Try this one: http://twjcalc.sourceforge.net/2.10/TWJCalc2.10.html
Thanks for the link DrPhill.
Hans, I think it’s a good theory but if you ever get around to making a head with a straight windway I’d love to hear what it sounds like.
This is by no means precise measurement, but by holding the end of the tube up to other low whistles, I can say that the Reviol appears to have the same bore size as the Burke, MK, and Lambe low D’s. This doesn’t take into account wall thickness, which might vary a tiny bit between some of them. I just did a quick look, but the tubes all seemed to me to match up perfectly when I put them end to end, at least concerning outer diameter of the bore.
Again, just eyeballing this and holding them next to each other to visually compare, but- The holes on the Reviol are closer together than the Burke for both top and bottom hand. The holes on the Reviol are farther apart than the Lambe throughout. The holes appear to be the same distance as the holes on the MK, just eyeballing the location of the center of the holes on each. However, on the Reviol the top hand holes are larger than any of these three whistles I’ve compared it with here. This is what gave me issues at first. I was at a point where I could play any low D comfortably without air leaks or anything of that sort, or so I thought. Then I got a Reviol, and it was hard for me to seal the top hand holes at first, especially with my extremely narrow fingers, and I got very discouraged. It just takes time. Now I have no issues whatsoever with playing the Reviol, and seal properly 100% of the time. It just takes a tad to get used to the size of the top hand holes. Practice will fix that issue, if that’s what you are having.
As some of my posts on here might indicate, I am a person who seems to have more clogging issues than most people do. The Reviol D is one of the few whistles that has never clogged on me, even after very prolonged playing, and mine is a good number of years old, and passed through many hands before arriving to me. Perhaps it was just something irregular with that one Reviol that you played? Needed cleaned maybe? The very wide windway makes it pretty hard for moisture obstruction to occur. Luckily for you, both things you disliked about it can be remedied, the first with practice, and the second perhaps won’t be present on other Reviols for you, and if it is, there are loads of remedies for that. Very worst case scenario, you can Palmolive it.
Really though, if I had your requirements, I’d pick the Lambe, personally. Both do well up there, but I like how the Lambe plays better in the really high notes. I switched over to mostly playing flute these days, but on the occasion when I pick up a low whistle, I play the Lambe a bit more than I play the Reviol lately, to be honest. I like them about equally, depending on what I’m doing.
It’s crazy how preferences can change like that. I think it’s important to just focus hard on the playing, and learn how to do what you want to do on any whistle. After that, you might not even still be searching for that perfect low whistle, because you’ll find that you can do what you want to do on whistles you are already familiar with. The instrument can only do so much. Luckily there are several whistles out there that I am sure can play up to the 3rd E, perhaps the solution is just to get used to giving the whistle what it requires to play up there, and is simply a matter of getting used to it.
Maybe the Walt Sweet Onyx? The conical bore will help to control the volume differences and the amount of breath pressure needed. I’ve one downstairs, and will give it a try tomorrow, but it is past midnight here now and I’m winding down….
Besides we set the inside temperature down to 63F at night and it is headed for -10 F so I don’t want to freeze!
Thanks for the thoughts on the Reviol & Lambe, Sirchronique. Very helpful. My problem with the Lambe would be, as ecohawk says, it has a very delicate bell note, which is something you don’t mention. I think I would prefer the complexity of the Reviol tone to the purer sound of the Lambe. But I haven’t had chance to try a modern Lambe.
It’s crazy how preferences can change like that. I think it’s important to just focus hard on the playing, and learn how to do what you want to do on any whistle. After that, you might not even still be searching for that perfect low whistle, because you’ll find that you can do what you want to do on whistles you are already familiar with. The instrument can only do so much. Luckily there are several whistles out there that I am sure can play up to the 3rd E, perhaps the solution is just to get used to giving the whistle what it requires to play up there, and is simply a matter of getting used to it.
My preferences haven’t changes in the two years I’ve been playing. I’ve always wanted to access cleanly and in a relaxed manner the upper second octave and far more than a powerful bell note, while at the same preferring the Overton/Goldie sound over any other. I can reach third D & E on my Goldie by really blasting but the whistle will not produce those notes without a lot of pressure and the sound is accordingly not relaxed. The whistle is not made to do that. Much of it IS down to the design of the whistle. Add to that I’m not young like you (as I recall) but coming up to 59, unfit and with a lung condition that hasn’t been diagnosed yet so there is neither capacity, nor the ability to create a lot of pressure. Believe me I’ve been trying for two years to comfortably get those top notes. My main influence is still Davy Spillane whose tweaked Overton has virtually no backpressure. It is almost free blowing, I understand. So he is able to get those high notes of his, relaxed high notes I might add, without a lot of pressure . . . .though sustaining them is down to the massive lung capacity I think he must have judging by his build. So I don’t think it is quite as simple as getting used to it. I’m still hoping Colin Goldie will sometime build me a more radical Low D that leans towards the second octave.
Thanks for the suggestion of the Onyx. I’ve thought about that but don’t like the pure tone. I do lean towards the complex and the cosmic drainpipe sounds.
…a few thoughts about my experiences with low Ds
I’ve been playing a Goldie low D for best part of 4 years now and its been
my main low whistle for that time,
It’s a medium blower windway height 0.75mm or there abouts I’ve not got my
feeler gauges with me now but will correct if need be.
Love it to bits but always had a tendency to play flat in the top 2nd octave,
blowing it just enough to sound the notes.
It’s the usual thing in not wanting to blast out the top notes in a smallish session
as there is a noticeable difference in the volume between octaves.
About 9 months ago I picked up a second hand MK Kelpie and started playing
this with our Morris band (I previously play high D with the band) because of the
better volume, its easier to play and better balance between octave than the Goldie.
It was a bit of a revelation for me finding a whistle that played so well for the music
I’m now playing.
Meanwhile I’ve since got an MK Pro which is even better IMHO. Great 2nd octave but loud.
So to the point that may help Mikethebook plus a short story.
After the MK Kelpie I picked up a 2004 NR Chieftain from ebay,for £40 it was worth a try.
When it arrived it was a bit of a mess but I stuck it on the lathe to clean up all the scratches
and took a file to the mouth piece to get rid of a few dints, rounding it off slightly like the one in
Wanderers review, it didn’t shorten the wind way at all, it’s now like new.
The wind way height is 1.0mm and takes no more breath than the MKs.
I kept this whistle in the van to play at work if I had time (not very often 
)
then got to our session some weeks ago and forgot to put my whistle case in and remembered
the NR on the top shelf.
I now play the NR at sessions, it’s that happy mix of not too much volume, I won’t play the MK
in a small session because of that, and an easy to play top octave that doesn’t blast out.
Chieftains aren’t every ones cup of tea for one reason or another but once warmed up, it’s non-tuneable
it plays in tune and I can blend in with the rest of the session, which is what I like.
Just as an extra bit, the MK Pro is the nicest sounding Low D I’ve come across and everyone who has
commented on it has said just that.
My 2pence worth.
Thanks narrowdog. If your Goldie is a medium blower its windway will be about 0.90mm, a hard blower would be about 0.8mm. It’s no wonder the MK was easier to play in the second octave for you. I’ve never played one but have a friend who has and my understanding is that it would be no better than my soft blowing Goldie for playing in the upper second octave, B and above. I’ve thought about trying an MK but, to be honest, I don’t like the tone . . . not nearly as much as the Goldie’s tone.
Again I’ve never played a Chieftain NR but from the reports I’ve read it wouldn’t be able to play second octave B to third octave E in a relaxed manner. It’s not a nice easy second octave I’m after but a nice easy UPPER second octave,
Update on the Chieftain NR.
Wind way height 1.2mm using feeler gauges. 13.5mm wide.
I find it plays easily b, Cs and d’'.
I’ll check the others tonight.
EDIT…
Goldie wind way measurements
0.75mm x 15mm
The higher notes are much cleaner than the NR
more stable, but are much louder than the first octave.
A movement of the plug of a half millimeter forward or back can have a similar result. It depends some on the head design and the plug geometry.
Going back to what you said here, Feadoggie, I’ve never understood how a whistle head is put together and where the plug or block sits in relation to the window and the outside of the head. But are you saying here that an existing low whistle e.g. a Goldie/Overton could be modified by moving the plug slightly thereby making the upper second octave easier to get and the first octave slightly weaker?
I’ve a feeling that this is what Davy Spillane must have done to his Overton in a more extreme way to reduce the backpressure to virtually nothing and make the upper octave much more accessible.
Mike, there are a lot of things that need to line up in the head to make a whistle play as well as the maker wants it to play. The position, fit and finish of the plug is a key one. Makers have various strategies for the plug. I can really only speak from my own experience. Other makers may have other observations hopefully they will share them with us.
There are lots of ways to make a whistle head. But without going into all that lets assume a tried and true head format with a proven overall whistle design including appropriate bore, hole sizing/finish, window dimension and windway height/length. So you would think or expect that a plug should line up flush with the edge of the windway where it exits into the voicing window. Right? Well, if you make all the parts right and all the inside edges are well finished that should work. It’s a good starting point. But for those of us making things by hand it may not actually be the best spot to leave the plug in the end. The point of the exercise is to get the whistle playing the best at both the bottom end and top end as you can. Overtime you observe little things that effect the playing characteristics of the whistle. So if you move the plug forward you may notice that the high notes become easier and the low notes become a bit weaker. Move it back a bit and the high notes take more effort and the low notes become more stable. And we are not talking about moving things much at all - little bits of millimeters.
Now keep in mind that this is a simplistic description of things. A lot more goes on when you fit the parts together like undercutting the blade, easing the edges on the plug and widway and on and on. Sometimes you end up chucking the plug out and starting all over - or abandoning the whole head, heaven forbid. Metal whistles might have the parts finessed into alignment using torches and hammers (perhaps I exaggerate) to get the best results. But it’s all about getting things to the best situation that the maker can get them by playing the whistle and observing the results, making adjustments, re-testing and knowing when to stop and declare victory. And remember that each whistle makers has their own playing skills and preferences. That contributes to what we see in the variety of voicing from various makers.
Suffice to say that plug position effects the balance of the high and low end. It’s not the only thing that effects it but it is one variable that does effect it. It is a dance of many variables in the end.
Not sure what Davy has done to his Overton but I suspect it has a lot to do with the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades he has spent with the whistle (and pipes).
Feadoggie
Well, this might be a stretch but I’ll put it out there anyway.
Last weekend, after much consideration (and a nip of Jameson’s), I took out two well dressed and finely toothed files, clamped the head of my Lambe in the rubber cushioned jaws of my bench vise and began opening the window. Keeping the angle of the blade edge the same as original, I took the coarsest of my two files and made five strokes across the face of the blade which removed about .3mm of metal. Then I took the finest file and carefully deburred and slightly blunted the blade edge. One stroke across the bottom at a shallow angle and two perfectly vertical strokes. Then I blew out the filing residue, warmed the head and played a couple of scales. Not much change anywhere else but an ever so slight improvement in the bell note.
I gulped, took another sip of nerve tonic, and repeated the process again, with the same result. Not much change elsewhere but a little more bell note. Then I repeated it two more times, by now having widened (front to back) slightly more than one mm of material from the original edge. The change was dramatic. Though I had to push just a bit now to get into that third octave (where I’ve never actually played a tune) but the bottom two notes were becoming impressive. Now I’m not a shy guy so I said let’s see where this goes. I did this two more times. Yeah, I know… probably a stupid idea and I could easily have totalled my whistle since the window is now a full 2mm bigger than before.
But au contraire mon frere! The Lambe was transformed! No, It’s not a Goldie at the bottom, but the bell note doesn’t need to be babied anymore and the third D is still sweet and easy to reach should I ever need it. So it’s now very much like the Reviol, with a slightly stronger low D and E, though not as loud and with holes that are at least 15% smaller. This last item is not an issue for me but may be more suitable for Mike the OP.
This operation is not for the faint-hearted but if you can find a deal on a Lambe and you’ve got steady hands and nerves…your dreams might be realized.
ecohawk
I just got a nice deal on an Impempe low D 
, but there is no way I would go near it with a file (being ham fisted).
David
Thanks Feadoggie for some interesting stuff on the block. It’s really quite an art. Ecohawk, my hat off to you. No way would I go near a beloved whistle with a file. My efforts at tweaking will be forever limited to filling the hole under the windway in a cheap whistle with blue-tack. Like BigDavy I’m ham-fisted.
Just received the gorgeous CD The Lights of Ranzanico by Diarmaid Moynihan for Christmas and discovered Diarmaid plays Kerry Pros. Could anyone with experience of both Goldie and Kerry Pro Low Ds and Fs tell me how the Kerry Pros would rate for backpressure against the Goldies? Would they be softer than Colin soft blowers or what exactly? And what are they like for reaching the upper second octave in a relaxed manner.
Sadly, Christmas Eve my doctor called me in to tell me that recent X-rays suggest I have some kind of lung disease to be identified which is already affecting and will possibly increasingly affect my breathing!!! So my search for the right whistle is all the more important to me . . . though the Reviol seems like a good possibility. But I do like the cosmic drainpipe sound.
Happy Christmas Everyone.
Mike - as you’re experiencing lung issues, you may more easily find a whistle that suits your needs in the key of (low) F rather than low D. Hoping you’re issue is temporary and easily resolved - best of holidays - Patrick.
Patrick,
Thank you. That’s indeed part of the reason for wanting a Low F though I like what I hear of them anyway. But I recently tried a soft blowing Low F that was harder to play high up than its soft blowing Low D counterpart which has left me confused. I will talk to the maker soon. Meantime I would still like to know how the Kerry Pros play as compared to the Goldie soft blowers.
I have a low d I made some time ago. It is very much along the lines you require. It will be free to you, if you are interested.
John Eyer.
My grateful thanks to John Eyer for gifting me with an aluminium Low D (somewhat reminiscent of an Ian Lambe) that has an easy to access upper second octave and very low air requirements. It’s a lovely whistle. Thank you, John.
Disclaimer - I don’t spend much time on the low D. But, when I do it is generally the Burke Viper, made in October 2004; I find it responsive full toned in the lower and smooth in the upper - nice balance. As for reach, even I can play some jigs and reels on it wo trouble. I also have Copeland, O’Riordan Traveler (a 3-piece as is the Viper), and a weird multicolored nontunable Chieftain that I got years ago at Andy’s Front Hall. I like to play the Viper from among that group; breath requirements also not bad.
Yes, as Feadoggie suggested, the earlier Burke Low Ds do sound to have more of the balance I was after. I’m often above second octave G and quite regularly up at second octave B & C. John’s whistle goes happily up to third E without great effort. I haven’t as yet tried it beyond.