Howard Low Whistle Review - Balanced and Reed heads
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- I got to try out a Howard Low D whistle for the first time in about 20 years and spoiler alert, they've hit them out of the park.
Full disclosure, this is not an ad but I received this whistle direct from Howard music for free. So take that for what it's worth.
Be sure to check out Howard Music at www.howardmusi... and Big Whistle Company at bigwhistle.co.uk/ for other great tin whistles for sale.
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As a low tin whistle player myself I absolutely love when you review low whistles so much good information and insights packed into a few short minutes thanks for sharing Sean
Great to hear you playing the current Howard low D! I’ve been working with mine for a few months now, and love it. I have both the Reed and Balanced heads, and have found exactly what you describe-the Reed head is a little touchier about airflow, but produces a really rich tone that has a lot of depth without being mushy or vague. The Balanced head is a bit easier to manage, and produces a more expected “low D” sound. So glad you enjoyed it too!
I love my Howard. Providing a variety of heads is brilliant, and the whistle plays so delightfully. I know everyone has different tastes in sound profile, but the Howard is hard to beat. I'm focused on learning the low whistle. I'm gathering a community of folks around me who want to learn it as well. I enjoy and appreciate your channel, but I was especially excited to see your review of the Howard. I created a quick video to point all my friends to your review. I think the Howard is the best bang for the $ for a low D whistle.
Beautiful look and sound!
As much as I adore the tone of a good low whistle, I just can't ever justify the price over say, a Dixon low d 😅
Thanks for the review of the Howard whistle. Especially reviewing both heads.
5:57 balanced
7:48 reed
Wheeeeew was thinking of one of these so good timing
The sound seems more suitable for slow airs than faster tunes. 😅
For traditional Irish music check out The Mary Wallopers!
Class.
"Balanced" for the Low D Howard whistles refers to a balanced tone between their "Reed" head with a reedy sound and their "Chiff" head with a breather sound. Their Reed and Chiff heads both require more breath control for the second octave.
Wait until you try a Goldie. I don't think you would want to play anything else afterwards.
I did have a Low D Goldie and played it about a year and then sold it. I did not find that it lived up to the hype about them. When compared to my Low D Bernard Overton whistle the Goldie fell short. And no, my Overton was not one of the ones made by Goldie. The Overton had a much better sound in both octaves and it especially it outplayed the Goldie in the upper half of the 2nd Octave. Just proves the old saying "Different strokes for different folks".
@@wgandy9541 The old saying is definitely right. Do you know the type of Goldie you had? I'm asking because I love the medium hard and hard blowers (more efficient, uses more of the air, like a good flute embochure does) and I did try a soft blower and didn't like the feel of it being a soft blower, it felt more like the Chieftains which, while being great whistles, are definitely less air efficient. The volume and playability was ok but I really like the efficiency of the medium hard. I tried an Overton low D once and it felt just like my Goldie but with a thicker body which didn't bother me at all. It's always interesting to know about others people's experience in whistling. Cheers
I am looking to start learning tin whistle. I got into it a little bit a few years ago and didn't stick with it for whatever reason. Wanting to give it another try. I absolutely love the sound of a low d whistle. Should I start learning on a regular d whistle first before I jump to a low d? Thanks!
That is my low D and I love it, I got the balance head but I am really attracted to the reed.....
Great review
Interesting review! However, why not also try the second octave tuning? Why not talk about the spacing of the digital holes, their diameter and the comfort of the grip?
For what it's worth, I bought a used Howard and the tuning is great... Until the high A and above where it gets hopelessly sharp. However I don't know what type of head it is, nor how old the whistle is so it might not be the latest design.
@@Tremendouz Thank you!
I was super excited to get my first Howard low. It definitely was a transition. Unfortunately, during practice this howard clogs all the time. Hard to get through a whole song after a warm up.I thought it was a hole covering issue but if I clear it, it plays good again for about a minute.The lows have to be extremely soft and the highs require tons of air. Even so it still breaks up. I did notice the quality in the head was not perfect. Has some flashing inside. Ive tried adjusting my mouth, pipers grip traditional grip(im 6.3 with long fingers), washing with soap, and come to realize it may be the whistle. It's very disappointing because it has a great tone. You can get some native/shakuhachi features out of it. Any advice before i move on to another low whistle brand? Dont get me wrong, its fun but kind of pointless if you can't really do anything serious with it.
Same experience here, half a song and it shuts down. For me I think it is partly a hole covering issue. I use full pipers grip with it. The second hole the E is just a bit too big for my small fingers, I don't consistently cover it properly. What do you mean by flashing? I have the two heads discussed in the review and they both look ok to me. I don't have this problem with high D, G and A whistles. I guess I'm a wet blower with small fingers and not made for low D whistles. I'm going to make a heater for it and have another try sometime.
Could you clarify which options and type this whistle was?
The O Brian has way more noise and the tone colour is far brighter because of it- it is not as nice sounding.