Hi, I rather like the Shaw low whistles myself. I like the look but yes, a wee bit on the breathy side. What are your impressions / experiences with a whistle that does not show up to much on this site.
Slainte mhath,
Deasan
I have a Shaw low D and low F. My experience with them is that you have to really play from the diaphragm to make them play well. If I don’t play them “properly” they make my head spin. I think if I didn’t play the flute, and played them regularly, they’d sound even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhb_b2neKMs
Michael
I had a low D for a while. Ditto all that about breathiness and lots of wind. Easy to get dizzy playing them. Also, a rather fragile instrument for those playing in tight quarters or crowded stages where things might get dropped or otherwise damaged. A very dentable, crushable whistle. The very soft voice makes them hard to mic. Mine wasn’t tunable (I don’t know if they make tunable models, but I don’t think so), and because it couldn’t come apart it didn’t fit my case and was a pain to carry.
Come to think of it, I’m not surprised they don’t show up much here. I can’t think of anything good to say about them, and I try to be an optimist. Well, they cost less than a lot of low whistles, and they’re available in more keys than Clarkes. There.
sorry, wrong thread!
they suck -------------I only wish Clarke would have made on though
Thank you all for the thoughts. Barnaby Brown:
sure used a Shaw low D to great effect on this album:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=369872283
Very nice music, Barnaby. Took me a while to find the track (http://www.band-re.com/music.html) with the low D Shaw. Very sweet sound, indeed. Is that a traditional tune/song? I’d like to hear your thoughts on the Shaw low D?
Thanks,
Michael
I listened to the song (beautiful) and I found that the sound of the Shaw was just fabulous.
I wonder if this is because of the technique of the player ?
My home made low D is very breathy but if I keep my tongue to the top of my mouth and git a bit more velocity in the air then it plays quite efficiently. Maybe the same technique would work for a shaw?
All together possible. The Shaws do seem to be very technique sensitive. If you don’t have a good technique (like me!), you’ll blow your bloody brains out with them. Just don’t handle them roughly or drop anything on them, or you’re out a hundred and twenty bucks. I lost mine that way. I could kill a man outright with my Overton low E and never miss a beat.
Sorrry Michael, I am not Barnaby Brown. I admire his work both aa a musician and scholar of the bagpipes and triplepipes (which is prob. another reason why he makes the breathy Shaw sound so good). Michael, the playing on your clip sounded really good too by the way. Thanks for sharing it.
Here he is (Barnaby)
playing the triplepipes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BdDq9-Nmmg
Cheers,
Deasan