First I would like to lodge a formal complaint with the the mooderators of this board for abridging the actual title of this diatribe:
“Smoot’s Comprehensive Review of the KerryWhistle.com Low D Whistle, Specifically the Old Style (OS) and New Range (NR) Chieftain and the tunable Kerry Pro Low Whistle”.
I own 2 OS Chieftain Low Ds, 2 NR Chieftain tunables (one in Low D, other in Low F [thank you, Hornpiper]) and a recently purchased Kerry Pro Tunable Low D (from Big Whistle).
I purchased a Chieftain Low D some years ago that was on sale at the Whistle Shop as my first high end Low whistle. Considering I was new to whistling, I found playing it to be rather daunting. But thanks to many Sunday afternoon watching the Washington Redskins lose, I found myself familiarizing myself with it and I found I rather enjoyed it tho at the time I was content playing 3 blind mice. Once the fingering was accomplished, I found that the breath requirements were not bad at all (I have occasional bouts of asthma thanks to my wife’s cats) and since I play a lot of non-trad, I appreciated the fact that I could control the volume with ease. For example, I like “Old Friends/Bookends” by Paul Simon. It was relatively easy to play the basic notes with something resembling feeling.
But back in 2001-02 there was a bunch of “musicians” that said: “the Chieftain is a poor mans Overton” or “playing a Chieftain is like blowing a train horn”. What did I, a newbie, know?
So I ordered an Overton and after waiting a few months, I got one.
First, the Overton is an extremely excellent instrument and has a absolutely pure tone. I highly, highly recommend it to try.
However, it had a different fingering requirement than the Chieftain so it took me a while to get used to it. Further, upper G and above required more breath than I was used to compared to the Chieftain so after 3 months of playing it, I decided that I would rather play the OS Chieftain.
My wife protested, saying that the Overton sounded purer but being the man of the house, I put my foot down and prevailed.
So I stuck with the OS Chieftain.
I purchased a 2nd OS Chieftain from a fellow C&F’er and can tell you the sound is consistent.
Hornpiper put his NR Chieftains up for sale on this board, and I scarfed them up. Perhaps this was the legendary Phil Hardy Instrument that was getting the bad press…
The first time I played the NR Chieftain, I was impressed. It was subtly easier than the OS Chieftain. Fingering identical, upper register breath requirements LESS than the OS! So now I can hold that final note in upper G with what seems like 10 minutes in whistle time! And talk about a whistle that is begging for sliding notes! They came with particular ease
So now I am thinking: All of those people who were not saying decent things about Phil Kerry’s Whistles? Do they not know which end to blow?
So finally, I gots to get me Phil’s top of the line Low D, the Kerry Pro Tunable. (this must be the Phil Hardy Whistle those “musicians” think is a ripoff)
I get one after a one week wait (for shipping from UK to the US).
I will keep this simple:
The fingering is slightly different from the Chieftain but it is like moving from a 24" bike to 28"er. It takes about a few hours to get used to it then you are done.
The upper octave breath requirements are sliighty higher than the OS Chieftain.
The sound quality is pure, comparable to the Overton (in my wife’s opinion. Spouses, for better or worse, make great judges…sometimes)
Since I got it, I cant put it down
This is Phil’s top whistle: As far as I can tell, the only comparison between his whistle and an Overton is the mouthpiece design which is like comparing a $2.95 Generation with a Jerry Freeman tweaked Gen because they have similar mouthpieces. I am aware of the history of Phil Hardy and Overton, but this is now. As far as I can tell, they are distinctly different products.
Any discusssion otherwise is like a discussion with someone about the fact that gas prices are going thru the roof, and their only retort is “Well, I think Clinton lied…”
As long as I have owned KerryWhistles.com whistles, I have seen nothing but a consistently great product. I believe in his quality, as it suits my playing, that I am buying a complete set.
As far as I am concerned, anyone who thinks they are are an Overton ripoff has absolutely no idea of what they are talking about and is doing a disservice to the entire whistling community by spreading doggerel
Overtons are Overtons, and are great. Kerry Whistles are Phil Hardy whistles and are the best I have ever played.
In other words, Phil Hardy has put together a range of whistles that is consistent in fingering and breath control that is truly remarkable. If you start at his low end, you are sure you are dealing with a consistent product throughout.
) I can do pipers grip on it (on really good days), but I still prefer to use normal fingering, especially since as someone else said, the slides are really cool on this thing.