Does anyone have a Cillian O’Briain Low D they want to part with, preferably non-tuneable? I live in the UK. Many thanks.
Have you actuallly tried one Mike? I wouldn’t recommend one as i had one myself. It was well in tune and all, but you could barely breathe the lowest three notes and had to use compressed air to reach the top three notes in 2:nd octave.
You shold be able to find better alternatives cheaper / same price. Just saying
Thanks for your thoughts. Good of you to voice them.
If i were you, i’d nag Löfgren/yellowwhistler to make me one 
Mike - Cillian’s low D business was taken over by Maurice Reviol in New Zealand - I have one of his (actually it’s the one reviewed on the Piper’s Grip website) and it’s the best sounding (to me) low D I’ve ever played.
Lofgren whistles sound interesting!! But I don’t think he’s making them right now.
As for the Reviol, I’ve not found any sound samples to hear what it’s like. Do you know of any? Does it have anything of the “cosmic drainpipe” sound that the O’Briain has? But I find the review slightly worrying, that the bottom notes break easily (as Mr Blackwood suggests of the O’Briain too) and that the whistle takes a lot of air.
Mike - according to a C & F post some time ago, the breath requirement was addressed - mine requires a lot of air (not near as much as some Chieftains) but I’ve adapted. Regarding the lower notes breaking, I’ve learned that the whistle slowly accumulates moisture and the first sign is the lower D disappearing. But when the whistle is clear, the low D is strong and resonant. I’m a wet blower so I frequently have to deal with this, but I’m so impressed with the tone that I’m willing to put up with this foible.
Yes, Reviols are the more recent evolution of the O’Briains, and most (O’B’s) were made by Maurice Reviol anyway, I believe. Though most of Maurice’s newest whistles had a more narrowed windway (in height), which made them a bit easier to play than the O’Briains-less air required.
I’ve had both, and both are nice. Though even my later tunable Reviol, with a narrower windway, was my choice for an improvement over the O’Briain Low D, especially since it delivered the same qualities of tone, but had the ablilty to be tunable, which there is no denying is an advantage in most situations.
Here’s an earlier soundclip of a jig on an O’Briain on the Clips and Snips archive:
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/Audio/04-05/willywalshsjigMicheleB.mp3
Well played to my ears, but it seems a bit of an accomplishment (and a good amoung of effort for a fast tune) on a whistle that took a lot of air to play. I had no problems with slow tunes, but playing fast on an O’Briain isn’t just like that, unless you’re very good, and have your breathing down pat.
Don’t remember if there are any soundclips of the Reviols, but probably sound very similar in character. Personally I’d like to hear more of the slower version of tunes when played on low whistles, which they seem to excel at. You can hear the tone better throughout the range as well.
Pancelticpiper has a Reviol clip on youtube, that I just remembered. Should be easy to find too.
Thanks for your comments.
I’m interested to know more about the Reviols. Does the tone have any similarities to the Overton/Goldie “cosmic drainpipe” sound. And from what I have read, the second octave, particularly the higher part, is much more accessible and musical than for a lot of low Ds. Is that true? The only thing is if air requirements are high, are you blowing your guts out reaching to third octave D and E? I can reach them on a soft-blowing Goldie but air requirements are much lower. Any more thoughts on it would be appreciated from you two who own one.
Sure, there are similarities in tone between the Reviol and Overton, but they don’t sound the same. Only your ears can say what they sound like to you-I’ve had a few Overtons, and none sounded like a drain pipe to me, nor cosmic even! ; )
If you have a whistle that has a strong low D and E, then likely it will be harder to access the upper end of the 2nd octave on it. Personally I want the strong low end, and I don’t play my low D’s into the 3rd-I just don’t want to hear those high shrill notes on a low D, or any whistle for that matter.
The Reviol I had, had a lovely tone in the 2nd octave though, and I wasn’t blowing my guts out to reach the top of the 2nd, but it was a bit loud there, as with most of them. Technique or breath control also comes into play-sometimes you need to back off a bit on the pressure, not blow as hard as you can.
The only way to really know if one will suit you in the end, is to play one yourself and see.
Thanks for your thoughts. How was the bottom end on the Reviol if the second octave was accessible and had a lovely tone?
It had a good strong low D, and maybe a slightly less strong E, but not by much. When I bought mine new from Maurice, I asked him to pick one with a strong low end from the lot he had on hand. Just wish I hadn’t needed the cash at the time I sold it. But oh well…!
Sounds good! Thanks.