Sorry about that- but the truth is the truth.
About the fantastic MK, the owner said that he called Misha to discover how long the wait was.
Misha was said to have said something like, “well I do have this one… the finish didn’t come out right so I just have it sitting around the shop…I really can’t sell it…but it plays the best of any…”
The present owner jumped on that whistle in a heartbeat.
I would like to say that being in Scotland and coming across a few of Misha’s whistles I find that although there are not all exactly the same in sound the difference is much less than some makers. The real difference I’ve noticed is in volume in all the current whistles. Some do sound a bit quieter but apart from that the playability and tone is the same. I’ve also noticed that it is a whistle that is easier to handle if you look after it and clean the windway every so often (which is something that some whistlers don’t do)
David
A band-mate of mine recently acquired an MK low d.
Fire-engine red, very pretty, very WhOA-inducing.
His initial impression: For some tunes he still likes his Burke low D better, as he finds the Burke more expressive. For other tunes he likes the MK better, as he finds the MK more even / more consistent across the octaves, and easier for him to play on fast tunes.
And today, the good folks at MK said they’d put my (black) MK low D in the mail, and it should hopefully arrive in under 2 weeks. As the kids say, W00t!
Just in time, too. Ogling my band-mate’s red MK I was starting to feel somewhat like Gollum yearning for his Precious…
I have two new MK low D’s now - they are both very similar in sound and loudness. A lovely whistle altogether and one I am drawn to every day at the moment but not a substitute for a Burke or an Overton depending on what kind of sound you’re looking for at the time. In other words - there is no one whistle to rule them all IMHO. Nice to have all three and more…
cheers
Stephen
My new black MK should land tomorrow. I have been on the waiting list around a year I think.
No matter who does the comparison, the MK low whistles are ranked amongst the best you can get.
At a certain point, comparisons will delve into what sound is most appropriate to the music you are playing - in my experience, quality is a given with the MK whistles. Misha is a perfectionist who will not let you down.
This is a rare privelidge, to have makers who are dedicated to your results. You will have to go a long way to find anything better - and when you find it, it will be just you saying so.
IMHO MK whistles are brilliant..
No matter who does the comparison, the MK low whistles are ranked amongst the best you can get.
Yes indeed.
At a certain point, comparisons will delve into what sound is most appropriate to the music you are playing…
Not really for me. I’m not nearly as concerned about the timbre as the performance. Having played Irish flute for 30+ years, my ideal Low D is one that performs as much like a flute as possible. I want a booming bottom D, solid low notes that have a high “breaking point” and therefore have a lot of room for pressure change, and high notes which are as sweet as possible. Until I had played that one MK, the Burke was superior to anything I had tried.
I have had a low D MK for some time now and use it for everything. It will take everthing I can throw at it. I am still discovering things it can do. Yesterday I evidently blew a bit of food into the windway at the end of a tune. I handed it to a friend to try out and he found it quite disappointing. At first I could not find what was wrong but then I found the offending bit and cleared the windway with a slip of business card. It was back to its old self. Perhaps the MK that panceltic piper found disappointing had a similar problem. I have seen very little variation in the few others I have got to try. One friend sold his O’Riordan low D when he got his MK. He even prefers it to his Copeland, and only occasionally uses his Overton for it’s distinctive sound. Others have reported similar satisfaction with their MKs.
Yes Ted it’s quite possible! Maybe that whistle was just fine but had some “leftovers” in it!
It’s your MK that I was so amazed by, I think the best Low D I’ve ever played.
Got my MK low D today!
All I have time for at the moment is first impressions:
The MK doesn’t seem quite as loud as my Reviol low D, but then again, it seems like the MK doesn’t need as much air as the Reviol. For me, the MK wins in this regard.
I find the holes on the MK to be a little more comfortable than those on the Reviol.
It seems like the MK is a little more in tune than the Reviol – some notes on the Reviol might need to be blown into tune a little bit. But actually, that’s just an impression, and I should probably play into a tuner before making such statements.
I wish I’d gotten one that’s fire-engine red! I got a black MK, which is nice, but the black is… black.
They’re both great whistles, but so far it seems like the MK has the edge. Maybe I’ll do a youtube video to compare/contrast.
My new MK in yes black is for sale in the Used Instrument section. Very nice but I prefer my Goldie
and I don’t need another low D. So jump the queue and get a shiny black MK now.
I’d like to digress this thread a little tiny bit.
In the world of low whistles, I have found that style makes an enormous difference in what each player finds to be the ideal.
As one poster said - he was more interested in how the whistle confoms to a flute style. Others have psted about what limitations the whistle imposes.
Many, Many have posted about the reach factor in a zillion posts before this.
What it all boils down to is this:
The low whistle is a micro-niche within a micro niche. Those who make them are rare. No one makes a low whistle without a great concern for the players. True, there are some that are seemingly mass-produced - I assure you they are not anywhere near the kind of product you encounter at a supermarket and every single one of these makers is at your service as a player. If you buy, say, a SUsato or a a Dixon low D, the makers are more than happy to engage with you as a buyer if you want to know about it. On top of that, you have a great lineage of serious custom makers in the cast of Cillian O’Briain and Bernard Overton who are all devotees to the art. With all that you also have the few flute-makers who’s families have been making woodwinds for generations. As well, you have a bunch of new makers who are no less committed than those who have gone before. Each and every one of these brilliant individuals are spending a lot of heart on what they present to you as players.
I urge any aspiring low-whistler to engage the makers. The Low whistle was revived in history by Bernad Overton in the west on the back of a longer tradition of whistle making in the sub-continent - a tradition that was only continued by itinerant tinkers in the west and long viewed as a horse-stealers trick but a means of feeding the babies for many - for many, many years.
If you have the heart to hitch your trailer to the tinker’s van - many are the voices of life you will begin to hear. But remember - the trail was worn by lonely carts before you.
If you have heart - you will see the trail and percieve the diamonds free to pick up - but have sight. And honor those diamonds 
DIscipline is almost the same word as diamond.
OK I just bought an MK from a forumite here.
When I get it I’ll make a little YouTube video where I’ll play the Burke, Reviol, Susato, and MK Low D’s back-to-back.
For such a video, what would be better
The nice thing about The Banner is that it’s a “full range” tune going from bottom D to high B.
I can’t think offhand of an air with that same range but there’s got to be loads of them.
One tune that really tests out the range of a whistle, though it’s not ITM and many people find it cheesy, is Ashokan Farewell.
But anyhow the ideal tune would show off bottom D and low E as well as hit high B.
“engage the makers” – interesting you should say that. MK Whistles has already sent me an online survey to fill out to get my feedback, so they are taking the initiative there. (Their timing is a little off, as they thought they were sending me the survey weeks after I received the whistle, when in fact they sent me the survey the day I received it. But more importantly, it’s nice to see the initiative.)
As far as engaging the makers – well, I think sometimes some of the makers are probably too busy to reply to emails. That’s my experience / my impression, based on e-mails that I sent to various makers who never replied. I assume they all have day jobs and there’s only so much time to spend answering e-mails.
Good on you, PCP! I will look forward to that. I’d prefer to hear a jig or reel. To me it doesn’t matter what tune it is as long as it show the range of the instrument, just as you say. And I am an Ashokan Farewell kind of a guy as well - fine cheese it is. Play what you feel.
Green or black?
Feadoggie
I played a black anodized MK low D at Custy’s in Ennis, and it was great - nice volume (including the bell note which is notaeable on a Low D), easy to play, really nice. Just when I was deciding whether to spring for it right there, I was whisked quickly out of the shop by two small but very feisty women (wife and daughter) to the Cliffs of Mohr!
Moral: Travel alone
Philo
Green.
I would find it useful to hear both something fast and something slow.
My bandmate (a far better whistler than me) says he prefers his MK for faster tunes - I think that’s because the MK doesn’t require as much air. But he prefers his Burke aluminum low D for slower tunes, and I think that’s because he finds the tone a little more interesting, more expressive.
So… how are folks playing Cnat on their MKs?
I’ve never been good at half-holing a Cnat, but I’m finding that a cross-fingered Cnat on my MK sounds a little weak. I may finally have to learn to half-hole the Cnat.
OK I just got that green MK yesterday, and played it quite a bit yesterday and this morning.
It’s funny about Cnat, because my usual fingering
oxx ooo
which is right in tune on most whistles, but is a tad sharp on my Burke Low D, is actually flat on the MK.
This MK plays a perfectly in tune Cnat using
oxo xxx
which is the one I’ve always used for high Cnat.