Howard low whistles are not hard blown nor do they use much air. They move solidly between the two octaves. With practice they can be played loudly or quietly in both octaves without significant changes in pitch. This is a great tunable low D whistle.

The whistle body is crafted from a specially drawn large bore, thin-walled tube of brass, the alloy of choice for fine instrument makers through the ages. The metal is a German-made alloy of copper and tin, a special ratio from Howard designed to achieve optimal acoustic properties. The two-piece design resolves tuning issues without the use of perturbations in the bore, making it accurate and stable over both octaves at all volumes.

These are now sold with a choice of head:

Reed

The reed head is the loudest and most powerful of the three heads. It has a strong resonant reed like quality that is unique in the whistle world. It requires some taming and good breath control.

Balanced

The balanced head is the easiest of the three heads to play and is great for all types of music. It has a small amount of the resonant quality of the reed head and a little of the breathy quality of the Chiff head that isn’t really present on the reed head. If you are just going to get one head we recommend the balanced head especially if you are a beginner.

Chiff

The Chiff mouth piece has little of the reedy resonance of the reed head, it is like a balanced head with a breathier quality. The second octave of the Chiff head requires more breath control than the balanced head.

Black powder coated brass, polished inside
Length: end thru fipple 22"
Distances between finger holes: smallest 1-1/2"; largest 1-2/3"
BIG finger holes: 1/2" diameter
Range: 2 octaves
Comes in a protective box.

Chieftain Custom Low D, Tunable Whistle