the tuning, I’ve found the scales of the MK Low D’s I’ve owned to be very good.
They all had one tuning quirk, though: Middle D was a hair sharper than Bottom D.
The MK’s I had were divided into two camps:
Middle D is in tune with the rest of the gamut, but Bottom D is a hair flat.
Bottom D is in tune with the rest of the gamut, but Middle D is a hair sharp.
In other words the differential between Middle and Bottom D existed in all of the whistles, but two different compromises were observed.
I preferred the whistles tuned like #1 above, where you blow Bottom D strongly to bring it up to pitch.
I should add that all my MK’s were pre-Kelpie, when all MK’s had tuning slides.
Hey…thanks to you all for sharing your experiences.
I’ll try the MK again and inspect the holes more closely next time I’m at the session.
To me the holes felt ragged not just crisp.
Maybe I just had to much B-B-Q sauce left over on my fingers! 
(our session is at the SLO B-B-Q in San Luis Obispo)
BTW…friendly, welcoming session with a range of players totally lacking in personality issues. Just good folks, craic, music, brew…and B-B-Q!
Join us on Wed. night if you’re up/down our way. 
JD
Now that you mention it, it might actually be C# that I meant, would so make more sense too. I’m so used to my whistle sounding like it does that I actually haven’t paid attention to it for a long time, I just remember it being one of the upper register notes of the octave that its a tad out. It rarely is a bother but again rather a quality, except when playing some non-trad music with other people. Gladly in sessions so far the slight tune difference of that one note can rarely even be noticed.
My holes were cleanly and precisely cut, clearly defined, but no burrs or sharp edges. Not rounded smooth, though.The edges of the holes seem to be in the same plane as the surface of the whistle.
That’s the way it is on both of my Reyburns.
The MK I played definitely felt ragged, like there were/are burrs around the top edge of the holes.
In defense of the MK I had been playing my Rayburn a lot that night. May have just been the difference in feel. I’ll check it out again as its owner is a regular at the session…and a good friend.
JD