I’ve been borrowing a Susato tunable Low D for the last couple of weeks. It’s the first low D I’ve played. The current owner has offered to sell it to me, but we haven’t set a price. For several reasons – financial, sound preference, inexperience – I’ve been debating whether I should go ahead and buy it.
PROs:
Price: These whistles are reasonable whether new or used.
Availability: Right here, right now, and practicing daily.
Tuning: Plays well in tune. Tunable.
Breath control: Mine can use improvement but is not presenting any real problems in playing this whistle.
Strong enough bell note & E, so far. Haven’t pushed it too much.
CONs:
Price: I can really only think about getting one low D whistle in the relatively near future. Buying this one would shut the door on another, for now.
Timbre/sound: It’s all right, but I don’t love it (and I wish I did). When I listen to online recordings of this whistle, they’re very similar to what I’m hearing live. Not bad, but not my personal preference.
Stage performance: I sing in a band. Someday, when my whistling is up to snuff, I will be asked to play, miked, in an exposed setting. Depending on my progress, I might be thrown into this only a few months from now. Because this whistle’s sound isn’t my personal preference, I’m not sure it will do the job in a way I feel comfortable with.
UNKNOWNS:
Bony fingers: I have long, thin fingers and have to work to get good seals. Piper’s grip works best, but the Susato’s spacing (is it typical?) causes me to have to get closer to the joints than the pads on a couple of the lower fingers. Maybe I have a short ring finger. Have had good luck so far in speeding up my playing, but the bony fingers leave no room for slop with the seals – will I reach a point of diminishing returns with the low D, or with this whistle in particular? Maybe a “cheapie” is all I’ll ever deserve!
Trying to figure out what sound I DO like, and listening to lots of internet sound clips, my ears lead me to believe they love the sound of the Copeland brass low D. They found it before my eyes discovered the out-of-my-range-at-the-moment price tag.
In the much lower price range, I may even like the sound of the Dixon better than the Susato, but I don’t know how they compare, playability-wise. The Susato seems pretty reliable so far. And from what I’ve read, people talk about “outgrowing” the Dixons.
Can someone suggest a fair used price (in USD) for the Susato tunable Low D?
I’m no expert on low D’s but they’ll be along shortly. I’m sure that there will be a lower cost alternative to the Copeland brass that someone can suggest.
I have a Susato low D and it is quite a nice whistle but I almost never play it now that I have a Burke low D. The Susato has quite large finger holes compared to some and I don’t think it’s the best choice for beginners.
To my mind the cons for the Susato low D are the awkward hole spacing and the oval f# hole, making it harder to play than a low D needs to be. How one likes the Susato sound is subjective, of course, but I wouldn’t worry about miking or recording it: I think Susatos are well-suited for both. In terms of price they’re hard to beat.
If you are going to buy one low D and one only, I wouldn’t mess around and get an Overton. And I would tell Colin to make it “medium to easy blow.” Free advice, and take it as such.
I can’t disagree with Bloomfield’s recommendation of an Overton if you can afford it. (Not expensive for a quality musical instrument, but still >$200 US).
I really like my Howard Low D (Caveat: I’m mostly a flute player these days, but I still play the Howard regularly). They sell for about half the price of an Overton, and are a lot easier to play (for me, again) than the Susato Low D, even though I have skinny fingers. It’s got a metal body and plastic head, and looks rather like an oversized high D.
The Kerry Low D is very similar to the Howard in appearance and cost. I’ve not had a chance to play one, but several board members have them and speak well of them.
The Copeland’s probably the most expensive alternative. Not that it’s overpriced - it’s still a bargain for a quality musical instrument, in the grand scale of things - but it’s up in the same price range as a decent-quality beginner’s flute.
Susatos have big holes and awkward spacing. Thin fingers may make it difficult to get a good consistent seal.
70% to 80% of current retail would be a reasonable price point. One site shows a current retail price of $80 for a Low D tunable Susato Kildare with no keys, so $60 would be ballpark at 75% of the price for a new one.
Another site shows an Overton low D for $245 new, 75% of that would be about $200.
Have never played an Overton. (Looking forward to the chance.) But I have had the opportunity to play a few tunes on Susato, Dixon and Howard low Ds.
Looking back at your original posting, you seem to need help deciding if you should buy the Susato or pay a little more for another whistle. An Overton or MK or Burke or Kerry Pro or some other relatively expensive whistle is not a possibility for you at this time.
Price wise, the Susato, Dixon and Howard are more on the low end, and certainly are good products. When I played them side by side, the Dixon seemed to have better finger spacing than the Susato. The Howard had the best sound for me, but it does have some wide holes. With narrow fingers, you might be frustrated with that choice.
The little wheels in my brain have been turning furiously all day, and I realized that I have some stuff I could sell on e-bay, in pursuit of that $200-300 range. So all your advice is pertinent and welcome.
I have low D’s from Susato, Overton and Copeland. I have average fingers and the Overton’s reach is not any easier than the Susato. I like all of them and play all three in performance.
The Copeland is MY BABY. With that big flutey sound I can keep up nicely in a lively set of jigs or reels, adding barks and accents that the other two can’t match. The Overton is wonderfully haunting and nicely in tune. The Susato is, well, very similar to the Overton from the playing perspective - in tune and sweet sounding. The Susato was my first low D but I still like in certain situations.
I like the Susato’s myself, but haven’t played an Overton, Copeland, or MK. I DID play a bunch of metal whistles in Scotland last summer (one was a Dixon), next to my Susato and it won everytime for volume, intonation, and ease of playing. For the price you can’t beat it, and it mics well. I have the bent mouthpiece, which looks a bit like a saxophone. It gives me a much easier reach on the low notes, and of course somebody always wants to know what the heck you’re playing. I also play oddly, on the bottom hand I use the index, middle, and pinky fingers. The bent mouthpiece makes it easier to reach those notes, I have no trouble sealing a note, and can play much faster than using the correct piper fingering. I say use the Susato for now, play every whistle you run across just for the heck of it, and one day you’ll find a better one. Til then, you won’t be unhappy.
you are supposed to be using a piper grip anyway-on the longboys-----i have an Overton Low D and a Low A-------------these babies can go into the third octive smoothly-besides the whale sounds-----i had a susato low “It” did not like the octave switchs---------happy to say i sent it back -that was 5 years ago though
