Thinking of getting a low D. Reading some of the experiences of the members. Still interested what most start with?
My first and only low D is the Kerry Songbird,I’m very pleased with it,it has a very haunting sound and is easy to play.
i was very lucky. my honey bought me a copeland 2 years ago- 3 piece brass. i can’t imagine wanting another low D.
in terms of affordability you will hear howard.
meir
My first low D was a Dixon - very easy to play, but very soft.
My second was a Howard - required me to master piper’s grip to play it, but has (to me) a much more rewarding sound. The Howard’s the low D that I play most of the time.
I have tried both the NR Chieftain and Overton Low Ds, and think that they are both wonderful whistles, but they cost quite a bit more than the Howard too.
When I last tried the Susato Low D, I still hadn’t mastered piper’s grip, and I found it nearly unplayable, so I can’t give you a fair evaluation. It’s another low-cost option, though.
If I were in your shoes, I’d probably get either a Howard or Kerry Songbird, and wait until I was quite comfortable with it before considering adding a second.
I know there was a similar question recently, but cannot locate the thread… my first (and still only) low D is a Howard I purchased from a C&Fer right here. It is a great whistle, good sound, good quality, good price, and a not-too-broad finger spread. I highly recommend it.
Well, I entered the world of Whistledom on a Susato Low D. Took about a month before I could play the think without squeaking.
It sounds fairly nice to me, though some people don’t like it. It’s got a little differnt tone than the others. They say it’s recorder-like, though I’ve never played a recorder of this size, and all recorders that big have a conical bore, so I dunno. I do know that the the blade is curved, as where most whistles seem to have a strait blade. I would assume that is probably the main difference… and the fact that it’s plastic, of course.
It certianly doesn’t sound bad by any stretch, unless, of course, you suck at playing it. (Which generally seems to be the biggest problem with tone on any whistle, or pretty much any instrument).
I started with an Overton Low D. I now have most keys from Bass A to Low D.
I started with a Dixon last december and since last May I own a Chieftain( NR ).
In between I had an Alba, but sold it right away, although it had a beautiful sound. I had difficulties playing the upper register.
I like the Chieftain best.
Well I have the philosophy that a really good instrument
is wasted on a beginner - even when the beginner is ME.
When I start a new instrument, I am not at all sure if I
will keep with it for long. I therefore try to get a second-hand
or realtively inexpensive instrument to begin with.
I looked around at what was availabe in Low D whistles and
came to the conclusion that a PVC whistle was adequate to
make a start on.
I bought my one from Daniel Bingamon of Jubilee Whistles.
He makes a beginners Low D in white PVC that sounds good
and is very easy to play. It is also very reasonably priced.
Walt Sweets new low Ds are, well sweet! I played one a few months ago and then played several quite a bit yesterday at the Northeast C&F gathering. It has a nice solid woody sound and feel. I’m comfortable with piper’s grip, but my wife isn’t . She loved the offset D and G holes.
I have a Copeland, but I’m seriously considering selling it to buy one of these.
My first was a Kerry…the nontunable version, and it was good enough to give me a hankering for the instrument…then I got the hankering to find the ‘right’ low D. I’ve been through the Kerry, a Cook, a Burke and then low and D-hold, the Sweetheart.
Search has ended, the perfect D for me is the Sweetheart.
Kerry has been returned to its rightful owner. . .Cook and Burke are looking for new and appreciative owners. Cook needs someone with bigger fingers than mine, and the Burke needs someone with just a wee bit more lung capacity.
I’m glad that is YOUR philosophy. I am glad I started with a better instrument. I have read many times about people that were turned off to a particular thing (music playing or otherwise) due to trying it out on a lesser item only later to realize that it was not them but the item they chose that was inadequate.
Good quality instruments can be had for reasonalbe prices, even new. My Overton low D was $90 total.
The Kerry I had sounded a lot like my Overton but did not have the back pressure I seemed to like. The Howard I had sounded a lot like the Copeland I had but again, both of those were pretty loose in the air requirment department. There were quite a few others that we tried but Overton and Bleazey did it for us.
http://www.kisstherebel.com/gallery/album02/Wooden_Whistles_Flute
First low D, and still like it very much: Dixon.
takes very little air, is more on the quite side, fingering very easy, instrument very light-weight, soft sound.
Thanks for the info guys, I took an offer from one of the members to a loan to try one. This is a fantastic forum with awesome information from members. Looking forward to trying it soon.
yes, we are the epitome of coolness here, dude.
We’ve got to stay loose, you know? Let it cool. Let the coolness get into our vertebrae.
Had the Chieftain Low D for two weeks which on loan from a generous C&F member, have played with it and getting the low d a little more consistent. Fingering was a shocker untill I revisited Phil Hardy’s site. I like it so far.
my first low d was an overton…and though I have it for a few months now I am learning to play it, but getting there, has to do with hand spread esp right hand…
just no too fast tunes yet, but LOVING it.
also tried a howard low d I got in a trade, but have sold it last week to a friend who had an eye on it …
two very different beasties but to me, the overton has it…
berti
As i have said in other threads my first and at the moment only Low D is a Howard, it has a beutiful tone requires little breath and the second octave is easy to reach,the finger stretch is not to bad and is easy to get to grips with so long as you do’nt have very small hands. Many people say if you want something cheap and affordable look at the Howards, BUT do not take this as meaning you are getting a cheap whistle its exactly the opposite, you are getting a first class instrument that is equally as good as the Chieftans and Overtons the only difference being that Brian sells them to cheap.
I started with one of the Jubilee Practice Low D’s to get a feel for low whistles; then bought an Alba and later an Overton. Depending on the song, I still play both the Alba & Overton in our band; very happy with both of them.
With all the good things I’ve heard about the Sweet Low D, I’d like to try one someday, too.
First low D was a Shaw. Well made ,beautiful lower octave , very challenging to play in the upper octave due to very high breath requirements. I don’t recommend it as a first.