Greetings,
I sure like the idea of a wooden low D whistle and the Sweetheart resonance looks really nice esp. in blackwood. Are they great instruments? Any reviews or imput would be helpful. The Onyx looks and sounds good too. Any comparisons or imput would be welcome as well.
Beannachdan,
Jason
I have a Resonance low D in Dymondwood and I really love it. The whole range of two octaves is solid and good sounding, even the highest notes. I play it regularly with our band with no complaints at all. Haven’t played an Onyx, but I’d imagine it’s up to Walt’s high standards.
I’ve been playing the Onyx at the local session for about a year now, and it has served me extremely well. It is, indeed, up to Walt’s high standards - great craftsmanship, intonation, etc. One of the biggest benefits for me has been its playability. Since this is a conical whistle, the hole size and finger spread is noticeably less than many others. I’ve been able to play faster tunes without too much of a learning curve, so I actually stuck with it this time around (the best whistle is the one you’ll play 
).
The tone is pleasant, flute-like (which may or may not be your preference), but you can achieve some “bite” to the tone with the correct breath control. The low end is suitably strong, and the balance is good across both octaves. Volume is moderate. It took me a couple of weeks to “get to know” the whistle - it seemed sensitive on voicing some notes at first, but I think that must have just been my inexperience because it wasn’t long before I didn’t notice that issue any more.
(All that said, I’m considering moving to an Overton, so you may see this whistle for sale here at some point (feel free to contact me to see where I am in that decision process). I’ve been leaning towards getting louder and more “aggressive” whistle for session playing, especially when there are a lot of players or many fiddlers.)