What’s the quietest Low D that people have experienced, something that can be played in a hotel bedroom without problem. An older post suggested Optima and Dixon’s tapered bore. My first whistle was an Optima but I never found it quiet. I own a Dixon but again I wouldn’t say it was quiet. I’ve heard that the O’Brien and Carbony Low Ds are very quiet. But would like to hear what others have to say. And before anyone says it . . . yes, I know that I can mute my whistles but the tone becomes much more iffy and less pleasing to play than a whistle that is quiet through design.
Someone said the Optima is the quietest? That’s simply not even close to being true.
The Dixon one piece tapered bore is the quietest one I have played.
When I had the tour Optima in my hands I wrote this post, comparing the Optima to several Low Ds in various ways. With volume, I make clear that I don’t have a scientific way to measure it, but rather I had to form an unscientific impression based on what my ears hear when playing all seven of those Low Ds back to back. I blew the octaves of each whistle while looking at an electronic tuner, so my volume impressions are based on the volume produced while using the blowing required to keep the tuning of the two octaves of each whistle in line; obviously if someone is blowing without regard to this, they can well blow rather harder or softer, and form a different impression of a whistle’s volume. Note that the tour Optima was among the more quiet whistles though the octave relationship meant that I had to blow the low octave right up to the point of breaking, in other words as strongly as possible. The Dixon was the most quiet, the natural softness being increased by the fact that the low octave must be rather underblown to keep the octaves in line. The Dixon is also the most ergonomic Low D that I’ve played, with close-set tone holes, a narrow tube, and very light weight. It’s a pleasure to hold and play.
The low Ds compared were
1 old Susato keyless with angled neck
2 Dixon all-plastic two-piece conical bore
3 Reyburn with maple head
4 Reyburn with poly head
5 Burke Pro Viper alloy
6 Kerry Optima
7 MK tunable (like the MK pro but made before that designation was used)
Tuning:
The Optima’s scale is quite precisely tuned to ET, with a perfect ET crossfingered C natural.
Octaves:
Low D’s vary quite a bit in their approach to octave tuning. This Optima has the sharpest 2nd octave of any of the Low D’s I have to hand. In fact it’s quite difficult to blow the low octave strong enough and blow the 2nd octave softly enough to keep the registers in tune; I have to blow the low notes right to the verge of them beginning to flutter/break (their tone becoming less than optimal) and blow the 2nd octave right at the verge of falling to keep the octaves in line.
The various whistles flattest 2nd octave > sharpest 2nd octave:
Dixon > Reyburns/Burke/Susato > MK > Optima
With the Dixon the low octave must be rather underblown. The Reyburns, Burke, and Susato have the 2nd octave in the (for me) most natural place. With the MK you must strongly blow the low register and be careful not to overblow the 2nd octave but with practice it’s easy to keep the octaves in line.
Volume:
Without being able to measure volume, it’s more of an impression than a scientific reality. My overall impression, playing a tune that mostly dwells in the low range, is:
Loudest > Softest
Maplehead Reyburn > MK > Burke/Susato > Optima/Polyhead Reyburn > Dixon
Bottom D strength: There’s a big gap, with Susato, Burke, and the Reyburns having very powerful Bottom D’s, and the MK, Optima, and Dixon having weaker ones.
Evenness in strength in the Bottom D/Low E/Low F# range:
This is something I really become aware of when playing tunes that dwell down there. You go to play E and it breaks because it can’t take the same pushing its neighbors can.
The MK, Optima, and both Reyburns are remarkably even and you can play down there with confidence. The Dixon, Burke, and Susato have E’s which are considerably weaker than their neighbors.
Air efficiency:
A little difference, a couple seconds in how long you can sustain a note, makes a huge difference in how you phrase tunes. I prize an efficient instrument on which long phrases can be played, and you can just play without having to put in frequent gaps.
Most efficient > least efficient (measured by how long I can sustain G in the 2nd octave):
MK > Susato/Dixon > Burke/Optima/Maplehead Reyburn > Polyhead Reyburn
Timbre:
This is of course entirely subjective. The Susato and Dixon have pure colourless timbres. The Maplehead Reyburn is pure but adds an NAF-like resonance. The Burke is pure but adds a bit of dirt/gravel. The polyhead Reyburn has a unique foggy NAF-like presence. The Optima and MK have the most gravel/dirt. The MK combines this dirtiness/graveliness with a strong ‘core’ in a way that sets it apart from the others.
Thanks for the replies. So it’s two votes for the Dixon tapered bore!! I’m hoping there’s something even quieter out there, as I said, like the O’Brien or Carbony but not so many people play these Low Ds so feedback may not be plentiful.
Quietest Low D I ever played was one from Mack Hoover. Aluminum body, white cap. Soft, velvet tone that I played regularly in hotel rooms as I was travelling.
Best wishes.
Steve
Ah, yes. A Hoover Low D. I’ve looked for a one of those for a couple of years but they are thin on the ground, sadly.
Doesn’t cost anything to ask. He posts here from time to time…
Best wishes.
Steve
Is he not making them anymore?
Last time I spoke with Mack he’d stopped making Low Ds but on his whistle page he states "I will make them [PVC or CPVC whistles] by your request in any key. I may well contact him. Before I do, I’d still like to know how loud Carbony and O’Brien Low D’s are. In his review of the Carbony, Piper’s Grip states, “this is the quietest Low D I’ve ever played.” Of course he may not have played the Dixon tapered bore.
I’ve tried various Carbony whistles at festivals, and I certainly didn’t form an impression that they were unusually quiet. I’d say they were towards the middle of the range–but then again, they were noisy festivals…
Thanks for that. That’s very helpful.