One thing about the Goldies is they have more of an interesting bite, especially when tongued, and tone generally (to me) than the other whistles. This is true throughout different keys. Compare the width of the wind passage between a Burke and a Goldie - that Burke is very wide, so you're not going to get as interesting a set of overtones out of it - though they are easy to play and consistent, but for overtones, they're very primary and have very little chiff. They're like different organ stops. I love the sweet second octave of the Copeland, but that chiff, that bite on the Goldies is one of the reasons I reach for a whistle instead of a flute.
I've got a Burke Low D Viper Pro that I bought about 15 years ago. Never took the time to learn it. Now just sits in a drawer in my music room. This video has inspired me to pull it out and give it another try.
Thank you for doing this. Very useful video for a new player. I think Copeland has more of a wooden flute sound. Mellow very nice. I think after listening to you play all four whistles. My favorites are the Goldie/MK both very smooth.
Thanks for the videos, fun to hear the differences! Just placed an order for an MK Pro as I’m over powering my Tony Dixon non-tunable low D. That said the Tony was a great starter at a great price and I’m sure I’ll still play it.
I think one has to comment on consistency of manufacture. One tin of Campbell's Tomato soup will taste the same as the next one, but not so with whistles. Each Goldie/Kerry/Overton low D whistle is very different from another (of the same pitch and make). You have to go to the shop and try half a dozen (of the same type) before choosing one. Burke whistles tend to be more consistent, so if you try and like a friend's Burke whistle, it's safe to order one online. I've never played a Copeland, but there are other makers out there who are inconsistent too.
I happened to have watched your other video of you playing the Copeland inside before watching this one and I agree with you from the other video that there is a lot of distracting ambient noise and harder to hear the whistles in this one when compared to the more quiet one inside. Thanks for sharing the Copeland with us.
Hi Nathan, quick question. Thinking of buying a Goldie. You owning one, would you say definitively that it's worth the price you paid for it. Lastly, you own a medium blower. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you order something different instead like a soft or hard blow variation? Just wanted to get your honest feel on it if you don't mind. Thanks!
I've grown to enjoy the more open sound of soft blowing whistles, so I'd go for a soft blower. As for worth, I believe they are some of the best whistles available, and if I were a professional, I'd want a full set of them.
@@NathanielDowell I mentioned to Colin in my email that I was leaning more towards a soft blower. I'm not one for a lot of back pressure and breathy sounding whistles, as I much prefer a more open, pure tone. My only question would probably be.. how soft a blower can he make them. To me, I want something truly special sounding, perhaps something a little more open than what he would typically make. We'll have to see what he says. Thanks for the reply! Hope you and the family are doing well
It seems like you were finally getting the touch on the Copeland by the time you played Man of the House. Whistles, are unique. The are extensions of the player's breath in such an organic way. The conical and cylindrical whistles demand such different air requirements. I agree with W Gandy that the ambient noise, is distracting in this video. Is it wind or traffic? I'd encourage you to run this through again inside.
I live right next to a highway, so it's constant traffic noise. Unfortunately, outside is sometimes the only place I can do this, depending on how much people inside my house need to focus. I'll definitely run through these again when I'm more familiar with the Copeland. However, I think there's value in hearing whistles in different acoustical settings, if you're really trying to get a feel for the whistle. In the mean time, I recorded the three others in the same spot with the same phone, so you can play the videos side by side and pretend I did them together. ua-cam.com/video/Z44SxYUbjo0/v-deo.html
You are enabling the wind vortices to drop when you descend upon thee low note vs nailing it out of the gate, that will remain- That Copeland lacks some precision but makes up for it in warmth and tone.
Of the four, I like the MK Pro the best. It's fast and responsive, has a complex tone, doesn't clog, and is a great all around whistle. The Copeland has a unique tone, and it can be gorgeous when you push just right and it isn't compromised by moisture. The moisture thing is why I eventually sold it. When moisture clouds the tone, it takes the Copeland from being an excellent whistle to being just okay, and managing moisture and clogs took away from the enjoyment of playing. The MK, on the other hand, just works. The Goldie would be my runner up. I just find the MK's tone to be a bit more to my liking. The Burke is the most like the Copeland. Pushing it harder gives you a better tone, but it requires more precision to play than the MK or Goldie, and I have trouble with it breaking in certain places. Great for slower stuff, but I have more trouble with faster pieces and certain ornaments.
@@NathanielDowell Thank you, Nathaniel Thank you for your detailed answer whenever I ask you a question. As expected, you blew out various whistles and gave me a good answer. I've played MKD before. I think the back pressure was good and the sound came out cool. However, what was unfortunate was that there was a too loud sound from the back of the two octaves. I had a fantasy about Copeland, so I was thinking about buying it, but there is a moisture problem. You sold Copeland. The price is probably too high and it won't be easy to access. What is the blower value of Goldie low D that you have? Mine is .93
I own two Goldies, a soft and a hard blower. The buzzing noise when you play in the lower register is not supposed to happen. I don't know if it's only coming through in the recording of the video, if mine ever makes that sound it's because I'm not blowing it properly or have the wrong aperture. Does that noise come through all the time while you're playing?
I think that was just a bit of clogging as it warmed up. It goes away as I play. At other times, it's been a sign that I need to clean out the head of the whistle. My harder blowing Goldie A got to the point where it wasn't readily producing a solid bell note, so I gave it a good cleaning, and it was fine (as long as it was properly warmed up).
I knew it! As soon as you'd run up and down the Copeland I totally knew that you were going to break into that tune (don't know what it's called). Through the magic of UA-cam I'm gonna slow you right down and learn that thing.
Copeland - the most flutey sound, great C/ Burke - perfect intonation, bland, shallow sound (which I ilke), Godlie/ an instrument for a musician, but sounds the worst/ MK is an MK - you can feel the playability even if yuor thumbs hurt. Best wishes, Nathaniel!
0:57 - Copeland (first attempt)
25:23 - Copeland (Breath requirements more dialed in)
Man of the House - Copeland (26:45), Burke (27:13), MK (27:40), Goldie (28:09)
14:02 - Burke
19:00 - Goldie
22:14 -MK
One thing about the Goldies is they have more of an interesting bite, especially when tongued, and tone generally (to me) than the other whistles. This is true throughout different keys. Compare the width of the wind passage between a Burke and a Goldie - that Burke is very wide, so you're not going to get as interesting a set of overtones out of it - though they are easy to play and consistent, but for overtones, they're very primary and have very little chiff. They're like different organ stops. I love the sweet second octave of the Copeland, but that chiff, that bite on the Goldies is one of the reasons I reach for a whistle instead of a flute.
Great playing!
Thanks for the great information and in depth comparison and performance examples. Super helpful!
Nice video. I've been thinking of getting a Goldie for about a year. One thing I like about my Carbony Low D is that it never clogs.
I've got a Burke Low D Viper Pro that I bought about 15 years ago. Never took the time to learn it. Now just sits in a drawer in my music room. This video has inspired me to pull it out and give it another try.
Hey I don't suppose you want to sell it off?
Thank you for doing this. Very useful video for a new player. I think Copeland has more of a wooden flute sound. Mellow very nice. I think after listening to you play all four whistles. My favorites are the Goldie/MK both very smooth.
Thanks for the videos, fun to hear the differences! Just placed an order for an MK Pro as I’m over powering my Tony Dixon non-tunable low D. That said the Tony was a great starter at a great price and I’m sure I’ll still play it.
I think one has to comment on consistency of manufacture. One tin of Campbell's Tomato soup will taste the same as the next one, but not so with whistles. Each Goldie/Kerry/Overton low D whistle is very different from another (of the same pitch and make). You have to go to the shop and try half a dozen (of the same type) before choosing one. Burke whistles tend to be more consistent, so if you try and like a friend's Burke whistle, it's safe to order one online. I've never played a Copeland, but there are other makers out there who are inconsistent too.
I am searching for a Copeland in low D to buy. If anyone has/knows of one for sale, please message me. Thanks.
I happened to have watched your other video of you playing the Copeland inside before watching this one and I agree with you from the other video that there is a lot of distracting ambient noise and harder to hear the whistles in this one when compared to the more quiet one inside. Thanks for sharing the Copeland with us.
Hi Nathan, quick question. Thinking of buying a Goldie. You owning one, would you say definitively that it's worth the price you paid for it. Lastly, you own a medium blower. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you order something different instead like a soft or hard blow variation? Just wanted to get your honest feel on it if you don't mind. Thanks!
I've grown to enjoy the more open sound of soft blowing whistles, so I'd go for a soft blower. As for worth, I believe they are some of the best whistles available, and if I were a professional, I'd want a full set of them.
@@NathanielDowell I mentioned to Colin in my email that I was leaning more towards a soft blower. I'm not one for a lot of back pressure and breathy sounding whistles, as I much prefer a more open, pure tone. My only question would probably be.. how soft a blower can he make them. To me, I want something truly special sounding, perhaps something a little more open than what he would typically make. We'll have to see what he says. Thanks for the reply! Hope you and the family are doing well
It seems like you were finally getting the touch on the Copeland by the time you played Man of the House. Whistles, are unique. The are extensions of the player's breath in such an organic way. The conical and cylindrical whistles demand such different air requirements. I agree with W Gandy that the ambient noise, is distracting in this video. Is it wind or traffic? I'd encourage you to run this through again inside.
I live right next to a highway, so it's constant traffic noise. Unfortunately, outside is sometimes the only place I can do this, depending on how much people inside my house need to focus. I'll definitely run through these again when I'm more familiar with the Copeland. However, I think there's value in hearing whistles in different acoustical settings, if you're really trying to get a feel for the whistle. In the mean time, I recorded the three others in the same spot with the same phone, so you can play the videos side by side and pretend I did them together. ua-cam.com/video/Z44SxYUbjo0/v-deo.html
And yes, I agree that I got it much more dialed in by the end. I've added extra time stamps for better direct comparison. Thanks!
You are enabling the wind vortices to drop when you descend upon thee low note vs nailing it out of the gate, that will remain- That Copeland lacks some precision but makes up for it in warmth and tone.
What do you like the most among the four low D's?
What are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of Copeland over the regular cylindrical type?
Of the four, I like the MK Pro the best. It's fast and responsive, has a complex tone, doesn't clog, and is a great all around whistle. The Copeland has a unique tone, and it can be gorgeous when you push just right and it isn't compromised by moisture. The moisture thing is why I eventually sold it. When moisture clouds the tone, it takes the Copeland from being an excellent whistle to being just okay, and managing moisture and clogs took away from the enjoyment of playing. The MK, on the other hand, just works. The Goldie would be my runner up. I just find the MK's tone to be a bit more to my liking. The Burke is the most like the Copeland. Pushing it harder gives you a better tone, but it requires more precision to play than the MK or Goldie, and I have trouble with it breaking in certain places. Great for slower stuff, but I have more trouble with faster pieces and certain ornaments.
@@NathanielDowell Thank you, Nathaniel
Thank you for your detailed answer whenever I ask you a question.
As expected, you blew out various whistles and gave me a good answer.
I've played MKD before. I think the back pressure was good and the sound came out cool. However, what was unfortunate was that there was a too loud sound from the back of the two octaves.
I had a fantasy about Copeland, so I was thinking about buying it, but there is a moisture problem. You sold Copeland.
The price is probably too high and it won't be easy to access.
What is the blower value of Goldie low D that you have? Mine is .93
I'm sorry i have a question. Among Burke and Goldie, Which whistle has breath less(air requirements)?
I want to smaller breath whistle.
Definitely the Goldie.
I own two Goldies, a soft and a hard blower. The buzzing noise when you play in the lower register is not supposed to happen. I don't know if it's only coming through in the recording of the video, if mine ever makes that sound it's because I'm not blowing it properly or have the wrong aperture. Does that noise come through all the time while you're playing?
I think that was just a bit of clogging as it warmed up. It goes away as I play. At other times, it's been a sign that I need to clean out the head of the whistle. My harder blowing Goldie A got to the point where it wasn't readily producing a solid bell note, so I gave it a good cleaning, and it was fine (as long as it was properly warmed up).
Record indoors if you want anyone to be able to appreciate the finer differences between the instruments.
ua-cam.com/video/b6XIl6Y7fkI/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/Z44SxYUbjo0/v-deo.html
I knew it! As soon as you'd run up and down the Copeland I totally knew that you were going to break into that tune (don't know what it's called). Through the magic of UA-cam I'm gonna slow you right down and learn that thing.
Jerry's Beaver Hat/The Kesh Kig/The Rambling Pitchfork and/or Ashokan Farewell is my usual test set.
@@NathanielDowell Cheers - found tabs :) Lots of versions too but I prefer yours.
Nathaniel would you happen to recall the name of the tunes you played on the MK Pro?
Man of the House, and then the tunes I normally play: Jerry's Beaver Hat and Ashokan Farewell
@@NathanielDowell thank you kindly ❤️
Copeland - the most flutey sound, great C/ Burke - perfect intonation, bland, shallow sound (which I ilke), Godlie/ an instrument for a musician, but sounds the worst/ MK is an MK - you can feel the playability even if yuor thumbs hurt. Best wishes, Nathaniel!
why all the background noise...?
I live next to a couple of busy streets. Lots of noise outside.