Great Rig Rundown on the Optima Scott, glad it’s in proper hands. Attaching a few more videos for the community via the playing of Kevin Crawford and Orlaith Mcauliffe doing Melodic cardio on Optima’s . Keep thrivin and sharing in the gifts of Tunes Y’all, Sincerely Sean 🥂 Kevin Crawford: th-cam.com/video/15-XPJMfFx8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=wbZGmbGRtwZWz1za Orlaith Mcauliffe : th-cam.com/video/ODmqPvpxT50/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fBVhH-hcqL5iAkhU th-cam.com/video/vT7j1qLkQmQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YyCwR8-JCD6ARL6I
Thanks for showing both of the whistle i just happened to buy both of them some time ago never seeing your videos . I would have to say the Howard is much more clear in tone and not a hissy sound at the head like the Kerry one . and also the Howard was a bit more easy to play for some reason i have found. Dont buy with regret pay the bit extra .Thanks anyway
Glad you found the Howard. I have learned a number of folks are looking for that airy / chirpy tone. I personally prefer the clarity of the Howard. They do a great job, and you can get different heads.
I am currently trying to decide between the Howard and Kerry optima. This has been very helpful. With short fingers the finger reach is important to me. Can you tell me if they are the same or one is slightly shorter reach?
I'm so glad. A couple things. If $ is an issue, the Optima is less expensive. As far as the hole spacing, the Howard has a larger bore, and the whistle is shorter. This means the first hole on the Howard is close to the head than on the Optima by a couple inches. The Holes are a little closer together on the Howard. There is not much of a difference between the hole diameter between the two whistles, but the finger spacing between these two is close on the Howard. The Optima has that slightly breathy sound, and the Howard does not. With the Howard you have the option of different heads for the whistle. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need any clarification or have any more questions. Scott
I do use the tape. You do not have to retape it very often. For a number of weeks I banged the head against my leg to get moisture out. I then thought something was wrong and found I had compressed the tape and needed to replace it. I have only replaced it once in the 7 months I have owned it. I probably should have replaced it twice in that time and I play it every day. Howard has a nice video on replacing the tape. It's a reality of keeping the head sealed. Other manufacturers handle this in different ways. The Howard would be significantly more expensive with a metal head. I was concerned the first time I had to retape it, but it was much easier than I anticipated. This also gives you the chance to give the whistle a good clean. I know I need to talk about all this soon.
Finger spacing being as short as possible is most important to me. So will be doing the tuneable Howard. Down the road I may still get a Kerry optima. First things first . Can’t thank you enough for sharing such helpful information.
Ooh you beat me I nearly bought a cheiiftan low e the other day but it was really old and a thought the condition might be a bit iffy....so now im getting the bottom grip a bit but now im struggling to get a pipers grip in the top consistanlty, so back to three bling miice, i dont know cheiftan sounds a bit blowy, ive watched a lot of videos and I mght want an mk pro then cabony....what ya think? I want it to still sound metal, Kerry whistles have a lot of good tutorials, and can or do you play. Concerning hobbits,/in dreams from the hobbit sound track??
Used whistles are always a bit of guess work. It'll likely at least be scratched. I did find that if I start by focusing on holding the low whistle comfortably without my fingers over the tone holes (like with your little fingers stabilizing the whistle) that you can then lay your fingers over the tone holes. That helped me with my grip. I just reminded myself of it each time I picked up the whistle until I was comfortable. Yes, the Optima and Chieftain are a bit blowy. It is a tone you'd have to prefer. I've heard (never payed) a Carbony and have heard folks say the tone can be a little muted. Meaning it does not have the ring of a metal body. I love the idea of the Carbony, but again you'd have to want the sound. Listen to a few more videos. I think some of the Kerry whistles may not be as breathy, but I am not positive. I'm certain you could email Phil and ask. I have played an MK Pro, but only briefly. It was very nice. It doesn't require a great deal of air to play well and has a good volume. Again, listen to a few videos of folks playing. Some say the MK Pro can be slippy in the hand. For this I would not get the polished, but the mat anodized finish. I love my Howard and the multiple heads which permit me to achieve different tone qualities. However, I think the MK Pro is on my short list for whenever I might want an upgrade.
![ละลาย (LALALYE) - DAOU PITTAYA ต้าห์อู๋ พิทยา [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wo6r9TgausI/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for this review friend!
My pleasure.
That does sound very nice
It is. It has a good tone, but you will really want to prefer the airy tone.
Great Rig Rundown on the Optima Scott, glad it’s in proper hands. Attaching a few more videos for the community via the playing of Kevin Crawford and Orlaith Mcauliffe doing Melodic cardio on Optima’s . Keep thrivin and sharing in the gifts of Tunes Y’all, Sincerely Sean 🥂
Kevin Crawford:
th-cam.com/video/15-XPJMfFx8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=wbZGmbGRtwZWz1za
Orlaith Mcauliffe :
th-cam.com/video/ODmqPvpxT50/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fBVhH-hcqL5iAkhU
th-cam.com/video/vT7j1qLkQmQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YyCwR8-JCD6ARL6I
Sweet! Thanks Sean.
Thanks for showing both of the whistle i just happened to buy both of them some time ago never seeing your videos . I would have to say the Howard is much more clear in tone and not a hissy sound at the head like the Kerry one . and also the Howard was a bit more easy to play for some reason i have found. Dont buy with regret pay the bit extra .Thanks anyway
Glad you found the Howard. I have learned a number of folks are looking for that airy / chirpy tone. I personally prefer the clarity of the Howard. They do a great job, and you can get different heads.
I am currently trying to decide between the Howard and Kerry optima. This has been very helpful. With short fingers the finger reach is important to me. Can you tell me if they are the same or one is slightly shorter reach?
I'm so glad. A couple things. If $ is an issue, the Optima is less expensive. As far as the hole spacing, the Howard has a larger bore, and the whistle is shorter. This means the first hole on the Howard is close to the head than on the Optima by a couple inches. The Holes are a little closer together on the Howard. There is not much of a difference between the hole diameter between the two whistles, but the finger spacing between these two is close on the Howard. The Optima has that slightly breathy sound, and the Howard does not. With the Howard you have the option of different heads for the whistle.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need any clarification or have any more questions. Scott
@@LowDWhistle leaning toward the Howard after reading this
Do you use that white tape on yours
Kinda did not like having to do that
I do use the tape. You do not have to retape it very often. For a number of weeks I banged the head against my leg to get moisture out. I then thought something was wrong and found I had compressed the tape and needed to replace it. I have only replaced it once in the 7 months I have owned it. I probably should have replaced it twice in that time and I play it every day.
Howard has a nice video on replacing the tape. It's a reality of keeping the head sealed. Other manufacturers handle this in different ways. The Howard would be significantly more expensive with a metal head.
I was concerned the first time I had to retape it, but it was much easier than I anticipated. This also gives you the chance to give the whistle a good clean. I know I need to talk about all this soon.
I would still purchase based on my preferred tone and deal with maintenance.
Finger spacing being as short as possible is most important to me. So will be doing the tuneable Howard. Down the road I may still get a Kerry optima. First things first .
Can’t thank you enough for sharing such helpful information.
Ooh you beat me I nearly bought a cheiiftan low e the other day but it was really old and a thought the condition might be a bit iffy....so now im getting the bottom grip a bit but now im struggling to get a pipers grip in the top consistanlty, so back to three bling miice, i dont know cheiftan sounds a bit blowy, ive watched a lot of videos and I mght want an mk pro then cabony....what ya think? I want it to still sound metal, Kerry whistles have a lot of good tutorials, and can or do you play. Concerning hobbits,/in dreams from the hobbit sound track??
Used whistles are always a bit of guess work. It'll likely at least be scratched. I did find that if I start by focusing on holding the low whistle comfortably without my fingers over the tone holes (like with your little fingers stabilizing the whistle) that you can then lay your fingers over the tone holes. That helped me with my grip. I just reminded myself of it each time I picked up the whistle until I was comfortable.
Yes, the Optima and Chieftain are a bit blowy. It is a tone you'd have to prefer. I've heard (never payed) a Carbony and have heard folks say the tone can be a little muted. Meaning it does not have the ring of a metal body. I love the idea of the Carbony, but again you'd have to want the sound. Listen to a few more videos.
I think some of the Kerry whistles may not be as breathy, but I am not positive. I'm certain you could email Phil and ask.
I have played an MK Pro, but only briefly. It was very nice. It doesn't require a great deal of air to play well and has a good volume. Again, listen to a few videos of folks playing. Some say the MK Pro can be slippy in the hand. For this I would not get the polished, but the mat anodized finish.
I love my Howard and the multiple heads which permit me to achieve different tone qualities. However, I think the MK Pro is on my short list for whenever I might want an upgrade.
Not tunable right?
Correct. I only got the non-tunable version because it fit the budget. Otherwise, tunable is my preference.