Hi all!
I am a newbie to the low whistle, strting to get the hang of it. I own a Tony Dixon plastic Low D. Of course, playing fast is not easy at all (!), but I suspect this whistle to be more suitable for slower playing? As far as I’m concerned, it doesnt have that ‘snap’ that I would like to find in a whistle ready to go fast, although I love the beautiful tone of it. I say this based on experience from regular (‘high’) whistles. Also, I would want my next low D whist le to be a lot louder, since this one is rather quiet. Anyone with a good suggestion?
Oh you’ll be wanting a Overton if you’re looking for something with good power and solid sound.
Regarding playing fast, I think most of the low whistles in the market are responsive enough to play fast. In this area I think practice matters more.
[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2002-01-14 21:24 ]
I too am new to the low whistle , got a Dixon low D about 2 months ago and I have found that I am just now starting to be able to get up some speed . For me practice is definately the key. I’m about to get Cock of the North up to speed.(ok, I admit its a 6/8 pipe tune, Ive got pipes too and am tenor drummer with a band and one day it just kinda came out of the whistle on it’s own!)
I just need more practice to get faster on this whistle and I bet you will too. I am like you in that I want my next one to have more volume also.
I just started playing the whistle last year, mostly on a Low D combo from Tony Dixon. When I got my Copeland Low D I found it was much more forgiving when I tried to play fast.
Hi. Although I STILL haven’t gotten round to buying one yet, I found the Silkstone low D to be a much easier/faster whistle to play than my Dixon low D, and louder too. It seemed hard to sound a note wrongly on the Silkstone - something easily done on the Dixon, I find.
Jon
Hi all,
nice to get all these replies; especially since you have experience with the same low whistle for starters… Sounds like the alternatives for an upgrade would be Overton or Copeland; just as I expected. But I’ll wear out the Dixon a bit more, first; besides scraping the bucks together ($350 for a Copeland, my GOD!
There’s a reason that Copeland charges what he does: the whistles are worth it. His low D will knock you on your tushie the first time you play it…I own one and I consider it worth every penny I spent.
Really?
It costs twice an Overton, for instance, which is a very renowned instrument. $350 IS a lot for a whistle. What low D did you own before your Copeland, then? Would you elaborate a little more on how you experience the difference, please?
The Copeland low D is made of brass
with a Delrin fipple. It’s conical
and there is a raised window. The
quality of workmanship is
extraordinary–looks and feels like
a piece of jewelry. It’s very breath
sensitive, so that it takes
a month or two to learn to play it.
It has a beautiful complex brass flutey
sound, the second octave is very easy
to get to, and I think it’s the most
‘fiery’ low D there is. You can
take a look at Copeland whistles
on his website: http://www.copelandwoodwinds.com
On the other hand
it’s heavier to hold than the Overton.
That has an alloy sound, what Dale
has called ‘the cosmic drainpipe,’
which most people (Dale certainly)
like considerably. The Overton is
slightly louder than the Copeland,
especially in the lower register,
though the latter is plenty loud.
Also the Overton is perhaps a bit
easier to finger–though the
Copeland fingering is good enough.
I’m one of the very few who doesn’t like
the Overton sound. Aluminum dampens
vibration, which is why Cannondale
bicycles are made of it–a natural
shock absorber. So the sound strikes me
personally as less brilliant and/or ‘fiery’, less complex than I like. But in the hands
of those who love them, alloy whistles
can be extremely expressive and
haunting. A matter of personal
taste if ever there was one.
I’m one of the very few who doesn’t like
the Overton sound. Aluminum dampens
vibration, which is why Cannondale
bicycles are made of it–a natural
shock absorber. So the sound strikes me
personally as less brilliant and/or ‘fiery’, less complex than I like.
Aluminum has very little to do with it. The Burke Al pro is brighter (I assume bright and brilliant mean roughly the same thing) than his brass whistles of the same design. The Copeland nickel whistles have a reputation for being brighter than his brass, as is the case with most brands.
Cannondale makes bikes out of aluminum for stiffness, not vibration isolation. Aluminum is light (say, compared to ChroMoly), so tubes can be made with a larger diameter, and thus greater stiffness, without increasing weight.
I didn’t initially respond to this thread becaues I thought the Overton votes would drown out everybody else, but since there is some debate, I thought I’d cast my vote for the Mike Burke low-D. It’s very forgiving, has great volume right down to the lowest note, good octave shifts, and not a bad reach. It costs a little more than an Overton (still half what a Copeland costs), but the wait is only a few months.
Charlie
(edited for content)
[ This Message was edited by: Chas on 2002-01-17 07:21 ]
Okay where’s Loren now? We need the someone to tip the scales to Overtons a little! Anyway anyone who has seen Brian Finnegan or Mike McGoldrick play will never say that Overton’s are lesser in fury! I say that despite only being able to see them in little Quicktime windows
[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2002-01-16 23:13 ]
Charlie writes that Cannondale makes
bike frames out of aluminum for
stiffness, not vibration isolation.
I agree about the stiffness part.
Still Cannondale was saying in
the mid-80s (after that my interest
in bicycle frames diminished somewhat)
that the molecular structure of
aluminum is a natural shock absorber.
Stiff frames are often rough
to ride–aluminum, it was said,
gives a remarkable combination of stiffness
and shock absorption. It dampens
vibration; an aluminum bell is
a non-starter. Members of my bicycle club
crowed about how the millions of
aluminum molecules in their Cannondale
frames were cushioning their ride.
I’m no physicist, maybe it isn’t
true, but it’s certainly what was said.
That said, I must add that I don’t
really know if aluminum whistles must sound
as Overtons do–only that every aluminum
whistle I’ve played (including
other brands and quite different
designs) had a distinctive
sound–which most others like and I
don’t. To me these whistles
sound like they’re made out of stuff that dampens vibration.
On the other hand, there’s
the story about the guy who got drunk
on scotch on the rocks, then bourbon on
the rocks, then gin on the rocks, and
so prudently cut out the rocks.
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2002-01-17 09:10 ]
Very interesting about the Cannondale, Jim. I looked up some of the mechanical properties of aluminum and some other elements, and there’s nothing special about elemental aluminum.
However, I suspect it’s possible to alloy Al with even a very small amount of something else to increase the rigidity without decreasing the compressibility or adding to the weight. Also, the large tube diameter increases the one without harming the other.
Due to various physical debilities
and just getting too friggin old I haven’t
been riding bicycles lately. Drat it,
this thread makes me want to play
aluminum whistles! I just sold my
Overton low D, and I’ll have another
Overton for sale on the board
soon. Stay tuned, sports fans!
