I’m seriously considering ordering an Overton Low D for myself for x-mas and I was wondering if some of you more experienced guys/girls out there could answer a few questions for me:
1)I’ve heard mention of an “Easy Blower” for beginners. Could someone explain this a little better? Is the backpressure of a normal Overton distracting?
2)Is there a significant difference between the ‘normal’ Overton and the “Big Hole” version? I have medium to large-ish hands. Will this affect the reach?
3)How similar are the Overtons and the Chieftains?
-Drew
[ This Message was edited by: drewcifer on 2002-10-11 17:00 ]
[ This Message was edited by: drewcifer on 2002-10-11 17:57 ]
On the low D Overton the back
pressure isn’t a problem, I found.
With any low D whistle, one way
or another, it will take some
getting in shape and some time
to play it.
The Overton has a longer and more
beautiful looking mouthpiece
than does the Chieftain, and
it’s made more carefully.
The Chieftain is a bit rough
compared to the Overton, though
not so that you would notice particularly.
Both sound like alloy whistles,
however the Overton low Dhas a sound
Dale has called aptly ‘the cosmic
drainpipe.’ I don’t like it so
well, found it uninteresting and
monotonous, and prefer the
Chieftain, however I think I’m
in the minority on that one.
Both whistles are reasonably light,
being alloy. I believe the
Chieftain is a bit louder.
Somebody else may be able to
tell you about holes…
Both sound like alloy whistles,
however the Overton low Dhas a sound
Dale has called aptly ‘the cosmic
drainpipe.’ I don’t like it so
well, found it uninteresting and
monotonous, and prefer the
Chieftain, however I think I’m
in the minority on that one.
One of the musicians in the local group that I pester plays a Chieftain and I think it sounds fabulous. I haven’t heard an Overton live yet, and given that my tastes seem to differ from the popular tastes on this board (I like chiff and a lot of complex overtones), it’s difficult to pick out reviews that are usefull to me. I’m quite ancious to compare the sound for myself.
I’ve never played Chieftains, only Overtons. However, I understand that Phil Hardy’s equivalent of the Overton is the Kerry Pro, and that both are good and handmade. I think Hardy is currently not making Kerry PRo because he has some physical problems with his hands/arms.
Chieftains are Hardy’s slightly lower-end whistles and their manufacture is mainly by machine. On this site, I’ve read mixed reviews. That’s probably due to their being sort of mass produced. There are probably good as well as not-that-good Chieftains.
Any comparison between Chieftains with Overtons should note that the level of personal attention lavished on each are different.
Definitely right. There is more
handwork lavished on Overtons.
I find that the lower Chieftains
sound very good. I’ve played
the soprano and high C
and didn’t like them
very well. Too shrill in
the upper register. Then I
picked up a Chieftain A
at The Whistle Shop
and liked it fine. They’re
kinda rough and ready,
but they sound good.
The low D chieftain
has a big bore, and
it gives it a
nice round sound.
The sound is more
open than that of the
Overton, if that makes
sense. The holes are
unchamfered (sp?),
which means they feel
rough, but one gets used
to that almost immediately.
I think there is less
back pressure on the
Chieftain low D.
So it may be that the
mixed reviews of Chieftains
correspond to reviews
of different keys.
I think one can machine
produce a pretty good
and consistent alloy
low D, which is what
seems to be happening here,
even though the
design is acrid and
shrill in the high
whistles–for what
my opinion is worth.
My favorite low D
continues to be the
Copeland, which is
beautifully made
and sounds divine.
The Overton is louder,
and the Chieftain
is louder still. Best
Hi Drewcifer,
there’s been plenty said regarding the merits of Chieftain, Kerry Pro, Bernard Overton, Goldie Overton and Copeland. I’ve tried them all except the Goldie Overton. It pretty much comes down to preference. I’d say none are what you would call easy to play, but not difficult either if that makes sense. Whatever you get you’ll need to spend some time getting used to it. IMHO I’d sum it up as follows.
Chieftain, Cheapest, pretty good tone, air requirements predictable in both octaves, Tone equal both octaves.
B Overton, My favourite for tone first octave, suffers a bit 2nd Octave, Requires more air 2nd Octave.
Kerry Pro, Tone 1st octave not quite as good as Overton but more equal across octaves. Air requirements similar to Overton, ie more than Chieftain.
Copeland, most expensive, good tone, air requirements less than overton or Kerry Pro.
This is only my opinion and I ended up getting a Kerry Pro, it seemed to suit me better probably because I’d started out on a Chieftain. If it comes down to a choice between Kerry Pro and Overton be aware that the Kerry Pro has an external tuning slide, The Overton Internal. The Overtons are available with different air requirements, ie Hard blow/Soft blow as well as normal reach and short reach so you should get somthing that suits. Have a chat or e-mail Phil Brown at Big Whistle (England) regarding B Overton whistles. He has been developing a new website which is’nt online yet but you can get his e-mail. http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk
If you need to clarify any points I made let me know, I’ll do my best. Phil Hardy is still making the Kerry Pro but it’s only available directly from Him. Check the news section on his site http://www.kerrywhistles.com Last time I looked he had some in stock.
Cheers, Mac
[ This Message was edited by: MacEachain on 2002-10-12 08:37 ]
Nobody has mentioned an O’Briain low whistle. I’ve seen many professionals with tuneable O’Briains, how do these compare in tone/value? They sound quite lovely in the recordings.
I guess my biggest issue is hole spacing. I’ve tinkered with a Dixon and a Burk Pro low D and find the reach ‘do-able’ but just not comfortable.
What I really want is a Reyburn but I don’t think I could play it. That’s when I started looking at Overtons.
What makes you say that you don’t think you’d be able to play a Reyburn low D? I have a Reyburn low D offset hole model and an Overton medium hole low D. The Reyburn is MUCH easier to play. The sound is totally different beween the two. The Reyburn of course is pure mellow easy to blow. The Overton is honking, rich in overtones (get it?)and not as comfortable in the hands. The wood mouthpiece of the Reyburn is a joy. All that said, I like the sound of the Overton best and if somebody wants to talk about acquiring my 6 month old Reyburn, drop me a private email.
The hand stretch on any low
D is likely to take some
getting used to, but
unless you have
small hands and/
or very slender fingers,
you can get used to it.
It took me several
months to get used
to the Copeland,
which is now easy.
I can play jigs,
reels, fast stuff.
I’m having trouble
getting used to
the new Chieftain, but
I’ll get it.
So first fingering
impressions aren’t
necessarily to be
trusted.
As long as we’re
comparing the Copeland
let me add that it’s
heavier than the alloy
whistles, being made
of brass. And yes,
the upper octave
is very accessible.
The whistle is
quite breath sensitive,
which takes some getting
used to, but makes
for something quite
expressive in the
long run. Finally,
it can take a while
to build up the
breath to play a
low whistle. Again,
it’s doable. Best
Someday, we have to overcome this problem of ‘hard’ and ‘easy’ differences. ‘Hard’ seems so far away from ‘Easy’. It’s hard to explain, much less understand unless one can try it themselves.
The big hole Overton is I believe the older one, so any ordered now won’t be that model. I’ve played Chieftain, Kerry Pro and BO Overton which I own - the BO is the best by far IMO, the Pro seems to need a lot of back pressure and the Chieftain I found wayward at best, horrible at worst.
On 2002-10-12 13:16, Caoimhin wrote:
It’s hard to explain, much less understand unless one can try it themselves.
No kidding.
Someone on this board with a little initiative should organize some regional ‘Swap Meets’ so we can all sit arround and play with all these wonderfull whistles that we read about. All while sipping on a pint or two of course
Hi Drewcifer,
Bet You wished you had’nt asked!! The bottom line has to be, no matter what anyone says, and we’ve all given honest opinions, You’ve heard a Chieftain, you like the sound, would’nt that be the one to get? It does’nt matter what we all think as it’ll be you playing it, and the important thing is that You have an instrument that you’re happy with. If you’re still favouring an Overton, try to get to hear one, even if its only on CD. I can’t think of anything at the moment other than “Troublesome Things” by Brendan Ring.
I guess I could bring my stereo out of storage and start listening to some different clips.
Somehow I feel it would be more rewarding to pleade with Dale for a few hours access to the C&F whistle vault - I don’t live all that far away from the undisputed capitol of internet whistleing after all.
The difference between a standard model and the “big hole beast” as I affectionately refer to mine, is quite significant.
It’s times like this that I find myself really wishing for a digital camera, because I have both models sitting side by side on a stand here on my desk.
I completely agree with Loren’s belief that you really need both, but which one you get first should be based on what kind of tunes you play the most.
If you play fast tunes, definitely get the standard model… unless you have huge hands.
For slower tunes, nothing compares to the big hole model… but bear in mind that it really is a beast!
Well, actually it isn’t much harder to manage than many other low D whistles… just not as easy as say a Dixon.
A standard Goldie Overton low D is nearly identical in hole spacing and size to a Dixon… the big hole model is more along the lines of a Silkstone or a Howard.
I can’t address the issue of Bernard’s whistles in comparison to Colin’s because I’ve never played one… same goes for Chieftans.
As for breath requirements, the big hole model hits the 2nd octave easier… I’m sure that’s due to some aspect of whistle physics that I don’t even pretend to understand.
Please bear in mind though that Overton whistles must be played with feeling… otherwise you’ll quickly be trying to sell it because it doesn’t suit you.
I’m amazed at how many people I’ve seen trying to sell brand new Overton’s because they don’t like them.
With Overton’s, you get out just what you put into them… no feeling goes in, no feeling comes out.
Simple concept really, but so many whistlers just don’t seem to get it.
Overton’s are by far the most expressive whistles I’ve ever played, but they don’t like to be played timidly… play them like you mean it and you’ll love them dearly and they’ll serve you well.
OK, time to pour myself another pint of Guinness… I hope my spelling and grammar is decent in this post.
BTW the “Cosmic Drainpipe” label was orginally coined by Loren Bookbinder. It describe the tone as so rich in overtones as if the whole cosmos was draining through the whistle.
The characteristic Overton back pressure, for me, gives me greater control of the tone of each note. I can actually manipulate the volume a little, it lets me lean into notes in the lower octave without them imediately jumping to the second octave. While the back pressure takes more pressure, it doesn’t take more air.
If you do a search, finger spacing of the various low-d’s has come up a number of times. The Regular Colin Goldie - Overton low-d has the shorted spread. It still requires piper grip for most folks to feel comfortable. I like the CG Overtons because unlike most of the Bernard originals, Colins finger holes are chamfer, which makes it more comfortable for me to play, as opposed to Barnards sharper edged holes. I also find it easier to bend, slide, manipulate the tone holes that are chamferred (soft edge that has been rounded). This in turn makes it easier for me to be more expressive.
Hope this helps you make a selection and
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-10-15 10:48 ]
I do have low D’s by both Colin and Bernard. I have to say that there both exceptionally fine whistles, but at the end of the day, I like Colins the best. It is very easy to play and the tuning is perfect, no tuning slide and no need for one either! I can’t understand anyone finding these whistles hard to play or soul-less. I am constantly finding new fingerings, tonal possibilities ect. I tried loads of whistles but I wouldn’t go near a recording studio with anything other than a Goldie.
