A year has passed since i started playing the tin whistle from Brian Finnegan’s tutorial.
i currently Own the Dixon aluminum-body soprano d whistle and want to move to
chieftain soprano d whistle.
the Dixon whistle is to high and loud to my taste, i want a whistle that has a more deep tone
and less noisy but still in the d key. in this case do you think that my decision is correct?
hiltch: I am a bit confused by your post. I understand the Dixon aluminum high D is too ‘high’ and loud for your tastes. You wish to purchase a second instrument that does not have those characteristics. To be honest, IMHO, the Chieftan high D, altho a fine instrument in its own right, will not sound lower and less loud than the Dixon. Two possible solutions for you to consider:
Purchase an A whistle. It will play in D, minus a few of the higher notes, and will have a fuller overall sound.
Purchase a low D whistle. This gets rid of the ‘high’ right away, and they are subjectively a bit softer, overall.
In a high D, a fuller tone may be available to you through a wooden whistle. Loudness in a metal high D can be dealt with by going to Mack Hoover’s web site and requesting from him a whistle that is softer in volume.
Hope this begins to help you. And welcome to the board…
Best
Byll
I agree wtih Byll here. I haven’t played the new style Chieftain high (soprano) D, but the old style was very high and loud. I am guessing that the new style would also be similar, considering the brightness of the low D.
Did you mean low D rather than “soprano” D? That would definitely be more mellow, but still a D.
Hi hiltch----I would agree with what Byll told you. Any soprano D whistle will be as high in pitch as your current whistle. Some may not be as loud though. I have heard that the Hoover Byll mentioned is quieter and the price is quite reasonable.
If you want a deeper tone the low D whistle would actually have a lower pitch than your soprano D whistle. I have heard, but do not know for myself, that the low whistles are more difficult to play—I think they take more breath and the finger holes are farther apart. You could check with people who have played high and low whistles to see what the differences are in playing them.
I have added nothing new to what Byll said. Good luck. You will find what you want. 
i didn’t mean a low whistle, but a whistle that will be able to
produce a slightly lower tone.
how is the c key?
Hi Hiltch,
I have a Silkstone pvc C that I really like. The sound is somewhat complex, silky and is easy to play. The holes are chamfered so the fit is good, and you get a good seal with your fingers.
Matt
hiltch
I currently own both of these instruments (Dixon Aluminum and Chieftain’s High D in both Aluminum and Brass).
I would have to agree with everything said on this thread up to my post. There is very very little difference in the highs between these two makes of whistles.
I would suggest like suggest a Mezzo A which I consider a to be between a high and low whistle…this suggest is similar to Byll’s.
Best of luck…
Well, C is one full tone lower than D. I have a Burke wide-bore C in brass that has a relatively mellow tone and isn’t unreasonably loud.
As everyone said, you can go for lower keys, like low A, low G, and low D. However, it may not be that easy to find one that isn’t fairly loud, especially in the upper octave.
Perhaps what you need is a high D that’s less “bright”? Of the ones I have, the Syn aluminum and the Weston brass are both slightly less bright than most of the others.
Maybe I’m all wet - like the windway of an aluminum whistle played by a walrus at the pole in mid-winter - but, maybe you mean a fuller or richer tone instead of “lower tone”?
If that’s what you mean, then a wood, delrin, or composite whistle will do it for you. My Burke D Composite Session whistle has a tone that is considerably warmer (richer, fuller, whatever) than my Aluminum Narrow Bore for example.