Hi everyone! I just received my Reyburn High Session D whistle and I absolutely love it! It’s an awesome whistle!
Now, before I go on, I have to say that I am not an avid whistle collector. Although I’ve had the good fortune to try quite a few whistles over the years, I basically let go of most and kept only the ones that gave me the best value for my money and the ones that I knew I’d be able to use. Needless to say, as is the case with most other whistle players, I have favorites in my meager collection. And, Without naming brand names, it is against these favorites that I’ll compare my new Reyburn.
Though the Reyburn High Session D is a large-bore whistle, its external diameter is not nearly as large as that of my favorite all-aluminum whistle nor that of its all-plastic cousin. That means, I’m able to use a more relaxed grip when I play the Reyburn as my fingers seem to rest on the tone holes so naturally. For some reason, playing large-bodied high D’s has always been awkward for me. I suppose, the fact that I have smallish hands has something to do with that.
The Reyburn is loud! I’ve never had the opportunity to try one of Ronaldo’s older model Session High D’s but, if these loud new models have been re-voiced to make the Session High D standard quieter, I can only imagine that the older ones must have been deafening! LOL! The dynamic level of my whistle is besically even over both octaves. Well, maybe the upper register is a little louder but I attribute that to my naturally having to blow slightly harder when playing in that octave. That doesn’t mean though that playing the Reyburn in the 2nd octave requires a great deal more puff. Nope, it’s just a little more diaphragm support that’s needed!
The Reyburn’s heavy-gauge brass body also lends itself to producing a more focused tone than those of my favorite aluminum and plastic whistles, IMHO. I dunno exactly what it is about it but there’s something very beautiful about the Reyburn’s tone. It’s very round. It’s neither reedy nor flutey. It isn’t harsh like that of the aluminum’s and it certianly isn’t shrill like the tone of my favorite plastic recorder…er, whistle. Even the notes above its high G aren’t shrill! Amazing! Hitting the high B three times while playing Tabhair Dom Do Lámh wasn’t uncomfortable at all. With the Reyburn, I’ve got power without sacrificing tone!
The Reyburn is responsive! High D cranns are no problem. Even ornaments above the high G are easy to play. To be honest, before my whistle had arrived, I was a little worried that ocatve shifts on this whistle might be a bit of a problem. I didn’t think that because of something I had read, it’s just that shifting octaves is generally more difficult on louder whistles. That’s not the case with my Reyburn though. Shifting is a breeze! Turns out, my fear was totally baseless.
I’ve been a “passive” member of C&F till now, prefering to read rather than to post. But I’m really just so enthusiastic about my new acquisition that I couldn’t resist the urge share my excitement with y’all. At the risk of sounding overly patronizing, lemme end by saying that my Reyburn is my new favorite, unseating my champion of five years! And that’s really quite a feat! 
