I just added a Dixon Low D polymer to my low D collection (Alba and Chieftain) and I find that it is very easy, perhaps TOO easy, to break into the second octave. Compared to my two aluminum low D whistles, I have to blow
very gently to prevent the notes in the lower octave to jump to the higher octave, especially the lower notes as D and E. I like the whistle and I find that it has a nice tone, clear and a bit “breathy”, but I realized that when I switch from the two alloy whistles to the Dixon I have to “adjust” the force of my blowing and make it very light.
I just wanted to know from other Dixon low D owners if this is typical of
every Dixon low D or if the one that I got is defective. Thanks.
I like the Dixon a lot - really easy to play and nice tone etc. as you say. I think the issue is probably the very different breath requirements for your other two Lows. Have you tried just playing it for a week or so and leaving the others on the shelf? I have to confess that I have put the Dixon on the shelf for a bit and am playing the Burke just to keep the ease of stretch on the right hand ring finger happening. The Dixon is so easy that coming off of it and onto the Burke I find I have to adjust again and get initial squawks from not covering the hole well enough. I have decided to play nothing but the Burke in Low d terms for the next couple of months.
Makar, thank you for your reply. So you can confirm me that the Dixon has very little breath requirement ? This is what I believe if I compare it to the Chieftain and the Alba. With the Dixon I have to blow half the amount required by the other two whistles, otherwise I go immediately to the higher octave. If this is true, this confuses me because there is a review of the Dixon low D from Phil Hardy in his Kerrywhistles.com web site, and Phil says that the Dixon “takes a lot of breath”. Unless to “take a lot of breath” is a different thing from “breath requirement” ? Thanks.
I have the Dixon low D, and Overton low D. The Dixon requires more breath in terms of more frequent inhaling to play the same tune on the Overton. The Overton has slightly more back pressure, or resistance. It is not a big deal, just takes a little more practice to gain adaptability between whistles.
There are two breath requirements in playing a whistle. Amount of pressure to attain a note, and the volume of air to sustain it.
Tommy, do you find that your Dixon low D breaks easily into the second octave compared to the Overton ? When I play the low D and the low E notes with the Dixon, I have to be careful not to blow too much otherwise they will suddenly break into the higher octave. As a result, I have to keep the volume of the low D and low E notes a lot quiet. This does not happen at all with the Alba and the Chieftain. Please advise,Thanks!
OK, I tried to find the difference between the two in terms of breaking into the higher octave. The Dixon does seem to go up to the second octave more easy. But I don’t think there is a problem with your whistle. Practice with it a few more weeks and see if it becomes more easy for you. Practice playing F, E, D, till it comes easy for you. Then try F f, Ee, Dd. You will be developing your adaptability with this whistle. Generally a whistle that seems to jump up to soon is also a whistle that plays well in the upper octave. It is worth pursuing.
As far as I can remember, my Dixon Low D was quite easy to break to the second octave, indeed, I would say like every other Dixon I’ve owned (Trad, regular non tuneable plastic whistle).
I tought tha the Low D required quite an amount of air…
Pascal.
As Tommy says it’s prob the amount of air rather than the pressure. I found the Alba low quite different to the Dixon - i.e. it needed a fair deal more pressure for me at the time. In saying that I was trying it out in the Alba workshop on a cold autumn morning and it was not responding too well to me, clogging etc. The Dixon is an easy blower I think - in other words the resistance is less than some others. As somebody else said - play it for a week or two and see how it is.
cheers
Stephen
If your Dixon low D is tunable, check the mouthpiece for air leakage. My low D aluminum had that problem. The seal between the two pieces of the mouthpiece was not good, and there was a slight wobble. So, depending on the angle at which I held the whistle, air would leak out and cause low notes to easily slip into the upper octave. I sent an email to Tony, and he sent me a new mouthpiece. Now the whistle plays beautifully.
For comparison’s sake, I’ve got a Dixon and a Chieftain V3 in Alto G.
The V3 is very stable in the lower octave, and consequently needs much more puff in the higher. Then again, just look at the construction: wide-bore, big holes. I can’t even feel the holes on the Dixon, whereas the V3 readily accepts my leathery pads.
I’d say your Dixon seems normal.
BS.
Sounds like a good desciption of the Dixon I had. I like to push my low whistles hard, so the Black Tube, as I affectionatly called it 
, drove me little batty trying to breath so softly, not to mention the lower back pressure. So I gave the Dixon to a friend, and she loves it. The intresting phenomenon of personal taste. So, yes, I think you Dixon is pretty normal.