I have one, basically I dont like it and wouldn't get another or recomend them. I know its a hard thing to say but thats my honest Opinion.
Ive had a couple of Colins, a low G and a low D and they are one of the best but personally I prefer the Kerry low D, I dont really like the 'breathy' sound from these Aly whistles and prefer Something a bit harder..
Ahh , I play the whistle a bit , have done on and off[ mostly off] for 25 yrs, I have a few whistles. I have one of these as it happens , Ive had a kerry and a couple of Overtons over the years. The fact that I rarely pick it up cos Im too busy with my other instruments is neither here nore there. At least I am relating first hand experience. Im not much of a whistler Im the first to admit, but I can play in 10/8 and 7/8 as well as a few jigs and reels.
I haven't tried one of those but I've owned a number of Low D's over the years: Overton, Shaw, Susato, Copeland, Howard, Kerry, Burke, Reviol, and MK and I've had a blow on several others.
The Burke "Pro Viper" is very special and in its own class as it performs most like a flute of any I've tried and has a powerfull booming Bottom D that can really be pushed.
The MK doesn't have the Burke's amazing bottom D but does several little things better than the Burke: more air-efficient, more interesting tone, clearer ornaments.
I guess I'm just not an Overton guy. I've played several Overton Low D's over the years, starting with an early one around 1980, up to a new Colin Goldie recently, and several in between those years. There's nothing like the tone of the Overton and many top players consider them the best Low D's ever made.
For me they clog up with "moisture" after around one minute of playing and become virtually unplayable. I would need to learn the technique of inhaling through the windway like many Overton players do.
All that said, the recent Colin Goldie (they're not called "Overton" any longer) I tried was very very good, the best Oveton I've tried.
And don't overlook Susato. They're better than many people say.
For me, the choice would be between Burke and MK.
Here's a video where I do a bit of playing on four Low D's, Reviol, MK, Susato, and Burke:
They sound more different than that in person. The Susato has a somewhat bland flutelike tone, the Burke has a bit more of the "Native American" tone to it, the MK more so with a bit of a Kaval thing going on, and the Reviol has the most complex tone of the four.
Whatever about the whistle, you'd have to laugh at the marketing bumph! - "carefully handmade by the artisan in the windy, remote Highlands of Scotland" Hmm
You almost need to learn to play an Overton. If it's clogs up with moisture there either it's a fake or you're not playing it properly. To me your test sounds like the Susato and Reviol are poor sounding whistles whereas the Burke and MK are quality whistles, or which my favourite would be the MK. I am an Overton guy but among the top 3 or 4 whistles it's fair to say that it's entirely a matter of taste.
You do need to learn to play the overton. That thing about it clogging up usually comes from blowing it too softly and not having your fingers crisp enough, also Richard, your style is quite tooty, which would also contribute to it clogging up. You have to blow the overton hard, it has no dynamic range, you get the correct pressure and it plays in tune. They are the best metal whistles I think, but you have to fight 'em.
Having said that, for a completely different instrument, Nigel Richard's reverse conical bore wooden ones are truly splendid. Bogman, you Nigel's pipes, have you tried his whistle?
, sorry about the playing Ive never really played it since I got it, I was disappointed so it didnt really interest me. In fact this was the longest time Ive ever played it!
I find the whistle poor in a number of ways, firstly its very light, so cools down very quickly, its very fat, fatter than I remember my other whistles being, the tone is hard to get and not very good IMO. the mouthpiece is uncomfortable and infact fell off in the post[it not meant to be movable]
Pros are its cheap[you get what you pay for] and he will offset holes so I had mine offset for left hand down and the system he designed means holes are closer together than my other whistles. Unfortunately I dont have any of my old whistles to compare it too.
My main grumble is bottom D.
Now fair enough my whistle skills are next to nothing, and Ive not spent any time with it so perhaps others might have a different opinion. Perhaps the loose mouthpiece is part of the problem, its now adjustable . However if you want it its your for half price plus postage
What about the Chieftain low D anyone got experience? isnt it a copy of the Ovation?
Chieftain low Ds certainly used to be a copy of the Overton design (Ovations are guitars). Nowadays he seems to be focussing on copying the MK design. The man seems unable to come up with a design of his own!
Llig, Nigel had one with him at the piping festival and I had a brief shot of it and it is really nice. Very different character to the alloy whistles as you'd expect and I would imagine most who get one would also use a metal whistle rather than as an only whistle. I suppose when folk start recording with them then they'll get a lot of interest.
How long ago was that? They are getting better and better with each one he makes. And each one is very different, as you'd expect from a hand carved head.
I had his first one for a while and a few others in between. The one I've got now is about six months old. It sounds great but the octave D is a little sharp, very annoying. But he's fixed that now by making it slightly longer and carving a slight bell on the bottom. He keeps saying he'll make me a new bottom bit.
It was at Piping Live a couple of months ago. It was in the piping centre cafe though over brunch with a hangover though so couldn't really have a decent go. You need more than just a wee blast at these things to find their true character so I'll give it more of a go when I get a chance.
I've just measured the holes against my Overton D. The top three are almonst the same. The bottom three are smaller and closer together than the Overton.
I struggle on Overtons as well. Even if I can manage to cover all the holes I find my wrists and hands get really sore from having to stretch like that for the amount time it takes to play a set of tune. I sort of gave up the possibility of ever being a decent low whistle player a while ago, although I am sure there is a technique that would make it better.
The biggest difficulty with many Overtons in terms of the stretch seems to be over the distance between the 5th and 6th holes in comparison to the 4th and 5th. They are quite variable however and I have found some of Colin Goldie's whistles to be particularly easy to reach and play.
The difference between the 5th and 6th holes on Nigel's whistles is considerably less than on the Overton.
Plus, there's something just more aesthetically pleasing about holding a piece of black wood than a piece of aluminium that makes it feel easier to cover the holes. And of course, if it feels easier, it is easier.
The other advantage over the Overton is the thing has quite a bit of dynamic range. You can give it quite a variable amount of pressure without altering the tuning.
About the finger stretch for Low D whistles, anyone with normally sized hands can play them comfortable if they use the right hand positions.
About the spacing difference between the 4th and 5th holes versus the 5th and 6th holes, the further down the barrel the 4th hole is, the further down the barrel the 6th hole can be and still be comfortably reached. That's because there's a maximum comfortable stretch for the three lower-hand fingers as a group. So, whistle makers who try to get those three fingers as even as possible by making the 4th hole tiny and higher up the tube are inadvertently making the 6th hole harder to reach.
Better, for the reach of the 6th hole, to have the 4th hole large and further down the barrel, closer to the 5th hole.
"if it (an Overton) clogs up either it's fake or you're not playing it properly."
Well, the Overtons I've played over the last 30 years weren't fake, but were made by Bernard Overton himself.
And about playing them properly, the breath force I used is the amount to make the things play in tune (most of them being the untunable models).
Fact is, the Overton windway consists of two flat parallel planes very close together and moisture collects there unless it's blown out.
Now it's sure true that the amount of moisture/humidity in each person't breath is different. Scottish pipers are very aware of this and every Scottish piper knows whether he's a "wet blower" or a "dry blower". Well I'm an extremely "wet blower" and I clog an Overton in about a minute. I knew a guy years ago who always played an Overton and he developed the trick of inhaling through the windway to keep it clear. Maybe that's what you mean by "playing it properly".
Anyhow I think that many people can play Overtons at length without them clogging... they happen to be "dry blowers" whether they're aware of it or not. Good for them, but it's no help to us "wet blowers".
I'm not convinced that your breath has more moisture in it than others. Maybe it does, but a contributory factor is your tooty style. I'm not saying it's a bad style, but that it's possibly not a good way to play an overton whistle. Accurate fingering is also important. Any little glitch in the fingering causes the column of air in the whistle to vibrate slightly erratically, causing an interruption to the steady flow of air from the mouth piece. And so it clogs up.
I've seen a ton of top players use Overton whistles in live situations - both Bernard's and Colin's work. They all seem to get a decent performance. At worst, there might be a quick rest taken to cover the window and blow the clog out.
It is true that a lot of things affect how a whistle cloggs, but 90% of it is simply the temperature in the windway - if it's less than body temperature it will produce condensation - the exhalesd breath is usually close to 100% humidity.
Every whistle will have the condensation thing - metal ones are a little more susceptible because the good thermal conductivity in metal means that the whole whistle has to warm-up to get past the condensation point - with wood and plastic, the windway surfaces warms quickly and is less affected by temperatures in other parts of the thing.
The geometry of the windway will determine how well any condensation drains.
Colin once told me that a few players have used electric neck-warmers to keep the whistle up to temperature between uses.
In regard to Chieftain whistles .. according to the legend - Phil was at one time licensed to produce Bernard's design, so they are not copies, strictly speaking. He has evolved his design since - with a few inovations to get a result more inline with his own ideas. I would not call that "copying" unless you regard all modern makers copyists of the design handed down over the last 25 thousand years or so since they were made out of Elk bones and clay.
I see Mr Gruen's whistle design also benefits from history.
Likewise the Garvie whistle - nice attention to detail .. at $700USD it compares well with keyless flutes that require the same materials, techniques and skills. The bell-end flare seems like something that was first used in recorders a few hundred years ago.
The bottom line is: Does the thing get the job done for you or not?
After that - it is certainly fun to put a few kinks in it all to support more waffle. I think I'll add it to my profile - Interests: waffling about whistles.
"I would not call that "copying" unless you regard all modern makers copyists of the design handed down over the last 25 thousand years or so since they were made out of Elk bones and clay."
And yet now the new Chieftains seem to bear a striking similarity in design to the MKs! If you would not call it copying what would you call it Mozle?
I think you're close, Richard :the maker's name is Daniel McGinley, so I assume his trade name comes from Daniel of the Sun which O'Neill gives as Domhnall na Greine (no 200), with a little adaptation.
As mentioned on Chiff and Fipple he's very easy to deal with. Also, the bit at the top IS meant to move and makes a fair bit of difference so maybe an earlier poster should try that before selling his on.
Well, I think that is a recent developement mad scientist. I've had mine a couple years I think. At that stage they were definitely not meant to move, according to himself. However I notice that now he does leave them moveable.
I tried every permutation but no joy. Yes I agree he is good to deal with and the whistle I got is probably an early model and his later ones are much better no doubt. Perhaps I should have returned it? or said something? but to be honest I just chalked it up to experience.
Richard, I used to *always* clog Overtons until I figured out they need a fairly steady, deliberate stream of air (maintaining temp?). Now, playing one of Colin's whistles is grand.
Before playing a Goldie/Overton it makes a huge difference if you warm up the whistle first, this takes only about 10 seconds. With a dryish mouth cover the sound hole with your finger covering the area with your hand, blast air through is 2 or 3 second bursts and you can actually feel the alloy warming up quickly. It makes a huge difference to the playability of the whistle. It's also important to keep the airway clean. Usually an on credit card or hotel key card are the perfect thickness. Just cut it to slightly less width than the airway and push it through. I usually follow that by putting a bit of washing up liquid in the airway and then have warm water from a mixer tap poor. through the airway.
Opinion on Low Whislte
Opinion on Low Whislte
Is this junk? or is it worth buying?
http://cgi.ebay.it/LOW-D-WHISTLE-NEW-ALUMINIUM-DOMNAHL-NA-GRUEN_W0QQitemZ220486622383QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Woodwind_Instruments?hash=item335606dcaf&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_1160wt_1167
Thanks
# Posted on October 6th 2009 by AndreaFiddle
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
It certainly doesn't look like junk. Even has offset fingerholes. Let us know what it's like when you get it.
# Posted on October 6th 2009 by gam
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Wasn't sure whether to comment or not as I haven't tried one, but a friend did buy one and was very disappointed with it
# Posted on October 6th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
We not spend a bit more and go for the very best.
http://www.colingoldie.de/
# Posted on October 6th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I have one, basically I dont like it and wouldn't get another or recomend them. I know its a hard thing to say but thats my honest Opinion.
Ive had a couple of Colins, a low G and a low D and they are one of the best but personally I prefer the Kerry low D, I dont really like the 'breathy' sound from these Aly whistles and prefer Something a bit harder..
# Posted on October 6th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Eh........ were you not lambasting me recently for commenting on a fiddle question when I'm not a fiddle player? Pot - kettle
# Posted on October 6th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Ahh , I play the whistle a bit , have done on and off[ mostly off] for 25 yrs, I have a few whistles. I have one of these as it happens , Ive had a kerry and a couple of Overtons over the years. The fact that I rarely pick it up cos Im too busy with my other instruments is neither here nore there. At least I am relating first hand experience. Im not much of a whistler Im the first to admit, but I can play in 10/8 and 7/8 as well as a few jigs and reels.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Popcorn, anyone?
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by TheSilverSpear
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Popcorn? Maybe a pinch of salt.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I haven't tried one of those but I've owned a number of Low D's over the years: Overton, Shaw, Susato, Copeland, Howard, Kerry, Burke, Reviol, and MK and I've had a blow on several others.
The Burke "Pro Viper" is very special and in its own class as it performs most like a flute of any I've tried and has a powerfull booming Bottom D that can really be pushed.
The MK doesn't have the Burke's amazing bottom D but does several little things better than the Burke: more air-efficient, more interesting tone, clearer ornaments.
I guess I'm just not an Overton guy. I've played several Overton Low D's over the years, starting with an early one around 1980, up to a new Colin Goldie recently, and several in between those years. There's nothing like the tone of the Overton and many top players consider them the best Low D's ever made.
For me they clog up with "moisture" after around one minute of playing and become virtually unplayable. I would need to learn the technique of inhaling through the windway like many Overton players do.
All that said, the recent Colin Goldie (they're not called "Overton" any longer) I tried was very very good, the best Oveton I've tried.
And don't overlook Susato. They're better than many people say.
For me, the choice would be between Burke and MK.
Here's a video where I do a bit of playing on four Low D's, Reviol, MK, Susato, and Burke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkL06uOtZQc
They sound more different than that in person. The Susato has a somewhat bland flutelike tone, the Burke has a bit more of the "Native American" tone to it, the MK more so with a bit of a Kaval thing going on, and the Reviol has the most complex tone of the four.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Whatever about the whistle, you'd have to laugh at the marketing bumph! - "carefully handmade by the artisan in the windy, remote Highlands of Scotland" Hmm
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by the wounded hussar
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
You almost need to learn to play an Overton. If it's clogs up with moisture there either it's a fake or you're not playing it properly. To me your test sounds like the Susato and Reviol are poor sounding whistles whereas the Burke and MK are quality whistles, or which my favourite would be the MK. I am an Overton guy but among the top 3 or 4 whistles it's fair to say that it's entirely a matter of taste.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
You do need to learn to play the overton. That thing about it clogging up usually comes from blowing it too softly and not having your fingers crisp enough, also Richard, your style is quite tooty, which would also contribute to it clogging up. You have to blow the overton hard, it has no dynamic range, you get the correct pressure and it plays in tune. They are the best metal whistles I think, but you have to fight 'em.
Having said that, for a completely different instrument, Nigel Richard's reverse conical bore wooden ones are truly splendid. Bogman, you Nigel's pipes, have you tried his whistle?
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by llig leahcim
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
The whistle in question:[url=http://www.filefreak.com/files/73003_dt0qh/MONO-006.mp3]MONO-006.mp3[/url]
, sorry about the playing Ive never really played it since I got it, I was disappointed so it didnt really interest me. In fact this was the longest time Ive ever played it!
I find the whistle poor in a number of ways, firstly its very light, so cools down very quickly, its very fat, fatter than I remember my other whistles being, the tone is hard to get and not very good IMO. the mouthpiece is uncomfortable and infact fell off in the post[it not meant to be movable]
Pros are its cheap[you get what you pay for] and he will offset holes so I had mine offset for left hand down and the system he designed means holes are closer together than my other whistles. Unfortunately I dont have any of my old whistles to compare it too.
My main grumble is bottom D.
Now fair enough my whistle skills are next to nothing, and Ive not spent any time with it so perhaps others might have a different opinion. Perhaps the loose mouthpiece is part of the problem, its now adjustable . However if you want it its your for half price plus postage
What about the Chieftain low D anyone got experience? isnt it a copy of the Ovation?
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Chieftain low Ds certainly used to be a copy of the Overton design (Ovations are guitars). Nowadays he seems to be focussing on copying the MK design. The man seems unable to come up with a design of his own!
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I think you might benefit from a bit of practice with a metronome there mate.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by llig leahcim
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I think I sped up to get it over with quicker
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Llig, Nigel had one with him at the piping festival and I had a brief shot of it and it is really nice. Very different character to the alloy whistles as you'd expect and I would imagine most who get one would also use a metal whistle rather than as an only whistle. I suppose when folk start recording with them then they'll get a lot of interest.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
How long ago was that? They are getting better and better with each one he makes. And each one is very different, as you'd expect from a hand carved head.
I had his first one for a while and a few others in between. The one I've got now is about six months old. It sounds great but the octave D is a little sharp, very annoying. But he's fixed that now by making it slightly longer and carving a slight bell on the bottom. He keeps saying he'll make me a new bottom bit.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by llig leahcim
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
It was at Piping Live a couple of months ago. It was in the piping centre cafe though over brunch with a hangover though so couldn't really have a decent go. You need more than just a wee blast at these things to find their true character so I'll give it more of a go when I get a chance.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
A whistle with a bell end? The possiblilties for humour abound!
Seriously though Nigel's whistles look absolutely stunning. I know he has put a lot of work into them and they sound great.
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Yes, they're a work or art really
http://www.garviebagpipes.co.uk/info/whistle/whistle.html
# Posted on October 7th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I think those are gorgeous whistles but I couldn't reach all the holes.
# Posted on October 8th 2009 by TheSilverSpear
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I've just measured the holes against my Overton D. The top three are almonst the same. The bottom three are smaller and closer together than the Overton.
# Posted on October 8th 2009 by llig leahcim
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I struggle on Overtons as well. Even if I can manage to cover all the holes I find my wrists and hands get really sore from having to stretch like that for the amount time it takes to play a set of tune. I sort of gave up the possibility of ever being a decent low whistle player a while ago, although I am sure there is a technique that would make it better.
# Posted on October 8th 2009 by TheSilverSpear
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
The biggest difficulty with many Overtons in terms of the stretch seems to be over the distance between the 5th and 6th holes in comparison to the 4th and 5th. They are quite variable however and I have found some of Colin Goldie's whistles to be particularly easy to reach and play.
# Posted on October 8th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
The difference between the 5th and 6th holes on Nigel's whistles is considerably less than on the Overton.
Plus, there's something just more aesthetically pleasing about holding a piece of black wood than a piece of aluminium that makes it feel easier to cover the holes. And of course, if it feels easier, it is easier.
The other advantage over the Overton is the thing has quite a bit of dynamic range. You can give it quite a variable amount of pressure without altering the tuning.
# Posted on October 8th 2009 by llig leahcim
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Wow 700 dollars US for a Garvie...
About the finger stretch for Low D whistles, anyone with normally sized hands can play them comfortable if they use the right hand positions.
About the spacing difference between the 4th and 5th holes versus the 5th and 6th holes, the further down the barrel the 4th hole is, the further down the barrel the 6th hole can be and still be comfortably reached. That's because there's a maximum comfortable stretch for the three lower-hand fingers as a group. So, whistle makers who try to get those three fingers as even as possible by making the 4th hole tiny and higher up the tube are inadvertently making the 6th hole harder to reach.
Better, for the reach of the 6th hole, to have the 4th hole large and further down the barrel, closer to the 5th hole.
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
"if it (an Overton) clogs up either it's fake or you're not playing it properly."
Well, the Overtons I've played over the last 30 years weren't fake, but were made by Bernard Overton himself.
And about playing them properly, the breath force I used is the amount to make the things play in tune (most of them being the untunable models).
Fact is, the Overton windway consists of two flat parallel planes very close together and moisture collects there unless it's blown out.
Now it's sure true that the amount of moisture/humidity in each person't breath is different. Scottish pipers are very aware of this and every Scottish piper knows whether he's a "wet blower" or a "dry blower". Well I'm an extremely "wet blower" and I clog an Overton in about a minute. I knew a guy years ago who always played an Overton and he developed the trick of inhaling through the windway to keep it clear. Maybe that's what you mean by "playing it properly".
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
No. I am also a wet blower and my Overtons never clog - none of them. And I have never heard of anyone inhaling through the windway - thats nuts.
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Anyhow I think that many people can play Overtons at length without them clogging... they happen to be "dry blowers" whether they're aware of it or not. Good for them, but it's no help to us "wet blowers".
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
BTW, Colin's Overtons are much better than Bernards.
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by bogman
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
About the "Domnahl na Gruen" name itself, it's strange, because it looks as if it's supposed to be Gaelic, but it isn't.
"Domnahl" is odd, because in Gaelic you wouldn't have an "h" in a place like that. It's probably Domhnall (Donald) misspelt.
What about "gruen"?
Gruan is your liver, grunn is a crowd or group.
My guess is that it's supposed to be grian, the sun...
Domhnall na grian, Donald of the sun???
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
I'm not convinced that your breath has more moisture in it than others. Maybe it does, but a contributory factor is your tooty style. I'm not saying it's a bad style, but that it's possibly not a good way to play an overton whistle. Accurate fingering is also important. Any little glitch in the fingering causes the column of air in the whistle to vibrate slightly erratically, causing an interruption to the steady flow of air from the mouth piece. And so it clogs up.
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by llig leahcim
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Jaysus, I don't look at it for a day or so and this discussion starts getting kinky. Wet blowers, dry blowers, huh?
;)
# Posted on October 9th 2009 by TheSilverSpear
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Kinky is a good description ..
I've seen a ton of top players use Overton whistles in live situations - both Bernard's and Colin's work. They all seem to get a decent performance. At worst, there might be a quick rest taken to cover the window and blow the clog out.
It is true that a lot of things affect how a whistle cloggs, but 90% of it is simply the temperature in the windway - if it's less than body temperature it will produce condensation - the exhalesd breath is usually close to 100% humidity.
Every whistle will have the condensation thing - metal ones are a little more susceptible because the good thermal conductivity in metal means that the whole whistle has to warm-up to get past the condensation point - with wood and plastic, the windway surfaces warms quickly and is less affected by temperatures in other parts of the thing.
The geometry of the windway will determine how well any condensation drains.
Colin once told me that a few players have used electric neck-warmers to keep the whistle up to temperature between uses.
In regard to Chieftain whistles .. according to the legend - Phil was at one time licensed to produce Bernard's design, so they are not copies, strictly speaking. He has evolved his design since - with a few inovations to get a result more inline with his own ideas. I would not call that "copying" unless you regard all modern makers copyists of the design handed down over the last 25 thousand years or so since they were made out of Elk bones and clay.
I see Mr Gruen's whistle design also benefits from history.
Likewise the Garvie whistle - nice attention to detail .. at $700USD it compares well with keyless flutes that require the same materials, techniques and skills. The bell-end flare seems like something that was first used in recorders a few hundred years ago.
The bottom line is: Does the thing get the job done for you or not?
After that - it is certainly fun to put a few kinks in it all to support more waffle. I think I'll add it to my profile - Interests: waffling about whistles.
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by Mozle
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
"I would not call that "copying" unless you regard all modern makers copyists of the design handed down over the last 25 thousand years or so since they were made out of Elk bones and clay."
And yet now the new Chieftains seem to bear a striking similarity in design to the MKs! If you would not call it copying what would you call it Mozle?
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
http://forums.chiffandfipple.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61703
If the above link works, there are some recent comments on these whistles over on "Chiff & Fipple".
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by Kenny
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte - Donald of the sun???
I think you're close, Richard :the maker's name is Daniel McGinley, so I assume his trade name comes from Daniel of the Sun which O'Neill gives as Domhnall na Greine (no 200), with a little adaptation.
As mentioned on Chiff and Fipple he's very easy to deal with. Also, the bit at the top IS meant to move and makes a fair bit of difference so maybe an earlier poster should try that before selling his on.
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by Slightly Mad Scientist
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Well, I think that is a recent developement mad scientist. I've had mine a couple years I think. At that stage they were definitely not meant to move, according to himself. However I notice that now he does leave them moveable.
I tried every permutation but no joy. Yes I agree he is good to deal with and the whistle I got is probably an early model and his later ones are much better no doubt. Perhaps I should have returned it? or said something? but to be honest I just chalked it up to experience.
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Colin Goldie
Richard, I used to *always* clog Overtons until I figured out they need a fairly steady, deliberate stream of air (maintaining temp?). Now, playing one of Colin's whistles is grand.
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by Random_notes
Re: Opinion on Low Whislte
Before playing a Goldie/Overton it makes a huge difference if you warm up the whistle first, this takes only about 10 seconds. With a dryish mouth cover the sound hole with your finger covering the area with your hand, blast air through is 2 or 3 second bursts and you can actually feel the alloy warming up quickly. It makes a huge difference to the playability of the whistle. It's also important to keep the airway clean. Usually an on credit card or hotel key card are the perfect thickness. Just cut it to slightly less width than the airway and push it through. I usually follow that by putting a bit of washing up liquid in the airway and then have warm water from a mixer tap poor. through the airway.
# Posted on October 12th 2009 by bogman