I am very close to purchasing a Low D Whistle. I’ve done my share of research but have never come across any opinions on whether or not it’s worth it to put the extra cash into a tuneable whistle. Is there anyone who plays a low whistle that feels strongly about one or the other?
I like tunable because I play whistle with my wife. We have tried to balance the tunable vs nontunable so we can play our duets. I also play whistle while she plays piano so tunable helps here too.
If you play only solo than tunable is not so critical. It would be more important for the whistle to be in tune with itself and have a “c-nat” fingering that you are comfortable with.
I guess it’s just a personal preference really. But 99.9% whistle makers try their best to make their whistles to make their whistles already in tune. then I geuss it depends on what kind of music your playing, and if your playing solo, in a group, or with a different instrument.
Your title line says ‘keyed or not keyed’. but you’re talking tunable vs not tunable.
Personal opinion: yes, tunable – not keyed.
Tunable is very handy when you’re playing against people who CAN’T tune like concertinas or other whistles that aren’t tunable.
Keys tend to get in the way, and especially on a low D you can half-hole or bend a note with very little effort compared to using keys. I’m not aware of anyone putting keys on low D whistles anyway.
I play at home a lot to MP3s and high-end non-tunables match the music very nicely to me.
I do play tunables because I like to twist them slightly to match my fingers better.
If you ever want to play with other people, tunable is a must. It’s as simple as that. You can say what you want about the makers trying to make the whistle in tune with A=440 Hz, but the odds are very good that is an ideal which as often as not the people you’re playing with will not meet. And if you’re not playing in tune with the musicians, then you’re not in tune. Period.
Example: I played a 45 minute long outdoors dance with a couple of professional fiddlers last month. It was very hot, which made their fiddles go well out of tune. No prob – it’s easy to adjust my whistle, because it’s tunable. If it hadn’t been, they would have been forced to retune eight strings on the fly – not easy. And if they had played accordion, or concertina, or probably even pipes, we’d have been completely hosed.
Daniel Bingamon makes keyed low whistles. And recently, Susato has created keys for their low whistles. Long finger stretch those Susatos…yep! 
I agree here. 
However, keys on a low whistle might help some one that can’t reach the holes.
Oops, I was at work when I started this thread and a co-worker was asking why I had so many whistles so I was explaining that they were made in different keys and accidentally typed “Keyed…” instead of “Tuneable VS. Non-tuneable.” Sorry about the confusion, thanks for all of the comments and input.
It really is if you are going to play with others or not. If you are just going to be playing by yourself there is really no reason to spend the extra cash.
[quote=“straycat82”]Oops, I was at work when I started this thread and a co-worker was asking why I had so many whistles so I was explaining that they were made in different keys and accidentally typed “Keyed…” instead of "Tuneable VS. Non-tuneable."quote]
I do that all the time if I’m writing or typing
One thing to think about:
you might one day sell that whistle; you might simply not want to whistle anymore (the gods forbid!) or you may well wish to upgrade to a better one later.
Resale value and even chances to sell it are MUCH higher on a tunable whistle than a nontunable one.
Go for the tuneable if you can swing it. You never know who you’re going to be playing with and you should have that flexibility if you can…
Most of my whistles – to my chagrin – are not tuneable. I’d go for tuneable. I just got back from Louisiana (before hurricane Rita) and was in a situation where none of my whistles sufficed, save for the tuneable low d I had. I’ll pay the extra from here on out.
Hear hear.
Straycat82 please note the majority opinion here capped with this perfect example by colomon.
For me and the whistles I make, it’s an issue of tuning in that in that the hole size and distribution are correct for one position of the head. Also using a relatively thick-walled plastic tubing and a tweaked generation head pushed fully down, the extra volume created in moving the head causes significant flatness in the second octave.
If the tuning mechanism is sleeve fitting thin-walled metal tubing this effect should be negligible.
John S
Well, thanks everyone for your input. It seems silly to me now that anyone serious about playing whistle (with others) would not get a tuneable. I guess if the money is not an obstacle it is definitely worth the extra investment for a more versitile instrument. I’m pretty sure that I’m gonna go with a tuneable Chieftain low D. I’ve compared it to several others via sound clips and I like the way it sounds. The Kerry I was looking at is currently unavailable so that made one decision a little easier. I think the Chieftain is the best thing for me to get that is available and within my price range. I’m still looking forward to trying one out before my purchase though (thanks StewySmoot).