I am a fairly new whistle player and was thinking about moving from a couple of Clarke’s (high D) to a Susato (tunable) or Dixon High D. What would be best?
This was discussed at length recently. Try the search function. As I recall, it was stated that the Susato D VSB and the Dixon D sounded and played almost identically. The Susato D SB is much louder and takes much more breath in the second octave.
Mike Burns
Oooo…loaded question! 
There have been several discussions on this very topic here, and to get a good overview, you might want to use the “search” feature to have a look at what people have said recently.
I don’t have a Dixon (I have a Dixon tuneable on order, but it’s going to be a while before it gets here, evidently), but I do have a Susato standard-bore Dublin (non-tuneable). The two things that most stand out about it are its volume (this is one loud whistle!) and its lack of stability in the upper octave (I REALLY have to wail on it to get much above high G…and what comes out is pretty shrill and likely to fall out from under me if I don’t pay close attention). It is a nice sounding whistle, however, if not quite traditional. I’m told the small bores and very small bores are better in these respects.
Redwolf
Thanks. The old posts have lots of good info. Duh! Sorry I didn’t think to search first.
PVC sounds better than ABS, all other
things being equal.
In YOUR opinion, maybe.
In MY opinion, the Dixon is better than it has any right to be. Smooth in both octaves. Maybe a little quiet for a big session. The Susato has a lifeless tone without any personality or charm. Loud, though.
I also feel the Dixon sounds better overall than the Susato, not that the Dixon is excellent either. Dixon’s should not be left in a hot car south of the Mason Dixon line.
I have both. Although I really like my Susato and play it alot, the Dixon’s tone has much more character to it. It’s sexier…yeah, that’s it…sexier.
Eliezer, I think we have expressed the same
opinion. Jim