I am in the market to buy a low d whistle, not made of plastic, and one that is not too “breathy”. I want a good one so I am not shopping based on price. I am not concerned whether it is tunable or not. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Burke might suit the bill.
Michael Burke’s low D is dependably excellent.
Reviol, Lofgren, Lambe, Copeland, Carbony, Reyburn, Burke, Goldie, Bracker, etc… Really depends on your own personal taste. There are dozens that fit your criteria and I’m sure that for each one there are several here who love it and several who dislike it. The only way to know is to try one out to see if it is for you or not. Or, at very least, narrow down the criteria a bit.
Let’s not forget the Resonance low-d by Ralph Sweet !
If everyone liked the same low D as everyone else, all the other makers would very quickly go out of business through lack of orders.
So …
Try to get to play a few different whistles at a shop / festival.
Try to find out what whsitles are played by the players you particularly like the sound of.
Don’t be afraid to buy one and then sell it if it doesn’t work for you.
And … Colin Goldie is the correct answer. For me, that is, not necessarily for you.
Have you ever played a low d Mr. Chubby Checker with one post ?
Hi and welcome - any relation to Ernest Evans is welcome here…
There is a lot of discussion of whistles on here, so you are likely to get more help than you ever expected - we are a friendly bunch - but it would help us to focus if you added some details.
- What musical instruments do you play?
- What low D’s have you tried? (And it does not matter if you have not played any - I started with the low D)
- What did you like/dislike about them?
- Why not plastic (I prefer non-plastic but there are some excellent plastic whistles out there)
- What sort of music do you want to play (just curious)
I play Bleazey (wood, a little bit challenging to play, lovely sound, easy balanced octaves) and Copeland (lovely sound, easy to play, expensive and difficult to find)
You might want to consider whether you want the whistle to be free-blowing and use more breath, or use less breath but require more blowing pressure like the difference between blowing down a wide and a narrow straw. That would certainly reduce your list of possible options.
I’ll second that. Mine has a very flute like tone, is easy to finger and plays the full two octaves easily.
Colin Goldies whistles are also terrific, but VERY different in terms of sound and breath requirements.
Colin Goldie’s whistles are . . . VERY different in terms of . . . breath requirements.
We have to be careful about categorising Colin’s whistles. They vary so much. To begin with he makes each key in a variety of “strengths” from soft blower to hard blower, from higher to lower air requirements. But then he will also respond to a player’s particular requirements. Right now he’s building me a whistle that should have modest air requirements but that, like the Resonance, plays two octaves easily.
Hi tin whistle gang,
Thanks for raising great points I hadn’t thought of. I have only played a regular (non-low) D from Oak so far. I play moderate to fast jigs and reels. My main concern is avoiding a low D that is too breathy and/or requires too much air. Do any particular whistle makes/models come to mind based on this new info?
If you’re playing jigs and reels then air requirements aren’t too crucial since there are plenty of opportunities to take a breath. Breathiness is a relative term but avoid the Shaw Low D which is very breathy and takes lots of air. Beyond that, there is still plenty of choice. Burke and Bracker use more air than average but tend towards a pure tone if you like that. A soft blowing Goldie would be my choice, quite economical when it comes to breath but with a tone that isn’t too breathy in my opinion . . . but you need to listen to examples if you can on YouTube for example. Lofgren is similar. Lambe and Reviol are great for playing high in the second octave but tend towards a weaker first octave. If it’s jigs and reels mainly then you possibly don’t need to play too high in the second octave. You might also consider an MK Pro that many people favour but you need to make your own decision as to what is too breathy and what isn’t.
Lucky man 
For what my opinion is worth (and I am no expert) it seems to me that there are two things that you might need to learn. In the short term you should probably learn the ‘Super-EZ-grip’ (sometimes known as ‘pipers grip’). For that any reasonable whistle would do. In the long term you need to learn what you want from a low D whistle. That will take time and money. I have seen people bandy all sorts of words around - flutey, breathy, mellow, responsive, easy-blower, ad nauseam… None of it meant diddly-squat to me until I started playing. Once I could play a bit, then I went looking for whistles I liked (actually that is a bit of a lie - I did waste some money before I knew what I was doing). Tried a few and settled on the ones I have. I dont think that I have even been tempted by a whistle purchase for two, three, four years. (MODS: am I allowed to admit this in public? Or have I just 'fessed up to WHOAD police?)
So, for short term I would recommend getting anything reasonably easy to play and learning on it - for this I would recommend the Dixon tapered bore even though it is plastic - I wish I had learned on one. You don’t have to play it for ever, but I bet you wont sell it in a hurry. If when you sell it you wont lose much. I am not a fan of plastic whistles, but it is so dam easy to play that I still have mine. I will pass it on to step-grandson if and when he wants one. When you feel competent then its time to explore - it would be a shame to lose money rejecting a whistle that you did not appreciate, just to buy it again later when your skill had advanced (DAMHIKT). If you hang around this forum long enough, you could join the ‘feeding chain’ buying the whistles others have tried and not clicked with. Or you could buy new high end whistles and sell the ones you don’t like into the feeding chain.
You could listen to lots of recordings of different whistles, but my undeveloped ear found this very misleading.
Anyone have an opinion on the Chieftain Low D Thunderbird? Sounds tempting.
I would like to caution on the secondary market… the used instruments. I have no issue with any of the suggested whistle makers mentioned when buying direct from the maker… and get what you want.
Unless you are able to try a whistle out in person be very careful new or used. The used whistle market is loaded with whistles with custom characteristics requested by the original buyer. Many of these custom whistles end up in the “feeding chain” in whichever internet market, eBay, Amazon, Craig’s List, auction houses, etc., which carry these characteristics and may not be what you desire. Trying before buying is very difficult over the internet unless parties are willing a trial period with return policy and that is difficult with used instruments.
I would take the suggestion about the E-Z grip or Piper’s Grip very seriously early and try a low whistle out and see if it suits your desires. There’s plenty of time to explore all of the whistle possibilities both high and low. WHOAD will take care of itself and that lucky man shopping desire of yours. Enjoy your whistling!
The Dixon tapered bore Low D gets my vote of confidence too. I share DrPhill’s comments. I wish I’d learned on it but still have it and use it for working out and transcribing tunes. As for the Chieftain Thunderbird, I would have categorised that as breathy but, as I say, it’s all relative. Get yourself a Dixon until you know what you really want in a low whistle and learn piper’s grip.
BTW although the Dixon doesn’t use a great deal of breath, it is very easy blowing. But because of the shape of the fipple it is easy to tweak the characteristics of the whistle to have it use even less air but require more pressure. Somewhere on the forum are details of that tweak. In practical terms it means the whistle can provide you with a variety of characteristics that will help you understand what you like best in your ideal low whistle. Time spent with the Dixon will possibly mean less time and money spent looking for that ideal.
Good point - I have never fallen foul of that sort of thing so it did not occur to me to warn of it. I guess some such might be extra holes (may or may not be a good thing) different tunings (just/ET)… what else?
I may be naive, but I assume a higher level of integrity on this forum - at least from well established posters. eBay etc, well caveat emptor** covers it.
**omnia dicta fortiora si dicta Latina
I think what I was trying to convey when buying a used whistle is the whistle may have traits determined by the original buyer and those traits may not be desireable for a new owner. Traits possibly not fully known or disclosed with multiple transfers of ownership. Characteristics from threads mention easy, medium, or hard blower; breathy, airy, low/high resistence, backpressure, free blowing, etc., all qualities that ought to be considered. The forum threads often mention players carving the holes, trimming/shortening the tube ends or adjusting the blade to alter the qualities of the whistle to suit that particular player. Selling on such instrument is a different whistle from what the whistle maker originally made specifications. Comments in threads also frequently mention to make one’s own whistle; take the challenge, get some info, and enjoy the workshop journey. I’m not handy with tools so workshop endeavors are out. I’ve bought new and used whistles here on the forum and elsewhere, yet, my preference would be to buy new from the whistle maker after discussing what the particular playing characteristics I desire in a whistle. Its new whistle purchase rather than a used whistle purchase that would suit me.
Perhaps an asterick* alongside the used whistle description denoting that further modifications have been made to the instrument from the original whistle maker’s specifications? Similar to our US sporting record books denoting accomplishment made under the influence… steroids, hemp, alcohol, etc., and just kidding here. 
I too would agree the forums have contained high level integrity with instrument exchange. The new vs. used instrument market has fascinated me though with comments about buy a whistle, try it out for awhile, and if not to one’s liking sell the instrument on… with the expectation of selling instrument on for what was invested in the purchase. No depreciation. O. K. I get that… nothing lost, however, for the same price or nearly same price I would rather just buy new from the whistle maker to begin with and hope the instrument satisfies my playing considerations. Reducing say, $10.00, $25.00, or even $50.00 off any high end used whistle just wouldn’t interest me… I’d just buy new from the maker and pay full price, which also continues to support the instrument makers and the economy. 
I too would say the Dixon tapered bore Low D is a good start. Yeah, it is plastic of some sort yet it plays.
Overton, Garvie, MK, Chieftain… I can’t remember what all.
I myself love the “used whistle market” because it allows you to try an endless number of whistles for free. Buy and whistle, try it for a week or two years, then sell it for what you bought it for. (Sometimes you sell it for a hair less than you paid, sometimes for a hair more. It evens out in the end.)
About the danger of a used whistle you buy having unique characteristics, in my experience ALL whistles have unique characteristics! You can buy ten new Low D’s from the same maker and no two will play exactly alike. (Well except for Burkes maybe )
After I had to give up flute a few years ago I went on a big Low D Whistle buying spree. I’ve tried most of the makes out there, and sometimes as many as a half-dozen of the same make.
For me the main characteristics are:
1 ) tuning. As Rockstro said that’s the primary thing in music, being able to play the right notes.
2 ) air-efficiency, that is, being able to play the longest possible musical phrases.
3 ) ergonomics, which boils down to hole-spacing, weight, and tube thickness.
4 ) evenness of voicing.
5 ) ease of production of the 2nd octave/ sweetness of the high notes.
6 ) power of the low notes especially Bottom D.
7 ) evenness of volume over the gamut.
8 ) overall volume.
9 ) tone quality.
I have never found a Low D which excels at all of these.
Many Low D’s excel at a number of these, but there’s always that one drawback that keeps them from being “the perfect Low D”.
So far I’ve found one Low D that’s not poor at anything, the Goldie I have. Not the best at everything, but not bad at anything.