I am interested in an Overton D (high). How do you find the wind requirement and the upper registry? Thank you.
average wind—i dont really understand wind requirements---------blows easy to me–it all a matter of breathing–it will blow out octave wise -if you dont controll your flow---------loud ,bright -------to tinny for me but a good whistle
I have the Bernard Overton version. It is a very powerful whistle. Lots of volume…more backpressure than average. It is a solid (almost indestructible) instrument. The aluminum wall thickness of the tube is considerable and it has to warm up to play well. Once warmed up, the second octave soars.
If it’s anything like my A (Goldie) it’ll be a great whistle. You can’t be tentative with Overtons though. Beginners tend to blow timidly and an Overton won’t respond to that. They need a bit of a push to overcome the backpressure but in return you get a lot more dynamic control of volume than many other whistles.
yeah, i love the tone of mine (Goldie high D) but i’m a little too lazy for it… 
yea ,i never really thought about it till i sold mine and bought others—i started out using clarkes and overtons-----but i see what you guys are saying , yes definetly -it is not as free flowing as others it does have backflow-------and needs a constant push to maintain all octave range-----------now i stick with Clarkes and sweetheart pro’s----------------i just bought a copeland silver–and have high hopes for that one 
maybe that is why i sold mine-----i just kept reaching for the clarkes--------------maybe you guys are bringing back some hidden secrets
for high-enders i personally do better with my Copeland, Burkes, etc… Colin Goldie will build to suit, as i understand it, but i got mine secondhand and i think i’ve got enough high D whistles for now.
BTW Paul Busman makes a great whistle, somewhere between the low- and high-backpressure whistles. I have one in delrin and it is excellent.
how is the flow on the copeland -i have not gotten mine yet
I’m another one with BO. Overtons are wonderfully consistent in tone and quality across the keys. If I’m in a quiet reflective mood, I’ll go for a whistle with less backpressure—Sindt, Busman and Humphrey above Bb, Copeland or Grinter below—but I love Overtons and play them a lot. The high D is typical. If you want a high whistle that sounds like a low whistle, it’s hard to go past Overton and Copeland—which you prefer depends on whether you want low or high backpressure.
We are in the same boat, my Copeland should arrive tomorrow. How does the back pressure compare between the Overton and the Copeland?
It’s not as noticable with a high D as it is with a low D, but they are complete opposites. The Overton has as much back pressure as any really good whistle—you have to lean into it but you can play long phrases on a single breath. The Copeland has about the least back pressure. You’ll get all notes out without much effort, but you’ll have to breathe deep and often. But this difference is more and more accentuated the lower you go; with a high D you shouldn’t have breath control problems with either but you’ll still need to lean into the Overton.
what Wombat said pretty well nails it.
I don’t have an Overton soprano D, but I do use a matched set of high and low E Overtons, since the guitarist sings a lot with his capo on the second fret. I also use a Sweetheart D and a Copeland D. As the others have said, the Overton has a lot of backpressure and it can’t be played timidly. This is much more so than the Copeland, which is much more breathy. The Sweetheart is an older model that takes a lot of wind to really soar in the upper register, but it is LOUD! Indeed, all of these are loud enough to mic beautifully, and that’s their advantage for me. Putting aside the volume requirements, I use the Overton and Copeland for bright, martial music (the RA tunes), and the Sweetheart for it’s gentler voice on airs and ballads.
I’m getting my thoughts together on a Busman D+. I’ve never played Delrin, but I’ve heard only good things, and the D+ configuration sounds interesting.
Oh, and bear in mind during all these comparisons that the Copelands, Sweethearts, and Clarkes that have been mentioned are all conical bore flutes. The Overtons are cylindrical bore. That’s a HUGE difference in fundimental design.
The Busman i have is really nicely balanced from bottom to top, not screamingly loud in the upper register and not weak in the lower end either. I don’t do a lot of recording or live playing but i suspect it would mic really well.
Thanks rh, that’s exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for that will get me off the fence with the Busman. And of course, the fact that Paul is part of this thread doesn’t hurt either! 
The mic characteristics of any whistle are critically important to me; much more so than to many players. If it doesn’t mic well, I can’t afford to carry it around no matter how much I like it. It would be interresting to develop a rating for whistles based on that characteristic.
I think Paul’s got some samples on his website, might give you a good idea of how they sound.
Well, now I’ve done it. My Copeland arrives tomorrow and my Overton arrives on Friday.
this is great ------------you can give a another good comparison-stay on this thread and let us know your results–me, my copeland will take awhile it is coming from europe-----go figure— 
-----------its Silver so i am hopeing it is mellower than the brass copeland---------i dont like bright as much as mellow–but the copeland might be another type of bright (comfortable)-we shall see
I think the silver copeland d a fabulous whistle.
I think the silver gives it a smoother more ‘silky’
sound (jim rementer’s word, I concur). It’s
a bit of a beast in the upper register, that is,
it can be quite loud–but that’s what D whistles
do, ya know. Playing in larger venues, nothing
compares–one of the nicest sounds on earth, IMO.
In something small, enclosed and intimate it
can be overpowering.
I feel these things transcend whistles. A great musical
instrument, whatever it is–but it is a whistle.