Clarke Original D Tinwhistle - Black with Gold Diamond Decor - a traditional Irish Celtic Penny Whistle

This review will be in comparing this whistle to: Clarke Celtic, Feadog pro, Feadog, Generation, Sondern whistles.First, The Clarke whistles are tapered, the others I have are not. What I have discovered this means is that in order to get a good sound in lower registers, you have to blow a little harder though the Sondern whistles are very tolerant, the Clarke whistles will make a good tone quality with constant blowing pressure. I believe this has something to do with the tapered design. My straight tube whistles require more air for higher tones.The feel of the whistle is nice. Though it is metal, it is a bit textured so the whistle doesn't slide around so it is easy to keep your fingers in the same position.The whistle isn't nearly as loud as brass or nickel. Not sure if it is the paint, the taper, or because of the piece of wood in the head, but it has a softer woody type sound, so for tunes calling for a softer, rich tone, this is my go-to in the key of D.The wood piece mentioned...one of the things I do not like about this whistle is the feel of the piece of wood against my lip, at first it was rough...after playing it a bit, the wood wore down some (along with my lip at first) The wood does absorb some moisture which helps prevent condensation buildup in the fipple, but it does reach a saturation point where the wood swells a little and then it doesn't play right until you let the wood dry out. The headpiece does not feel good on the lips, but. that piece of wood that is uncomfortable also I think is responsible for several pros.The wood piece is cut at an angle and is directly in line beneath the fipple...having taken physics classes on sound. I know that what this does is it causes the acoustic length of the whistle to match the actual length. What this means...is that when you go from the first to the second octave, there is not a cavity of pressurized air in the hollow whistle head that causes a crazed sound during the transition. So...all that science talk just to say that you do not need to 'tweek' this whistle with a piece of tack to soften the sound, it has a soft sound with nice smooth octave shift out of the box.Recap, when just learning a song I use this whistle because the tapered design will let me hit notes while blowing softly, and it is not overly loud, also the second octave has a softer tone and is not screechy and I think this is because of the wood piece and the paint. Con...I don't like the feel of the headpiece and when the wood gets too moist, it has to be dried before it can be played...takes a good hour or so to reach this point, but you'll know it when it happens.

The media could not be loaded. The whistle was shipped the very next day after I ordered it, and it arrived two days later. Very pleased. As for the whistle itself, it is VERY difficult to play compared to my Oak Classic key of C whistle. When you get it and first start playing it, chances are you'll start out playing the second octave. It takes an insane amount of air control to play the first octave, because it requires little to no breath, and it is VERY soft and quiet. This new whistle does sound amazing though. It's crystal clear. 4/5 for the product because of how quiet the lowest octave is. 5/5 for the seller.EDIT: After playing around with the whistle for a couple hours, I'd like to change my rating to 5/5. It took a lot of effort, but I've figured out how to play the lowest register better. Now I can play it at that volume where it sounds soft enough to make that beautiful, mellow sound, but loud enough to for people to hear and enjoy. When you first get this whistle, don't give up on it. Make sure you use a VERY small amount of air to play it, otherwise you WILL start out playing in the second register and you'll be upset when you find it near impossible to reach the third register. (That's right. I'm implying that, in the right hands, this whistle could potentially play three octaves.) Great buy!In the video, I play the beginning of the song "Concerning Hobbits" from the Lord of the Rings trilogy on the Clarke Original Penny Whistle "D" that I bought here. (I have about 6 hours playing experience total on the tin whistle, which is why I lack the ability to play ornamentation.)Enjoy.

I'll be honest, at first I really did not like this. I had originally gotten a Clarke sweet tone. I'm a beginner so, right away I thought the sweet tone was a bad whistle, or a just a cheap whistle. Then, after practicing and getting better, this magical thing happens where a cheap whistle starts sounding pretty good. So, I wanted to give this a try considering a few people I watch on youtube love this whistle and it sounds good.Right away, it was SOO breathy, and it took a lot of breath for me. I thought maybe my product was defective. But sure enough it seems many people, even the ones that like it, know and tell you it is a breathy sounding whistle. Well, I'm not big on returns so I just started using it, practicing the same things I was practicing with the sweet tone to break it in. And I'll have to say, I actually do like this whistle a lot. Yea, the amount of air it needs is quite a bit, but once you get a little more conditioned than it's not so bad. The sound is very pleasing actually.It's not very loud, which, for practicing I prefer that. I think it has a nice mellow sound, the high notes are a little less piercing, which I also like. I would recommend this for a good whistle, with the disclaimer that the sound is nice, but it does require a good amount of air, which after a while of playing you probably won't notice that so much. And it's a good start to maybe getting a low d whistle at some point. I think if you get it and don't like it at first, maybe play it for a day or two and see if you like it after that. It took me a few days before I realized I really do like this whistle.