I got a Mellow Dog set a while back. The D whistle is nice, but the C, I’ve found, is pretty much the perfect whistle for my particular tastes. I haven’t played a D whistle that matches the tonal characteristics of the C whistle. It’s not pure, it’s not airy, but has a lovely reedy sound to it. Plus, low breath requirements, which I prefer. It’s surprising to me that the D whistle doesn’t share these characteristics, since it’s the same fipple with two bodies.
Anyway, now I’m on the search for a D whistle that matches the tonal qualities of this whistle. The obvious choice would be Jerry’s tweaked Feadog D (since there’s really no Mellow in the Mellow Dog C), but I wanted to hear some opinions before ordering anything. I almost just sent this directly to Jerry, but I figured I’d get a wider range of opinions this way.
By the way, I’m not looking to spend more than $20-30 on anything right now.
Thanks in advance of any insight.
I have the set, and also find the C to be exceptionally good. I think what you’re experiencing, though, is not a better whistle in the C, but one more suited to solo playing. When I’m playing alone, I nearly always play on a C, Bb or low G.
Jerry’s Mellow-Dog D is as good as his C, really, but D whistles are just a little bit more shrill in general. The D will serve you very well in a session.
I doubt you’ll find a better D for under $50. In the $75 -$150 range there are lots of great options. I have come to favor Burkes, and managed to find a couple used for reasonable bucks. I also have a second-hand PVC Hoover D (nontunable) that’s really special. ‘Buy, try and sell’ will help you zero in on what works best for you. It’s also a lot of fun. Cheers.
I agree as well. Every time I recommend a Mellow Dog, I make sure to tell folks to spend the extra $5 and get the C body.
Personally, I just think that the wide bore is more suited to the C body. I think that the wide bore is slightly pushing it on a D, but works great as a C. There’s a perfect ratio of bore width to length I believe, and I just think that the C is closer.
The C just has an overall nicer tone, and is a little easier to play IMHO. Don’t get me wrong, the D is great, but the C is really nice.
Jason
Yes, Burkes are nice. I had a DSBBT and a DAN until recently, when I traded them in for a Overton low D. Still, they’re more on the pure side than the complex reedy sound I hear in the Mellow Dog C. I also had a Busman at one point, and it seemed on the airy side to me, but did have some reedy quality to it. Right now, my only high Ds are the Mellow Dog and a Dixon Trad.
Jason, I agree with what you said about bore width. To me the D takes a lot more air than the C. Makes me think the narrower bore of the Feadog D might be just right.
Still, I’m gonna hold off and see if someone with direct experience with the Feadog D chimes in.
You might also look into picking up an oak if you have a chance. I don’t know how it compares to any of your others, since I don’t have them, but it has really low air requirements and a really nice sounding upper register that I find really responsive. It’s a really fun whistle to play and does have a complex tone, although I guess my (untweaked) feadog is a bit reedier.
Oaks are a bit too pure for his taste as he describes it. No, I’m not knocking the Oak…it’s still my favorite of the “cheapies”, but they tend to have a very pure tone with little complexity.
You’re probably right…I haven’t played many 
Of the few I have it’s one of the more complex/interesting tones to me, but I don’t have a lot to compare it to. I’m pretty new at this having a choice of whistles thing.
Also…before undertaking detailed whistle to whistle analysis, be sure whistles are clean and free of food debris or erm… dried peanut butter? in the body. 
…teach me to leave my whistles on the table.
Thanks for sharing your experience. These kind of reviews are very valuable! I´ll order a Mellow dog immediately!
Well, reviews can be subjective. You may hear things differently than I do. Either way, I think it’s a purchase you won’t regret.
I think I’m gonna just get the Feadog and quit debating this with myself. It’s not like I’m looking at a $200 whistle here.
I also prefer the C body. I have one of Jerry’s Feadog D tweaks and do not
find it to be the same. I have no idea how this is so, but it is. I think it might be
the bore and wall thickness. Anyway, I found that my Sindt D was very close
in the tone characteristics. I lost its head and will be getting another soon, so
I’ll see if it holds true for more than one example of the Sindts.
Thomaston - Seems like you’ve already made your decision but I’ll share my .02 with you because I do own the Mello set as well as Jerry’s tweaked Feadog in D. I’m sure you’ll consider it $20 well spent. The tone is different and, you guessed it, a lot less mellow. I would call it a tighter, brighter and more focused sounding whistle. Another good word might be “brassy” but that’s kind of obvious. What I really like is the ability to push the volume right to the breaking point without it flipping or screaching. In short, a fun whistle, lots of bang for the buck.
I do agree that the Mello C has great tonal characteristics and behaves quite differently than the D. It’s a lot less raspy and can really “sing”. The comments on bore ratio seem to point out the reasons for this. It’s hard to compare it to the Feadog D but I think you’ll really enjoy making your own comparisons!
Based on this I also started considering a Mellow Dog set. Ordered it earlier today. Can’t wait!
Lol, i also ordered a mellow d/c set on saturday because this post, seems you did a nice bit of advertising I have a sindt D, but have been looking into getting a good C, this post made up my mind about it.
Ha! I need to talk to Jerry about a commission. 
Seriously though, the Mellow Dog set is indeed nice. I have a feeling that I’ll end up owning several more of his whistles eventually. Hmmm, I see Doc’s site has a full set of tweaked Generations… my wife is gonna hate me before this is all done. 
Heh yeah I actually started browsing the other day through old posts to find comparisons between good and cheap C or Bb whistles and it just so happens that as this post was the newest I found it first and took your advice. 
Saved me lots of time on a whistle recommendation.