Just tried the Burke low D Viper the other night at a session. Beautiful flute-like tone, carried through, over the fiddles. Everyone liked the sound. Not cheap, but such a great instrument, including the way it feels and looks.
Re: the MacNeil, the low D and E aren’t feeble at all, but you can’t push it forever before it flips up…to me it seems just right, but you can’t honk on the low D like you could on a flute perhaps. I can’t compare it to an Overton or a Burke. The MacNeils high range is beautiful, nothing harsh at all and easy to play. To me , Ryan uses the widest dynamic range of any whistler I have heard recorded (listen to Beolach’s Variations to see what I mean…something like Normans Reel from that CD), and the whistles, high and low, work well in that context. I’m sure he has a collection like everyone else, including Overtons, but they definitely have a beautiful sound to have in the arseenal. I’m going to get him to make me an A whistle at some point.
That “honking” bottom D is really important to me. A strong “bell note” as people call it.
It’s a feature of uilleann pipe and Irish flute music and I want it on the Low D whistle also.
It’s why I ended up playing a Susato Low D for a while- it had the strongest bottom D. But then I got a Burke which has a bottom D that’s the strongest I’ve ever played and immediately the Burke became my favourite.
It’s like one old-time Irish fluteplayer said, the music all comes up from that bottom D.
I think it honks about as well as most of the other low whistles out there, but, really, you’d have to try one yourself…so many variables.