Customer Reviews

Whistle, Cane, Low "D" 23"

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is not as easy to play as a penny whistle for two reasons: one, the fingering requires the "piper's grip" which makes cleanly covering the widely spaced holes a challenge; two, getting the breath right is also a subtler undertaking although the grip issue will add to that since it will often turn out that you don't quite have the coverage you assumed and get a squaek instead of a note.

The above is true of all low D whistles (I imagine to one degree or another, the fingering will always be a challenge, some may be more forgiving however in terms of the tone and ease of breath, I don't know). For this particular model, I think it will provide an affordable introduction to the instrument and the tone itself is quite lovely--better, more refined and resonant than a penny whistle. That said, this is an inexact instrument, hand made from wood (bamboo) and although consistent with itself in terms of playing the D scale may not play well with others in key. That is something to understand.

As a practice, introductory model this is very satisfactory however and I have been playing it every day with increased success.

I bought this flute because it was the cheapest low flute I could find. I wasn't expecting much, but it plays nicely.

The craftsmanship is fairly well done, it has nicely wrapped bands and sounds quite nice.

I play whistles and flutes mainly as a hobby, which this flute accels at. I've noticed that it's not quite perfectly in tune on all the notes, so you probably can't play in a group with it -- at least with other tuned instruments.

It plays quite nicely though, and sounds very well in both the lower and higher registers. It's fun to play around on some tunes; "Danny Boy" sounds especially nice, but like I said it has a bit of trouble on some notes, but if you're playing alone it doesn't matter.

Also, it's worth noting that this flute requires the Piper's Grip, which means you only use the pads on your ring fingers, and curve your hands so the middle pads on your middle and index fingers are on the upper buttons.

It takes getting used to, but unless you have very large hands you won't be able to finger this flute the same as a smaller flute.

On the one hand, the craftsmanship is not outstanding: on the unit I received, there was a 1.5 mm gap between the left-hand edge of the fipple-block and the mouthpiece, through which air leaked unless I practically swallowed the mouthpiece.

But this is a $13 whistle, 1/10 the cost of the next-cheapest low D whistle on Amazon right now. It was no big deal to seal the leak on mine with latex (epoxy putty would have been even better), and even if I were to grossly overvalue my time doing so, this whistle would still amount to a very good value.

It has attractive cord-wraps that lend visual interest, and more importantly, has a nice enough tone. Overall, I think this represents a passable entry level into the otherwise-expensive world of low-whistle playing.

Note to novices: there's only one way to get low notes to speak on any large woodwind instrument, and that's with very slow air. This instrument is no exception. ;-)

I bought this product as a beginner pipe to learn to play until I got better. I like everything about this product. The description was acurate, the price was good, and the shipment was prompt. Overall I am very pleased with this product.

I am brand new to the world of whistling, but have a little experience playing flute along with celtic guitar, banjo, etc. I chose this low whistle for the price and because I disliked the shrill sound of the higher penny whistles. I also bought the Clarke D whistle, which provides a decent parallel between the different octaves and is a little easier to play.

This whistle sounds perfect to me, but then again it's the only one I've ever heard in person. Using the "piper's grip" as others have called it, took some getting used to, but soon felt pretty natural and I got the hang of it very quickly. The unit feels very sturdy and mine didn't have any of the fipple problems that other reviewers have been having. The four bands (green in the picture) were a dark blue and made of a plastic thread on mine. I don't mind the color, but they just look cheap. I think I might replace them with something else in the future.

For less than $20 you can't beat this as a learning instrument, or just to have fun with. If you have been wanting to learn to play the Irish Low D Whistle (and who hasn't?) then this is a great introduction for you without having to spend the $100-300 it would normally take for you to get one. In my opinion, the bad reviews on this item are not warranted. It's definitely worth $20! If I ever get good at it or want to buy a "real" instrument, like the nice PVC whistles by Ethnic Wind, or a Dixon Low D, I'll consider this a good investment toward my musical education.

Appearance: It's Bamboo, which of course being a natural growing wood, can vary. Mine was very straight, and it arrived in excellent condition. This is a great looking instrument. The string wraps give it a very nice look, and is also structural and neccessary for the longevity of the instrument. Bamboo instruments need reinforcement so they don't expand and crack over time, you don't want to remove the string. My string is a cool blue, so I assume the string color could vary with each one sold (when I bought mine, the picture was green string). Not important, but you all know some people get very upset over silly things like not getting the string color they expected. So now you know.

Size: It's 23", as clearly stated in the description (Emphasis here --->23"!) This is probably going to be bigger than you expect. I suggest you go watch some youtube vids on playing the Low D Irish whistle. When you watch, pay close attention to just how long these things are, these are a lot bigger than a regular tin whistle - it HAS to be this size in order to be a Low D. The holes HAVE to be spaced that far apart in order to produce the correct sounds. This is not the mfg messing up, this instrument IS made correctly. It just may not be what you are expecting. If so, don't blame the item. It deserves a much better overall rating than it's gotten so far.

Sound: When played correctly, this very inexpensive Low D Whistle has a very nice warm tone. Here's the deal - this IS hard to play at first. Think about this - you can't pick up a violin for the first time ever and expect to play a beautiful concerto when you've never played a violin before...or a guitar, or almost any other instrument. You have to learn the instrument, learn how to hold it, how to play it. And especially with woodwinds. You have to learn how to blow the right amount of air to get any notes at all, learn what the notes are and how much to blow to play intune on any given note. This instrument is big and takes a LOT more air than you would expect, which partially explains why people are saying they couldn't get it to work (the rest of their problems are with "grip", see below). Also, to reach the 2nd octave requires even more air. If you live somewhere that you can't play loud, don't buy this. You won't be able to learn unless you aren't afraid to put a lot of air into it and possibly make a lot of noise before you start playing actual music. I was playing simple tunes on it after about 20minutes, but I spent weeks reading up on Low D's in general and I knew exactly what I was getting into. Also, I already play the Irish Tin Whistle (Dixon Trad), the recorder (surprise, you can make a cheap old plastic recorder sound pretty good with practice), the ocarina and several other instruments. I had a pretty good idea of how to make this work before I ordered it. You should too.

Grip: People complain because of the very long reach needed to properly cover all the holes, and because they don't understand you need to use a Piper's grip for this instrument. Piper's grip is where you don't use your fingertips to cover the holes, instead you use the "pad" between the knuckles (a Google search will help you on this). All Low D whistles are similar to this. And which finger pads you use depends on which holes you are covering. This takes a LOT of getting used to. You also have to angle your hands down slanted at a certain angle in order to get the best pad contact with the holes, because if you don't you are going to have air escaping and it won't work. Again, this is just how these type instruments are all made. And to clarify, this cheap little bamboo Low D Whistle DOES work once you learn to hold it & play it the right way. Just learn how. It's not that hard. The only limitation would be if you have really small hands, or maybe really really skinny fingers. I'm a guy & I don't have large hands, just normal sized mitts. The reach for the grip on this is not a stretch, but it's not very comfortable until you train yourself and get used to holding it the right way. As with learning ANY instrument, IT TAKES TIME. Be patient. Relax and have fun. Watch some vids, and practice, practice, practice.

Conclusion: This item is well made, especially for a real working instrument for only $20!. It's intune (with itself) and has a great sound (when held & played correctly). It looks like people are buying this and they just don't have a clue what it really is, or what to do with it to make it work. Don't be one of those people. Read about it, get it, play it. Enjoy!

This low whistle completely did not meet with my expectations. It's nearly unplayable, and lacks volume. It is, admittedly, a cheap instrument, but that doesn't excuse that this is a whistle that I don't want to whistle with.

If you want to actually play a low whistle, don't buy this one.