Just got a Reyburn low-d and thought I’d give a mini-review (well, kinda mini ). I got to compare it to a Burke Composite, a Dixon and an Overton tunable.
First the physical stuff. The wood head and brass body look really sharp. Edges of the fingerholes are well finished; the edges are still crisp but nothing to snag or be painful. The mouthpiece has 2 O-rings to help seal it to the body. Nice semi-gloss finish on the mouthpiece. Neat logo too. Esthetics and lines are good.
I got it with the narrow bore and offset fingerholes and they work well for my hands. I do use the piper grip and but pinky instead of ring finger on my right hand. However, I’ve only hit one low-d where I could really use the ring finger on my right hand anyway (the Dixon). Overall stretch between the Burke, Overton and Reyburn was about the same (within 3mm) with the Reyburn being the longest. Both the Burke and Reyburn have a bigger stretch across the three right hand holes than the Overton, almost 4mm.
The wooden mouthpiece is very well shaped; I found it the most comfortable of the four, though it was the largest.
Now to sound. Very nice, complex. There is a fair amount of chiff (only the Overton had more) but there was plenty of clear, rich tone underlaying it. Good intonation, easy to control which octave you’re in up to the last couple of notes of the second octave. The B and Cnat/C# and D seem to have less dynamic range possible (i.e. you have to play pretty hard/loud to hit the note). The first octave and a sixth you can vary the volume and tone a good amount without switching octaves.
Bottom D note is a little soft and overall it’s not a loud whistle (the Overton was the big winner on volume) but I also got the narrow bore. I’d be curious to try Reyburn’s wide bore at some point for comparison.
Downsides. It is a bit heavy between the amount of wood and brass. Of course, I compared it against 2 plastics and an aluminum whistle. Wasn’t horribly heavy; just noticable. Volume/penetration means this won’t be a session whistle at a large session. You can play it pretty fast and articulate well but I did find the Burke a bit more responsive to quick fingerings. Not much, just a bit.
Overall, a really nice whistle and Ronaldo Reyburn was a pleasure to deal with throughout.
Fascinating failure mode. Hit send once and apparently got two different empty topic threads. Since it can’t open it, it also didn’t give me the delete icons at the bottom… Second time I hit send, it worked.
MandoPaul, Thankyou for your kind words and you are correct, the narrow bore Low D is for either a quieter space or, as I do, attach a lapel mike near the window and one can play with the loudest. The standard bore Low D is a somewhat louder instrument with a stronger low end. Its important to note that the larger bore instrument is moving more air and so has a bit slower response. Its a tradeoff, one gets the rich tone in exchange for a slight loss in speed. Thats why its best for slow airs or other moderate tunes.
I find that the use of finger vibrato on the hole being played, brings out amazing overtones. This is the strength of the Standard bore whistle. It was a gift I got from watching Davy Spillane play on the Riverdance video. Check it out if you haven’t seen Davy do this manuever.
MandoPaul, thank you so much for offering such a complete and honest review.
On 2002-11-22 23:23, Reyburnwhistles wrote:
I find that the use of finger vibrato on the hole being played, brings out amazing overtones. This is the strength of the Standard bore whistle.
I think you can get quite amazing overtones out of the narrow bore as well. That’s part of what my description of “complex” was referring to. I like the range of dynamics and color; that’s hard to do with something like a whistle, where the fipple itself is controlling much of the sound.
To what does one attach the
lapel mike–that is, do you bring
an amp and speaker to sessions?
Are there inexpensive and minimal
things one can wear on one’s
belt, say?
How does one use finger vibrato
on the hole one is playing?
I don’t understand and I don’t have
a TV…Best
Mando-man, you need to drive over here to Idaho so we can try each other’s whistles.
I have the wide bore and absolutely love it. I’ve owned Copeland, Burke, and Overton low-Ds and though they were all tremendous insturments I much prefer the tonal colors and overtones of the Reyburn. I too have the off-set holes and play with my pinkies. I got the just temperment and the thing is just sweet!
It’s not a race car by any means but I’m getting faster on it than I initially thought I would. I’ve wanted to try the narrow-bore for its speedier reputation but haven’t done it yet.
I have found the air control on the Reyburn to have a slightly higher learning curve than some other low-Ds. I am able to affect sound, volume and tonal qualities more than on any other low-D. The price of control is learning to do it but it’s well worth it. I’m betting a month from now you’ll like yours even better than you do now.
Jim, in answer to your first question-- yes I take an amp which has a speaker incorporated with it (a pignose is a great one for this and is very small and fairly inexpensive). I use a plastic plumbing strap that I cut one ear off as a fixture to attach the lapel mike to. It simply clips over the tube near the window and works very well.
When I say that I use finger vibrato over the hole being played, I mean that I move my finger up and down just to the side of the hole being played (covering a very small portion of the hole). Most finger vibrato I’ve seen uses the hole below the one being played which works but doesn’t bring out the overtones I’m referring to.
I hope this is not too confusing.
Ronaldo
). I got to compare it to a Burke Composite, a Dixon and an Overton tunable.