I am looking to buy a more expensive soprano D whistle. I want one that will have a sweet(ish)sound, plays in tune, and can be heard well when playing with other instruments. Here are some of the ones I am looking at:
Chieftain, Harper, Kerry, and Overton. If anyone could give me some input on what they think of these whistles it would be realy appreciated. Thanks.
Hey there Another, have you considered the new Reyburn high D with the Delrin head. It sounds to me like it fills all of your needs and you get a bonus of having it tuneable.
Check it out.
Constance
'nother whistler, you don’t say where you post from.
I’d have suggested that, all things equal or nearly, you chose in your vicinity : direct contact with a whistlesmith is a service, and avoiding expensive transatlantic shipment will end up paying a few whistles, or extra bodies.
For instance, if you live in Uptown Fairbanks, get a Tully 
etc.
BTW, edit your profiles, folks : you won’t catch no Internet clap by publishing where you are and a bit of who you are ! The rubber is already taken care of : it’s your Username, and you even have Private Messages, so Chiffboard is totally prophylactic
I know a guy who has a Copeland. It’ll cut right through a fairly large session, and it has a sweet tone. However, I would opt for a Burke. Not the loudest, but it’s gotta be the sweetest (IMHO).
If, by sweet, you mean pure, then I would recommend a Silkstone alloy d. The others mentioned have a bit of breath in their sound.
~J
This is a matter of personal taste to a great degree, so with that disclaimer, here’s my opinion. Judging by the description of what you want, I think you might be somewhat disappointed with any of the group you mentioned. IMHO, the Chieftain is not as good as the Overton and can be strident. The Overton, while a fine whistle, is certainly not “sweet” or pure in tone and IMHO Overtons get better as they get bigger (i.e., lower keys). I’ve never played either a Kerry or Harper soprano D, but what I’ve heard is very mixed and does not match your requirements.
I would recommend Copeland, Burke, Silkstone, Sindt. (Although I agree with Jessie that the Copeland may not be sweet, I think it sounds so great, anyone would like it anyway.)
Take care.
Philo
oh I’m picking out a whistle for you
not an ordinary whistle for you
but the extra best whistle you can buy
with vinyl pink strips and a cup built right in
oh I’m picking out a whistle for you
and maybe a barometer too
oh what can I buy so on me you’ll rely?
a rear-end thermometer tooooooo…
I agree with all the previous posters, none of those you mentioned are sweet-sounding, at least to my ears.
In the moderate price range, I might suggest a Water Weasel – they vary some in sound, but mine is a tad chiffy, but very sweet-sounding. Burke Al Pro is a little more. If you wanna go for the higher range ($200 plus) a Grinter or, the sweetest of all, a Rose.
Charlie
Another Whistler,
Contact me at my email address jdurdin@heartland.net if you are interested in trying one of the whistles mentioned in the answers to your original post.
jim
On 2002-12-06 17:10, JessieK wrote:
If, by sweet, you mean pure, then I would recommend a Silkstone alloy d. The others mentioned have a bit of breath in their sound.~J
Yep, Jessie’s right on the mark here, it is a really sweet pure sounding whistle with fantastic intonation.
Richard
Copeland all the way.
On 2002-12-07 15:11, DrRichard wrote:
On 2002-12-06 17:10, JessieK wrote:
If, by sweet, you mean pure, then I would recommend a Silkstone alloy d. The others mentioned have a bit of breath in their sound.~J
Yep, Jessie’s right on the mark here, it is a really sweet pure sounding whistle with fantastic intonation.
Richard
For a little less money, the Silkstone PVC whistles also have that pure, sweet tone with no chiff that I can detect.
Yep. Silkstone PVC - sweet and loud.
Copeland - awesome.
My Water Weasel is not too loud, but sweet.
Try the Dixon! $16 at The Whistle Shop. Loud enough and sweet enough. Sounds like a whistle, too!
I’ll 2nd the Dixon vote. It’s one of the sweetest sounding whistles I own (if I’m using sweet in the same way you are). Watch the tuning though…mine get’s way off in the 2nd octave (enough that people I play with have commented on it).
-Brett
[ This Message was edited by: Bretton on 2002-12-08 19:53 ]
Why don’t people use the word “pure” if they mean pure? The purest tone possible is that of a perfect sine wave, but it is a weird, synthetic sound, so neutral in character that it is neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Add a few even harmonics of suitable amplitude, and you no longer have a pure tone, but a very sweet (i.e., pleasant, non-strident) tone. Toss a few odd harmonics into the mix, and the tone gains character, like what nuts do in a chocolate bar.