Oh by the way, this is what Dale said.
ALBA LOW D COMMENT
Alba sent me a newly designed Low D. I have more good news for you. It’s outstanding and a major upgrade from the previous Alba model. To refresh your memory:
Alba Whistles are handmade in Scotland at Alba Aerophonics, a division of Lockheed Martin. (Just kidding.) They are made from brushed aluminum and come in a full range of keys. They feature a synthetic fipple plug made from water resistant Tufnol, and a mouthpiece with a curved windway to reduce moisture problems. In addition the decorative rings engraved around the shaft and the intricate Alba logo are a distinctive feature. The Alba whistles are arguably the most visually attractive metal whistles on the market.
The whistles are made in a range of keys from a soprano G down to the Bb low whistle. The Albas have a distinctive, seductive sound, which, in a previous review, I referred to as “…like Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to John F Kennedy.” (Which probably has prompted a couple of buyers to return them because they don’t think they sound like Marilyn Monroe, but more like Jayne Mansfield. Whistle players are an odd bunch, really, and are discriminating in eccentric ways.)
Now, I have played nearly 30 low D whistles by almost as many makers. I own 25 or so. (Or, rather, I should say, they are in the heavily guarded 3Fish Productions storage facility outside of Anchorage.) It is my opinion that it is harder to make a good low whistle than a good high one. This is a great one. The tone is dangerously close to the famed “cosmic drainpipe” Overton sound. The low end booms. The high end is clear and fluent. It’s made very, very well and is clog-resistant. It is reasonably light weight. The air requirements are moderate. Tuning is precise.
SO, I say:
Happy Birthday
…to you.
Happy BIRTHday
…to…you.
Happy BIRTHDAY
…Mr. …President…
Happy Birthday
to you!
(giggle)
OL:
And this is what you said.
Your whistles still suck.
I should think that you, knowing I’d already gotten one Alba that was terribly out of tune and not so well made, would go to the trouble of sending me the best example of your work…and perhaps you did, which is even more frigthening: The whistle you sent has fingerholes that are not drilled strait down the tube - they wander slightly from one side to the other. Also, the end of the mouthpiece is cut off at an angle! Now there’s something I haven’t seen before.
I must admit that you’ve reduced the wind requirements on your Low D, to the point where it’s playable, if not quite thrifty, and that’s a step in the right direction.
Getting back to the tone holes: The sizes are very good - on the small side, however the finishing of the holes is rather rough and the tone hole spacing you’ve chosen for the right hand is horribly uncomfortable - the 4 and 5 holes are too close together, while the 5 and 6 are MUCH too far apart. Plus the stretch is long… The whistle is playable, but it’s one of the least comfortable Low D’s I’ve ever played - This is the sort of whistle, just based on finger spacing alone, that will make first time players belive that the Low D is not doable for them. Honestly, I can’t imagine many people finding the right hand configuration comfortable. It would also be nice if the tone holes were actually round, which they are not.
That brings us to sound and playability. The whistle plays fine. The bell note isn’t too jumpy, it’s good and solid, and the whistle plays pretty easily all the way through the top of the second octave. The down side is that while the breath requirements are moderate in the first octave, the whistle lacks any significant back presssure, so one needs to blow a good bit more air (quantity) through the mouthpiece to play in the second octave, meaning you’ll be gasping during passages in the second octave.
The Alba Low D is a VERY breathy sounding whistle - there’s a constant “Whoooshing” sound as you play all the notes, and this increases as you go up the scale. Dale described the tone as “Smokey” I believe, I’d call it cloudy and unfocused sounding at best - good for someone who wants a really breathy whistle primarily for slow tunes, not a good choice for someone who wants to play uptempo jigs, reels, and the like. The unfocused and overly breathy sound of this whistle leads to ornaments that just don’t “Pop”, there’s little crispness or snap to cuts and taps, so consequently the notes mostly bleed and blur together at speed, leading to a rather mushy, undefined, and uninspiring rendition of what ever you’re trying to play. (I’ll leave this space open for you to insult my playing now as I’m sure that’s what you’ll want to blame this on Wizzy___________________)
By the way, the tuning on the whistle is okay: By that I mean it can certainly be played in tune, but one needs to do a bit of adjusting breath pressure from one not to the next in some cases, as the tuning is not precise. The C# in particular is noticeably flat and requires a concious effort to put up to pitch. The notes, in general, are more suseptible to being under or overblown out of tune, than on many other whistles - not a fatal flaw, just one more thing that keeps this whistle from ranking with the best.
So, overall, I’d say the Alba Low D ranks pretty far down the list of Low D’s on the market. If the finger hole spacing were different, it might make a nice alternative to the Dixon Low D for beginners who can’t afford a top quality instrument, but the reach on the Alba is just too long and unevenly spaced for the vast majority of beginners, and uncomfortable for almost anyone I’d imagine. In the end, I think this whistle is best suited for large handed players, who like an extremely breathy sound, to play slow tunes on, and who don’t require an instrument that’s particularly well made.
Loren.
Kinder makes you wonder, at whats what don’t it!
Wizet
[ This Message was edited by: wizzy on 2002-12-27 15:51 ]
