I have had a walton’s D since I started playing it. For a long time I left it alone saying that it’s a bad and cheap whistle(not for a second assuming I should god forbid practice) and waited for the clarke. I didn’t really like the clarke so I had no choice but to go back to the walton(aspecially after playing a feadog and not liking it much). But I most say, that my whistling has improved amazingly, and I play great(there are better ones, but still).
Waltons have just changed their model into a larger bore model. After playing it I realized that the new one is better on the low notes(which to my taste were already good enough) and worse on the high notes(which, again to my taste, needed improvements on the first model). Plus the newer model is a bit harder to hold. To my opinion, the new waltons should change back, maybe make their bore a little smaller.
Does anyone know of a different D whistle by waltons(and Idon’t mean all the different cool colors and samples they make on it)
Actually, Walton’s makes/made a lot of different D whistles. Though I think that all that’s really left for you to try is the “Little Black D”, which has an aluminum tube (I think all the other nifty colors may have been versions of this).
That being said, I have never really cared for my Walton’s D whistles. The “Mellow D” is the wide-bore (has the same head and bore as the Walton’s C - just a shorter tube) - I like it a bit better than the standard Walton’s D, but that’s about all I can say for it. I do like the Walton’s C quite a bit - mine sounds and plays much nicer than any of their D whistles I’ve tried.
But why confine yourself to Walton’s? In the cheap range, I far prefer either a Feadog or a Generation D (you may have to tweek the Gen a bit, though). Or try a Clarke Sweetone - not my absolute favorite, but a good overall choice. I like the tone of my Oak D as well, but it requires quite a bit more in the way of breath control than the other cheapies.
Or for a (little) more up in price, try a Dixon (the non-tunable D is about $15, I think).
I don’t think it’s a secret that I like Waltons (formerly Soodlums) whistles a lot. In my experience, Walton’s seem to have a really good quality control. Most get a tad better with a sticky tack tweak, but they’re totally playable out of the box, unlike a lot of other whistles…
The Walton’s Nickel C is an AMAZING whistle, imho. I love mine, and I’ve heard the brass Cs are really good too. Gotta try that… The mellow D (melody) is wider, a little louder, but good too…I just wish I could find a source for a nickel one.
Walton’s makes a lot of rainbow whistles, which are actually different colored regular Waltons, and a Guiness whistle, which is a different colored LBW. It’s basically the same concept as Clarke’s ‘Woodstock’ and ‘Celtic’ whistles, the companies sell most of their whistles as tourist-y finds, so the same whistle will appear in 45,986 different colors and names.
When I was in Dublin, I went into one tacky souvenir shop to get a couple of joke tacky souvenirs, and saw that they had a LARGE selection of Walton’s whistles, for about 4.50 euro each. I had an LBW that I gave away and regretted losing, so I thought, well, I’ll get a RED one, which I assumed would be the same as the LBW, only red.
WRONG! The whistle body is not the delightful, light aluminum of the LBW, but some other clunky metal–not like the brass Walton’s either, but something of in-between thickness & weight. I don’t really like the whistle. The mouthpiece looks the same as the LBW, but the different metal body really changes the playability. It’s in tune and everything but I was disappointed.
I never had a chance to take it back and exchange it for a REAL LBW, and now it sits at home. Maybe someday I will like it. The color is nice.
OK, I went home and re-tried to learn to like this whistle but I can’t. I guess I am used to the Walton’s wide bore, mellow whistle. I won’t learn to like this whistle, I can just tell we aren’t going to get along and I want to set us both free.
So, anyone have a whistle that is technically OK but they don’t like that they want to trade for my 4.50 euro Dublin-bought brand-new Walton’s Rainbow whistle in red? PM me if interested. I’d love a LBW!
I like Waltons’ (I have a soprano C that sounds great to me). I think that good players, especially ones who are familiar with lower end whistles, can make cheapies like Waltons’ sound great. I don’t see how a Clarke is upgrading, though, as Clarkes cost the same or slightly more than Waltons’, and I’m pretty sure they’re also mass-produced.
I’ve only been playing for about a year. I’ve been playing on a Walton D, so I don’t know any different, but it seems a bit squeaky to me - granted, some of those early squeaks were manifestations of sheer inexperience, but as I’ve improved my breath control, I am still flabbergasted, at times, by a sudden squeak where there seems there should not be one.
I’m saving up to buy a Parkhurst (after looking at my budget and reading several reviews of whistles) and am really hoping that the $70-ish that I’ll be spending might buy a touch less squeakiness.
. . . and, of course, I’m continually trying to improve that breath control!
I’ve only been playing for about a year. I’ve been playing on a Walton D, so I don’t know any different, but it seems a bit squeaky to me - granted, some of those early squeaks were manifestations of sheer inexperience, but as I’ve improved my breath control, I am still flabbergasted, at times, by a sudden squeak where there seems there should not be one.
I’m saving up to buy a Parkhurst (after looking at my budget and reading several reviews of whistles) and am really hoping that the $70-ish that I’ll be spending might buy a touch less squeakiness.
If all you’ve ever played is a Walton’s, I’d recommend using the -ish dollars to buy an assortment of cheaper whistles, before you buy a single one that costs more. That way, you know what you like and what you don’t like, etc. www.thewhistleshop.com * is a great place to start.
*not connected to the whistle shop in any way, except as a very satisified customer
