As of now, Chris Abell doesn’t make low Ds. He’s recently added to his range so you would need to check from time to time. If you want wood, though, you couldn’t go past Grinter or (from reliable reports) le Coant. Grinters have as much personality as Overtons and Copelands and can be played very fast.
I have low whistles by all of the people you mention and, in the case of Copeland and Overton, I have several. I don’t have a Howard or Burke low D but, since I have an Overton and a Copeland, both wonderful whistles, I don’t feel the need for more, although I do own several others. You might want to consider Reyburn BTW which have a nice complex sound although not, to my taste, nearly as nice as Copeland and Overton.
My favourite is the Copeland but really the Overton is wonderful. For consistency, Overton seems to win out, but if you get a great Copeland you get a whistle you would never want to part with.
My first whistle EVER was the low D Susato which as discribed above was a bit of a challenge to learn, but with practice the squeaks stopped…
Regarding the Howard & Overton, my experiance is similar to the others here in that the Overton is a great whistle but needs a good bit of warm up time and has higher back pressure.
If I only have a few minuites to practice, or don’t want to work to hard, I usually pick up the Howard as it’s an easy blower, with the plastic head has quick warm up time, and the sound is great.
PS: I liked your idea of buying all your options, can’t go wrong then…
Good luck.
I was wondering why you did not list a Phil Hardy Chieftain Low D. I Wouldn’t give up any of my Chieftains. If you are looking for quality from not only a maker, but a hell of a player…then look no where else…buy a Chieftain!
