Whistles in D with easier second octave

Ok one of my first whistle in D was a Clarke Sweetone. One of the things I love about it, is how easy it is to play the second octave, without needing me to put too much air in it.

Later on I got a new whistle in D from a local luthier, and while the notes sound super nice, it’s much heavier than my Sweetone and it’s super hard to get to the second octave, I almost always miss the high G. I tried playing all the songs I use to play in my Sweetone and couldnt get the high g and above right, I have to put much more air to reach it. I thought maybe it was a matter of getting used to it, but it’s not working very well.

I consider myself a beginner still, I’ve beem playing for almost an year, though I didnt play for a long while due to health issues, but I really want to buy a new high D whistle, so my question here is which whistles in D that doesn’t require a lot air to reach the second octave? I play alone, so there’s no need for a whistle that is better for playing in session. I’ve heard of the Dixon 005, and the Killarney (heard the killarney are also heavy in comparision to other whistles so that worries me a bit).

I think whistles are quite personal things so it’s tricky to give advice, but there’s genuinely nothing wrong with keeping your sweetone if you like it and are a beginner, if it’s working well they can be as good as very expensive whistles.

If you really do want to upgrade just for a change, the dx005 is a light blowing whistle, easy to get in the second octave, very light to hold and has a slightly folky/woodlandy/mellow tone to t which I quite like. I’d recommend it.

Just for info, there’s a very active penny whistle group on Facebook and a whistle based Internet forum called chiff and fipple you may also get good advice from.

Generation. A lot of folks seem not to like them (I am not one of them), but the second octave is very easy.

I can’t remember ever having a D whistle that was hard to play in the second octave. I think if I came across one I would throw it out or else return it. I’m just a bit doubtful about one thing though, …. You say that you bought your new whistle from a ‘local luthier’. The expertise of a luthier is in stringed instruments (i.e., ‘lute’/luthier). Did the luthier make the whistle? I’m not suggesting that there wouldn’t be luthiers who could make good whistles, but given your description of the instrument I’m just wondering ??

I myself want a very sweet, light, easy 2nd octave on my whistles.

With High D whistles, yes I’ve tried some with very stiff 2nd octaves. Oddly, the worst ones were the most expensive ones, High D whistles in the $400 to $600 range.

My favourite High D whistles are vintage Feadogs and Generations. The original Feadog from around 1980, which people call the "Mark 1", is the best of the Feadogs, with an extremely sweet 2nd octave. Feadog Mk1’s show up on Ebay fairly often.

Old Generations are all over the map, some with very sweet pure easy 2nd octaves and some with raspy stiff unplayable 2nd octaves and everything in between. You have to try them to see.

With new High D whistles my favourites are Sindts and Killarneys. The Killarney High D that I bought a few years ago is much better than the one I bought more recently. Try to find an early Killarney.

Sindts are possibly the best High Whistles being made today, sometimes you can find them used for reasonable prices. They have very sweet 2nd octaves, yet full low octaves, very smooth voicing, and a sophisticated tone.

@Gobby Oh, I think that was a mistake of mine, I actually thought luthier was the english word for anyone that makes music instruments haha. His focus was with wind instruments and he plays in sessions with tin whistles, but he was a fairly new in the making, and here we don’t really have many options to chose because it’s not a very well known instrument. My sweetone wasn’t super cheaper because I had to buy it from another country. But since he was local it was a good price. The C whistle I bought from this same person is wonderful, but for some reason I have this air problem with the D one. I tried talking to him about it but he stopped replying and I just gave up and decided not to buy from him anymore.

My Mrs can confirm the dx005 is light blowing and has an easy second octave. To our ears it has a pleasing smooth and round sound. She says she actually has to adjust to not over blow it, especially after playing different whistles. It seems pretty light. We’d recommend it as well.

The Killarney and the Dixon dx005 are both very good in this regard.

"The Killarney High D that I bought a few years ago is much better than the one I bought more recently."
Interesting Richard. I had the opposite experience. Horses for courses or variable output I wonder.

Just received a high d Wild whistle from Mcneela music in Dublin. Hardly takes any breath at all, so easy in both octaves.Appears to be really made whistle

I had read elsewhere that the Wild took extra push for the high A and B. Are you finding that to not be the case with yours?

Error 33mins ago. Typing error, meant to say Wild high d whistle was really well made, heavy brass with Matt black coating , brass and delrin mouthpiece.

I find no effort required, really so easy.I was pleasantly surprised on first playing after unpacking.

It sounds promising! Does OXXOO give a good C natural?

On my older composite narrow bore Burke C, the 0xx 000 gives a nice solid C natural if not blown hard. The brass narrow bore, also older, in comparison has a quite sharp C natural with the same fingering and has to be consciously underblown to be in tune, something that takes a bit of getting used to. Not as sharp as my Sindt which requires a dramatic drop in pressure to get an in-tune C natural with 0xx 000. I finally decided to "fix" that one with clear tape across the top hole, no more tuning issues.