Chieftain Low D Review
(Review written May 2004)
- Preface
- I'm really quite ashamed of myself for not writing this review sooner. I've had this Chieftain low D for about 8 years now, and it's been played pretty steadily ever since that time. It's a non-tunable one-piece model. It's my understanding that Phil Hardy (the creator) makes them differently now, but I can only review the one I have. Anyone want to donate a newer model to the cause?
- At a Glance
- Whistle Reviewed
- Chieftain Low D
- Models Available
- Chieftains are available tunable and non-tunable in every key imaginable. I don't think anyone produces a more complete line of instruments.
- How Acquired
- Lark in the Morning, many years ago.
- Construction
- Aluminum with aluminum fipple and windway.
- Price at Time of Review (in US Dollars unless otherwise noted)
- $140.00
- Available From
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Lark in the Morning
The Whistle Shop and many more. This is not a difficult brand to acquire.
- Appearance
- It's a piece of aluminum pipe with holes drilled in it. What more can I say really? It's got a zen-like simplicity to it, and I've had people ask me if I made it myself because, well, it looks like a piece of aluminum pipe with holes drilled in it. I'll take some pictures, but I won't dwell on them like I do on some reviews, because..well, do I really need to say it again?
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There she is, in all of her tube-like glory. It's funny how my digital camera picks up every little imperfection and nick and blows them all out of proportion. All of the pictures I took, the whistle looked like I'd been using it to hammer nails. The whistle doesn't look a tenth that bad to the naked eye..really!
Here's the mouthpiece. The windway is extremely narrow, as you can see here, and the labium ramp is short and heavily angled. It's pretty sharp, too
- Playing Characteristics
- The whistle sounds like an aluminum low whistle. It has a bit of an aluminum bite to the tone in the second octave. It's very deep and mellow in the first octave. It gets a big shreaky at high G and above when not warmed up well.
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Sound clips of the whistle:
Stack of RyeVolume: This whistle is medium-soft. In a medium-sized session, you really can't hear it.
Responsiveness: This whistle is not very responsive. I have always had trouble playing fast tunes on this whistle. I know it's not me, or my non-piper's grip, because I've had no problems playing fast tunes on the Alba low D, the Copeland low D, and Phil's newer model low D which I was able to play once at a session when someone showed up with one. On this whistle, you get above a certain speed and tunes start getting muddled. But it's great for slow and even medium-fast tunes. [I own a new range Chieftain low D now, and it's definitely more responsive than this one was.]
Tuning: This whistle is in tune when warmed. That said, it takes a whole lotta warming up to keep it in tune. When I've played this at gigs, I've kept it under my butt, or tucked into my armpit to keep it warm. Let it sit for even a few minutes, and it's completely cold again. I know Phil has gotten some complaints about how much warming up his whistles take. I don't know if he's addressed this in the new models. [He has. See new-style Chieftain review.]
C-natural: OXXOOO produces a slightly-flat c-natural on this whistle..about 15 cents. OXOOOO is perfect.
Hole size and placement: This whistle has holes are on the large-ish side. The last hole is a little far from the pack, and I think some people might have trouble with this even with piper's grip. I use my pinkie on the bottom hole on all low whistles, so it's not a problem for me.
Air volume and pressure requirements: This whistle is very easy to blow in the first octave. As you move up the scale, however, the it takes more and more push to reach the note, especially as you get over 2nd octave G. Because the whistle has a very narrow windway, this makes for a large amount of back-pressure, which means that it can take some confidence to really play this whistle. Because the windway is so small, it doesn't take much air volume, however.
Clogging: As with the Alba: "Big metal whistles get wet. Fact of life." With a windway this narrow, the Chieftain clogs fast. It's not as bad in Dallas where the air is drier, but it's still a concern. I couldn't play lots of tunes in a row on this whistle. In Houston, this whistle was good for two in a row without clearing, if I was lucky.
- Summary
- Pretty good low D whistle. I'm mostly happy with it in the first 1.25 octaves, on slow and medium tunes. There, it really rocks. The upper octave is hit and miss..I sometimes pull it off and it sounds bright and cheery. Other times, it just shrieks. If it had faster response time, and a better upper octave, this would be a near-perfect low D. Me, I save it for those magic moments when the lights are low and the candles are lit.