Nice review.
May i suggest you add another part called reach?
I know you write the dimensions of the whistles, but i also know that some people do have problems with one hand or both. (Most talk about the reach on the lower hand, but some whistles might pose a problem with the upper hand too. A very brief description in the review would help)
The MK is a nearly perfect whistle however I found the upper register a bit hard to control (which may say more about my skill than the whistle). That said, I am liking my Brass Viper better.
Where I agree that the MK is a wonderful whistle, I still think the Copeland actually remains the king. Once you get past the breath control requirements for it, it’s just pretty.
Still, durn good review.
I think the MK is a winner. Great sound, beautiful look.
That’s a fine review.
I’ve owned and played most of the high-end Lows, over the last ten years. When I, personally, take every positive characteristic of a low whistle into account, there is nothing BETTER than an MK.
Some have great voices. Some are easy to handle. Some are well in tune. Some blow hard. Some blow easy. Some excell in the high ranges…some in the low. Some are pretty…some homely. Etcetera.
But all things considered. Misha has designed and built a BEAUTY!!! I agree with Kevin. Nice review.
There are two aspects to low whistles which are, to me, crucial, that you don’t pinpoint in your review.
One is the “breaking point” of the low notes. Yes you mention, I think, the “fullness” of low E, but when testing a whistle I need to know exactly where low E breaks to the second register relative to its neighbors.
A low E which breaks at a much lighter pressure than bottom D or F# means that passages in that range must be played at a pressure below that point (the “weakest link” effect).
The more even the breaking points of the various low notes is, the stronger the whistle can be “pushed” in playing rapid dance music.
The second is hard to describe perhaps, the ability of a whistle to play “between the octaves”.
On a flute that has its cork set in exactly the right position, you can play a low-register note and gradually bring more of the second register note into the matrix of the sound, the upper note becoming steadily louder, the lower note becoming steadily softer, until you are playing a pure second-octave note. Therefore on such a flute you can play notes halfway between the two registers, or more accurately, play notes which have the first and second octaves equally present in the tone.
It’s a common device among older flute players, and one that I love to do.
Of the many low D whistles I’ve tried, the Susato does this the best, the Burke the second-best. Many low whistles cannot do this at all, and you get a clear break or snap when a note switches octaves.
Such whistles are simply unacceptable to me as I can’t play the style I want to.
Admittedly I’ve only tried one MK low D, but on that one the bottom D and low E were rather feeble.
In the past I have avoided discussing reach in my reviews as issues with reach tend to have more to do with the size of an individual persons own hand/fingers rather than the whistle. I personally have very large hands with very long fingers, so whats easy for me might be impossible for someone else. (I will mention if a whistle has a hard stretch for me however) Therefore I initially decided just to list the dimensions of the bottom three holes, as those seem to be the ones most people have trouble with. In the past I have only listed the distance between the first and third holes, but I’m now starting to see that there isn’t much varience between whistles on this. So I’m going to start listing the distance between the first and second holes as well, as there does seem to be more varience there. (I will try to go back and put this in on the old reviews for the whistles I still have as well). Thanks!
Thanks for the review. My first whistle is the MK low D. I gravitated to the tone of this whistle and did some research and found the person I first heard was playing an MK. Hence I purchased one. Love the look and of course love the tone. Just going by my own ear.
Enjoy,
Curt
I have mentioned if certain notes on a whistle break more easily than others in past reviews, but did kind of gloss over that on the MK review. I did mention that the bottom two and top two notes do require some attention to breath control, but I did not want to give the impression that they broke too easily, as they don’t. You definately have a good point though and I should expound upon this more in future reviews, as it is a common issue with allot of whistles.
I have heard of “playing between the octaves” before, it is a common technique on the shakuhachi (japaneses bamboo flute) and I could see how it would be cool on the Irish flute. Not sure if I think it would be as feasable on a low whistle though, as one has less control over the air stream than on a flute. Any whistle that allowed me to do so would seem to me to suffer from the previous topic, and break too easily. But hey! to each his own. (Have you played a Copeland? I bet those would do that nicely) In the end everyone is going to have their own opinions and what they want from a whistle. My reviews are naturally going to reflect my opinion. I do appreciate the suggestions though, and will try my best to add anything that people would like to see.
Thanks to everyone for all the comments and support, I appreciate it! 
I am currently at work on the Syn low D review.
Kevin, please check your private messages.
Ronaldo