Hi, I am looking to get a low D from alba whistles, but I do not understand the difference between the standard and the vibe. Could anyone who has either tell me more about them? Is one more mellow then the other, or have more chiff, is one pure, and the other rich and complex? Most seem to think I should go for the Vibe, but I don’t understand what they mean by it having a Uilleann sort of sound. Anything you guys can tell me what be awesome. Thanks!
ask Stacey!
http://www.albawhistles.com/
there is a contact page
there’s a forum there too…
I have two Alba’s, a low C and low D. I guess mine are just standard whistles as they say nothing about vibe. They are identical in manufacture being large bore brushed aluminum pipe. Quite attractive but nothing out of the ordinary. Very good whistles. Loud.
I made a post at her forum yesterday too. I just wanted to see if anyone had anything to say here as well. 
benbrad, what does the tone sound like??? The only thing I fully understand is the standard is loud and good for sessions, and the Vibe is not as loud, so its good for solo play. I did find a youtube vid or two, so I understand much more about the standard and what it sounds like, but not much more on the Vibe. I found only one vid on it, but the recording made it sound super loud, which i’m told its not… and well, I have heard not to judge a whistle by sound recordings. I am just looking for a basic discription of a Vibe’s tone. Here’s an Example, I often hear people describe a low-d Copeland as being Buttery warm with a complex rich tone, with some flutey characteristics. Its medium loud and lends well to expressive playing. Of course I am sure there is much more to then that, but it gives me an idea of what to compare it too.
Any takers? 
It isn’t too loud. I had a Kerry low D and it sounded more like a recorder type sound. The Alba sounds more like a Bohem type Flute. When I say Bohem I am referring to a standard metal flute with metal keys, the type played in bands and orchestras and not a wooden flute as many Irish flutes are. It is a very good sound. Loud but not too loud. I have a Chieftain Whislte so I know what loud sounds like. The Chieftain is very loud.
I have a Vibe, and love it, you can lean into notes to get an expressive range of sounds. The second octave is beautiful and is reachable. It seems to mirror the first octave in that it has a lot a character, is haunting and has a lot of different sounds making up the finished tone.
I can’t help you with the vibe but I play the regular-nontunable and am very happy with it, I would descibe it as a wolfy, almost peruvian sound. It ended my search for the right low D.
I want an Alba A, if my ship ever comes in.
This is very intriguing to me, and really makes me want to try an Alba.
I did a low D whistle comparison where I recorded myself playing various tunes on several makes of low D to hear what they sounded like to an outside listener. It surprised me that, no matter how much character a whistle had in its low register, the upper registers of all of them tended to blandness, except for the Susato. It sounded “woodier” overall and was the only one to have any sort of character in the 2nd octave. I attibuted that to its greater wall thickness and resulting tonehole “chimneys”, but that’s just my guess.
I have two Albas, a Q1 high D and a low F. They have a really distinctive, throaty, husky character and i really like both of them. I don’t have a recording of the low F but here’s a clip i made with the Q1 while testing out my mic (i made it on the fly so there are some fluffs, but i think you might be able to get an idea of the tone). The Vibe IIRC is a low D version of the Q1; the Q1 high D has a different blade profile and more backpressure (and also quieter) than other Alba models so i suspect the Vibe would have similar specs.
I know I used the word ‘mirror’, prehaps that was wrong, as the from my point of view the second octave has slightly less sounds making up the finished tone. However, I still whole heartedly recommnd you try an Alba because I don’t think anyone can dispute that they are a lot of whistle for the money.
I am surprised about your conclusion about the blandness in the second octave on a lot of whistles. I could speculate that maybe your microphone isn’t good at recording the bits and bobs of higher frequencies.
I hope you get an Alba and let me know what you think!
I just remembered our esteemed member Herr Bloomfield had a review and clip of Stacy’s prototype Q1 low F, to be found here:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=267980
hope you don’t mind, Bloomfield…
There is an Alba low D on Ebay right now
http://cgi.ebay.com/Alba-Low-D-Whistle_W0QQitemZ150212820721QQihZ005QQcategoryZ624QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
It’s up to 127.50 right now. I was bidding on that one until the price got so high I just decided to get a new one from Stacey. A new one is 90 pounds (about $175) direct from Albawhistles.com
I would like to thank everyone for thier advice and opinions, It truly was invaluable. After much deliberation, I have concluded I will purchase a standard low-D whistle. I selected the standard because it sounds a bit more traditional to me, and I just like the mellow creamy character of it. I liked the Q1 as well, but the standard just “hits” it for me. I will be sure to post when I get it!
Thank you again, you guys are an awesome bunch!
Where did you hear the difference between standard and Q1? Are there any samples?