I bought one of these (minus the flute part) direct from Dixons based on your review and I'm very glad I did. What a lovely sound is has. Thanks for the review.
Great review! I have been looking at taking up the whistle. I have a high D but thought it would be fun to have a low whistle. I just purchased this based on this review. Having the option to dabble with the flute is a added benefit. Thanks for posting this!
I have played the Tony Dixon flute in particular for years and have found it a great addition to my arsenal will have a look at the low flute too :-) thanks for the cool review
Stephanie you did well on the Flute with Inisheer I agree I prefer the whistle over the flute Much easier on our hands etc From your previous reviews I have purchased quite a few Dixon whistles I find them very easy to play Thanks again 😊
Also much easier on shoulder and neck, transverse flutes can really mess up this area over a decade or two (idk a professional flautist who wouldn't complain about it lmao; wrist issues like cts are fairly common too but I suspect that's a mix of flute AND mobile phone use)
Hi Cutie Pie, thanks for the review :) I've had a bad experience with the Dixon flute, I find the holes to be enormous for me !! 😅 I just can't cover them correctly and the flute is quite air demanding (and it is a F flute). It was my first flute that I bought too quickly, thinking it was easy to play the Irish flute ... what a beginner mistake 😂 The Dixon whistles have a good reputation but the Irish flute is not for me. I will eventually find the right one for me. But you, you're doing a good job with this one 👍
I think once you get the correct mouth positioning, and you really get used to it, the air requirements become easier - it's just learning to work that airflow correctly, but it's SO difficult. I'm just too lazy for it, lol. x
Definitely think one of those might be in m future....I've been wanting a Low D for a long time, and trying a flute would be kinda neat too. I love the sound of my Dixon Trad and DX005.
I have a whole slew of Tony Dixon whistles, ranging from a low D Alloy to a high Eb brass Trad, plus one of their PVC tenor flutes. And every one of them is a great instrument, reasonably priced for those of us with pecuniary challenges. I can't recommend 'em highly enough. I don't play mine nearly as well as you do, though!
Hi Stephanie, I have the Tony Dixon DX102 low whistle and later bought the TB021D flute. The flute resembles the one in your combined set, the whistle is aluminium and has a quite different sound compared to the flute. For some whistles it is possible to buy a flute head, but a flute based on the DX102 body would be far too heavy for me. And wow, you played inisheer so well on the flute, I'm still jealous.
I had/have this whistle. It wasn't bad. It was a good first low whistle. I couldn't get the power in the low end that I wanted, and the higher end was wild it seemed. I'd tried to play it in a session and it just won't fly. It wasn't loud enough to really even play with 1 other person unless maybe you had a mic. I set some money aside and got a Thunderbird that I'm much more satisfied with. There's a sizeable difference in the cost though. If you've got an echoey room though, this is especially great. As a flute player primarily though, I'll usually just grab my wooden flute...but I love the chiff from low whistles. I really would like to try the flute mouthpiece, but I don't want to just feel like I'm wasting money for something cute.
I'm not too impressed with you saying it is an easy to play whistle.. after being a subcriber to you for quite some time, I by now think you can make a rainpipe sound good. ☺ As for me, I am still struggling to learn the Dominic low D, (the grip still hurts my hands..guess my hands are too small for it), and still waiting for my Chris Wall whistles.. at least he got another month on now.. starting to wonder or I will ever see them. Thank you for all you teach, you keep me going on my Clarke sweettones! Much love, big hug! 🤗❤
Have you tried playing gradually larger instruments or do you do any stretching exercises? In South China (where people are on avg a lot shorter than North or Europe, including kids) they start with a size that's comfortable and gradually work their way down to be able to play larger flutes (most never reach alto/"bas" but that's mostly due to difficulty of setting the right air flow on transverse and rim blown flutes) Cheers
Give yourself time - it took me quite a few weeks to get used to the double piper's grip and for a while I though I would never get it. Try to relax your hands, I've found that is key.
I've had this set for some years now. I agree with your observations on the full sound of the whistle. It's very distinctive. But I haven't had as good an experience with half-holing, especially the low Eb. Because the whistle is slightly conical, the right hand tone holes are a bit smaller than on most cylindrical whistles, and I find it tricky to get that low Eb. Of course, I don't need that note all that often...
It's so strange how unique we all are 😊 I completely understand where you're coming from, though I'm the opposite! 😆 I find half holing so much easier with smaller holes, as I always open the larger holes too far 🙈 that's why there's no 'perfect whistle' - only the perfect whistle for you! Thanks for sharing your experience, hopefully it'll help someone with their decision to buy, or not 💚
I bought this set several months ago, after first trying my hand at the high D. I find the transverse attachment quite difficult to get a good sound with, but I'm happy with the whistle as a whistle. The only defect is that the A note is just a little flat on mine. I'm guessing I might be able to fix that by enlarging the hole slightly, but honestly I'm a little afraid to mess with it, and really it's not that bad. Otherwise, I've found it a good low whistle to learn on, and I enjoy playing it daily.
Interesting. In my Dixon, the A is too sharp, not too flat. I can fix it by adding some tape to the third hole from top which seems to be a tiny bit too large to be in tune (or placed too high)
i have two flutes one wooden Irish one and its massively difficult to play. I have a classical flute and its extremely easy to play, it is plastic with a great sound, this is the one. Nuvo N230SFBK student flute 2.0 in black
I'm a fan of Tony Dixon Whistles I have a few in my whistle case. I did buy one of his little piccolos, more or less a regular D whistle but side blown. I could barely get a note out of it. I tried a YT search and couldn't find a single post played on one so I figured it wasn't just me who couldn't play it. I did stick with it for a week or two and managed to post something. It's quite dreadful really but at least I could boast I was the only one. Quick update....after I left this comment I did find one more post that came up about two years after mine.....well at least I was first!
In general, I can say from experience that the smaller (shorter) the transverse flutes are, the easier they are to play, in the sense that the sound is produced more easily.
I love the sound of the Dixon in the first octave, it's not a loud whistle but when I record it with a microphone, the sound has a sort of "sharp" quality to it that makes it cut very well through a mix. Not too fond of the 2nd octave sound of my particular Dixon, it sounds a bit... cheap?
I also have these two instruments. Don't give up with the Jupiter - it took me three weeks to get a note out of the flute when I first started and I almost collapsed with oxygen debt, but once you get a note it's got a beautiful tone... Good luck...
I've not had a great experience with this low whistle. I bought the tunable version with just the whistle head and more often than not I find the first octave break gets stuck in-between notes when playing fluidly. I never had this problem with the non-tunable version. Have contacted Dixon about it but found them rather slow to respond.
For Irish flute, it has always been a complaint that the holes are too far apart for the bottom holes, making it difficult to use. I have even seen stretching exercises to do for playing the flute. Carbony, before they made whistles, use their chimney technology on their Irish Flutes.
Hi CutieBeautyLadyPie! I'm leaning to a 4 piece low D from Dixon, because it's possible to adjust the hand position left-right slightly for more finger position confort. It could be a game changer...or not. My hands are more at the small side and Carbony whith close spacing is out of budget. Any advice? I'm used to play penny Clarke C and D whistles and like the half-open fingering to bend the tone. Thanks!
If you're concerned about finger spacing, you could always get a low G whistle, they're smaller but still list sounding than the classic C/D high whistles. As with anything, it's mostly about practise. If you play the whistle regularly, you'll get used to the finger stretch and be able to play it more effectively over time 😊
I bought this set a while back and it took a while to get use to the fingering but now I really enjoy playing it as a whistle. still getting use to the flute. can you get a flute adapter for the high D version of the whistle as I have it too?
My Tony Dixon flute came through the mail yesterday, than this video come up and I realize that I could have bought this and have both the low d AND the flute 😭😭😭😭
@@CutiepieTinWhistle it's the single piece flute, and it came from a shop placed in Ireland (I live in Italy 😵) the matter is quite complicated 😂 always awesome reviews @CutiePie ❤️
One caveat for your subscribers about the transverse flute mouthpiece: don’t mess with the cork inside the flute head joint. If you do, you’ll discombobulate the proper setting, and subsequently your playing. Incidentally, did you really mean it when you said, “I’m one of those instrument players, if I can’t play it immediately, I don’t play it!” 07:16 If you did, what kind of attitude is that?! If I subscribed to that philosophy, I would’ve never learned to play any of the 19 instruments that I currently play, especially the Bb trumpet, concert flute, violin and soprano saxophone. For example, it took me months to segue from the alto saxophone (that I already played for years) to the soprano saxophone. Although, they both share the same fingering chart in the treble clef, they both have entirely different embouchures and apertures. But I digress.
With the exception of the Native American flute, I don’t know anyone who was able to just pick up an instrument, and immediately play it right from the start. I know of only one category of players who can do that, and that’s - pardon the derogatory term: the “idiot savant.” That is, a person who has an exceptional aptitude in one particular field, such as a musical instrument. Otherwise, it can take months, and even years to become really proficient with a musical instrument. BTW: Your playing of the transverse flute was a bit airy, but overall it was quite good. 👍 By the way, an embouchure and aperture is required for every brass and woodwind instrument. And what does an embouchure have to do with your hands? 07:29 🤔 It's all with the mouth. 🤭 Happy fluting! 😊
Each to their own. All I can tell you is, that I have a collection of instruments I can't play because you need to invest SO MUCH time to play anything reasonable on them 🤣 Tin whistle makes SENSE to me. Also, I have so many other hobbies and interests I'm not THAT focused on learning to play instruments. I adore the idea of being able to play them, but I lack the time and commitment, whereas with tin whistle, the blowing is easier than most other woodwind instruments, and the finger positions are easy too, one note after the other, no real fancy positions, just open each hole as you go upward, reset and repeat 😆 Flute hurts my hands due to the position you need to hold them in. They're awkwardly tucked over to the side rather than casually laid out infront of me 😊 I gave nothing against anyone playing it, but I'm just being honest and saying that flute is not the instrument for me.
@@CutiepieTinWhistleHi Steph - Thank you for your candid 167-word response. I agree. It does take a lot of time and, depending on the quality of instrument, a lot of money. Not to mention, having the passion and motivation to learn to play an instrument. And then there's the challenge. For me, that's the violin. I've been playing the violin for five years; and I still play it only, by choice, in the first position, and with no vibrato. In fact, because of the genre of music and the manner I play it, I consider myself a fiddle player as opposed to a violin player. As the old saying goes, ‘”The violin is to fancy, as the fiddle is to folksy.” Keep up the good work. Stay well, stay safe and keep the faith. 😊
@@christophertsiliacos8958 oh violin is my absolute favourite 💚 I did try to play it too, never really got past sounding like a dying cat 🤣 but it was a lot of fun! Good luck with all your instruments! x
@@CutiepieTinWhistle Thanks, Steph. Being retired, I have lots of time to dedicate to all of my instruments. It would be nice to see you and Lindsey Stirling someday do a duet together, you on the tin whistle and Lindsey on the violin. BTW: You, too, play several instruments. Lest we forget. 😉🧡
I bought one of these (minus the flute part) direct from Dixons based on your review and I'm very glad I did. What a lovely sound is has. Thanks for the review.
Great review! I have been looking at taking up the whistle. I have a high D but thought it would be fun to have a low whistle. I just purchased this based on this review. Having the option to dabble with the flute is a added benefit. Thanks for posting this!
I have played the Tony Dixon flute in particular for years and have found it a great addition to my arsenal will have a look at the low flute too :-) thanks for the cool review
Stephanie you did well on the Flute with Inisheer
I agree I prefer the whistle over the flute
Much easier on our hands etc
From your previous reviews I have purchased quite a few Dixon whistles
I find them very easy to play
Thanks again 😊
Also much easier on shoulder and neck, transverse flutes can really mess up this area over a decade or two (idk a professional flautist who wouldn't complain about it lmao; wrist issues like cts are fairly common too but I suspect that's a mix of flute AND mobile phone use)
Incredibly beautiful music and very interesting video.
Thank you Cutie Pie
👍👏🌹🌹🌹💕.
I have a number of Tony Dixon whistles - absolutely love them!!!
Hi Cutie Pie, thanks for the review :)
I've had a bad experience with the Dixon flute, I find the holes to be enormous for me !! 😅 I just can't cover them correctly and the flute is quite air demanding (and it is a F flute). It was my first flute that I bought too quickly, thinking it was easy to play the Irish flute ... what a beginner mistake 😂
The Dixon whistles have a good reputation but the Irish flute is not for me. I will eventually find the right one for me. But you, you're doing a good job with this one 👍
I think once you get the correct mouth positioning, and you really get used to it, the air requirements become easier - it's just learning to work that airflow correctly, but it's SO difficult. I'm just too lazy for it, lol. x
@@CutiepieTinWhistle You're still doing better than I do 😆
Definitely think one of those might be in m future....I've been wanting a Low D for a long time, and trying a flute would be kinda neat too. I love the sound of my Dixon Trad and DX005.
I have a whole slew of Tony Dixon whistles, ranging from a low D Alloy to a high Eb brass Trad, plus one of their PVC tenor flutes. And every one of them is a great instrument, reasonably priced for those of us with pecuniary challenges. I can't recommend 'em highly enough. I don't play mine nearly as well as you do, though!
Hi Stephanie, I have the Tony Dixon DX102 low whistle and later bought the TB021D flute. The flute resembles the one in your combined set, the whistle is aluminium and has a quite different sound compared to the flute. For some whistles it is possible to buy a flute head, but a flute based on the DX102 body would be far too heavy for me. And wow, you played inisheer so well on the flute, I'm still jealous.
I had/have this whistle. It wasn't bad. It was a good first low whistle. I couldn't get the power in the low end that I wanted, and the higher end was wild it seemed. I'd tried to play it in a session and it just won't fly. It wasn't loud enough to really even play with 1 other person unless maybe you had a mic. I set some money aside and got a Thunderbird that I'm much more satisfied with. There's a sizeable difference in the cost though.
If you've got an echoey room though, this is especially great.
As a flute player primarily though, I'll usually just grab my wooden flute...but I love the chiff from low whistles. I really would like to try the flute mouthpiece, but I don't want to just feel like I'm wasting money for something cute.
I have one of those. They play well
I'm not too impressed with you saying it is an easy to play whistle.. after being a subcriber to you for quite some time, I by now think you can make a rainpipe sound good. ☺ As for me, I am still struggling to learn the Dominic low D, (the grip still hurts my hands..guess my hands are too small for it), and still waiting for my Chris Wall whistles.. at least he got another month on now.. starting to wonder or I will ever see them. Thank you for all you teach, you keep me going on my Clarke sweettones! Much love, big hug! 🤗❤
Have you tried playing gradually larger instruments or do you do any stretching exercises? In South China (where people are on avg a lot shorter than North or Europe, including kids) they start with a size that's comfortable and gradually work their way down to be able to play larger flutes (most never reach alto/"bas" but that's mostly due to difficulty of setting the right air flow on transverse and rim blown flutes)
Cheers
Are you having problems with the low whistles? Is that the issue, the spacing on the low whistles?
Give yourself time - it took me quite a few weeks to get used to the double piper's grip and for a while I though I would never get it. Try to relax your hands, I've found that is key.
I bought a removable key to use the bottom hole. Helped a lot while I’m learning the piper’s grip
I had an awful time with the flute head joint 😢
Thank you. Including that is lightweight is helpful 👍
I've had this set for some years now. I agree with your observations on the full sound of the whistle. It's very distinctive. But I haven't had as good an experience with half-holing, especially the low Eb. Because the whistle is slightly conical, the right hand tone holes are a bit smaller than on most cylindrical whistles, and I find it tricky to get that low Eb. Of course, I don't need that note all that often...
It's so strange how unique we all are 😊 I completely understand where you're coming from, though I'm the opposite! 😆 I find half holing so much easier with smaller holes, as I always open the larger holes too far 🙈 that's why there's no 'perfect whistle' - only the perfect whistle for you!
Thanks for sharing your experience, hopefully it'll help someone with their decision to buy, or not 💚
Thank you for the video 👍🏻
I bought this set several months ago, after first trying my hand at the high D. I find the transverse attachment quite difficult to get a good sound with, but I'm happy with the whistle as a whistle. The only defect is that the A note is just a little flat on mine. I'm guessing I might be able to fix that by enlarging the hole slightly, but honestly I'm a little afraid to mess with it, and really it's not that bad. Otherwise, I've found it a good low whistle to learn on, and I enjoy playing it daily.
Interesting. In my Dixon, the A is too sharp, not too flat. I can fix it by adding some tape to the third hole from top which seems to be a tiny bit too large to be in tune (or placed too high)
i have two flutes one wooden Irish one and its massively difficult to play. I have a classical flute and its extremely easy to play, it is plastic with a great sound, this is the one. Nuvo N230SFBK student flute 2.0 in black
I have this set and loooove the whistle but I still have to figure out the flute head 😂
I'm a fan of Tony Dixon Whistles I have a few in my whistle case. I did buy one of his little piccolos, more or less a regular D whistle but side blown. I could barely get a note out of it. I tried a YT search and couldn't find a single post played on one so I figured it wasn't just me who couldn't play it. I did stick with it for a week or two and managed to post something. It's quite dreadful really but at least I could boast I was the only one.
Quick update....after I left this comment I did find one more post that came up about two years after mine.....well at least I was first!
Do you still have it? I find side blown flutes really difficult in general 🤣
@@CutiepieTinWhistle Hi Stephanie, yes I still have it. My daughter took flute lessons when she was at school and she couldn't play it either.
In general, I can say from experience that the smaller (shorter) the transverse flutes are, the easier they are to play, in the sense that the sound is produced more easily.
I love the sound of the Dixon in the first octave, it's not a loud whistle but when I record it with a microphone, the sound has a sort of "sharp" quality to it that makes it cut very well through a mix. Not too fond of the 2nd octave sound of my particular Dixon, it sounds a bit... cheap?
I don't have any Irish flutes but I do have a Jupiter Flute and a Yamaha Fife, and I've never managed to get a note out of either of them!
I also have these two instruments. Don't give up with the Jupiter - it took me three weeks to get a note out of the flute when I first started and I almost collapsed with oxygen debt, but once you get a note it's got a beautiful tone... Good luck...
@@stevebrooks9119 I actually started having flute lessons in January and I can now get lots of notes out of the Jupiter flute! I'm really glad I did
I've not had a great experience with this low whistle. I bought the tunable version with just the whistle head and more often than not I find the first octave break gets stuck in-between notes when playing fluidly. I never had this problem with the non-tunable version. Have contacted Dixon about it but found them rather slow to respond.
For Irish flute, it has always been a complaint that the holes are too far apart for the bottom holes, making it difficult to use. I have even seen stretching exercises to do for playing the flute. Carbony, before they made whistles, use their chimney technology on their Irish Flutes.
Hi CutieBeautyLadyPie!
I'm leaning to a 4 piece low D from Dixon, because it's possible to adjust the hand position left-right slightly for more finger position confort.
It could be a game changer...or not.
My hands are more at the small side and Carbony whith close spacing is out of budget.
Any advice?
I'm used to play penny Clarke C and D whistles and like the half-open fingering to bend the tone.
Thanks!
If you're concerned about finger spacing, you could always get a low G whistle, they're smaller but still list sounding than the classic C/D high whistles.
As with anything, it's mostly about practise. If you play the whistle regularly, you'll get used to the finger stretch and be able to play it more effectively over time 😊
Good video and eval. I wasn’t sure about the sound that came from the whistle, just didn’t sound good to me.
The song is fly by brian finnegan right? great review, sounds like a pretty nice whistle
It is yes :) tutorial linked i the description if you want to try it out. x
I bought this set a while back and it took a while to get use to the fingering but now I really enjoy playing it as a whistle. still getting use to the flute. can you get a flute adapter for the high D version of the whistle as I have it too?
You should just be able to get the flute mouthpiece if you have the whistle yes, though you'd have to ask Dixon 😊
Can you provide the model number for this whistle/flute instrument?
My Tony Dixon flute came through the mail yesterday, than this video come up and I realize that I could have bought this and have both the low d AND the flute 😭😭😭😭
If you contact them they may be willing to exchange, or if the fit is the same you may be able to purchase a whistle head 🙂
@@CutiepieTinWhistle it's the single piece flute, and it came from a shop placed in Ireland (I live in Italy 😵) the matter is quite complicated 😂 always awesome reviews @CutiePie ❤️
Is there a flute adapter which you blow into (like a whistle) instead of blowing over.
This set includes a flute noticed and a whistle mouthpiece.
@@CutiepieTinWhistle Sorry, I meant a mouthpiece at 90 degree that you blow 'into' but hold the instrument like a flute - crazy idea right ?
@@exwhyz33 not that I know of
What's the name of that flute and from where can I buy it please?
This is the Tony Dixon whistle and flute set. It's available at bigwhistle.co.uk (linked in the video description).
Dónde la compro
😃
One caveat for your subscribers about the transverse flute mouthpiece: don’t mess with the cork inside the flute head joint. If you do, you’ll discombobulate the proper setting, and subsequently your playing. Incidentally, did you really mean it when you said, “I’m one of those instrument players, if I can’t play it immediately, I don’t play it!” 07:16 If you did, what kind of attitude is that?! If I subscribed to that philosophy, I would’ve never learned to play any of the 19 instruments that I currently play, especially the Bb trumpet, concert flute, violin and soprano saxophone. For example, it took me months to segue from the alto saxophone (that I already played for years) to the soprano saxophone. Although, they both share the same fingering chart in the treble clef, they both have entirely different embouchures and apertures. But I digress.
With the exception of the Native American flute, I don’t know anyone who was able to just pick up an instrument, and immediately play it right from the start. I know of only one category of players who can do that, and that’s - pardon the derogatory term: the “idiot savant.” That is, a person who has an exceptional aptitude in one particular field, such as a musical instrument. Otherwise, it can take months, and even years to become really proficient with a musical instrument.
BTW: Your playing of the transverse flute was a bit airy, but overall it was quite good. 👍 By the way, an embouchure and aperture is required for every brass and woodwind instrument. And what does an embouchure have to do with your hands? 07:29 🤔 It's all with the mouth. 🤭 Happy fluting! 😊
Each to their own. All I can tell you is, that I have a collection of instruments I can't play because you need to invest SO MUCH time to play anything reasonable on them 🤣
Tin whistle makes SENSE to me.
Also, I have so many other hobbies and interests I'm not THAT focused on learning to play instruments. I adore the idea of being able to play them, but I lack the time and commitment, whereas with tin whistle, the blowing is easier than most other woodwind instruments, and the finger positions are easy too, one note after the other, no real fancy positions, just open each hole as you go upward, reset and repeat 😆
Flute hurts my hands due to the position you need to hold them in. They're awkwardly tucked over to the side rather than casually laid out infront of me 😊 I gave nothing against anyone playing it, but I'm just being honest and saying that flute is not the instrument for me.
@@CutiepieTinWhistleHi Steph - Thank you for your candid 167-word response. I agree. It does take a lot of time and, depending on the quality of instrument, a lot of money. Not to mention, having the passion and motivation to learn to play an instrument. And then there's the challenge. For me, that's the violin. I've been playing the violin for five years; and I still play it only, by choice, in the first position, and with no vibrato. In fact, because of the genre of music and the manner I play it, I consider myself a fiddle player as opposed to a violin player. As the old saying goes, ‘”The violin is to fancy, as the fiddle is to folksy.” Keep up the good work. Stay well, stay safe and keep the faith. 😊
@@christophertsiliacos8958 oh violin is my absolute favourite 💚 I did try to play it too, never really got past sounding like a dying cat 🤣 but it was a lot of fun! Good luck with all your instruments! x
@@CutiepieTinWhistle Thanks, Steph. Being retired, I have lots of time to dedicate to all of my instruments. It would be nice to see you and Lindsey Stirling someday do a duet together, you on the tin whistle and Lindsey on the violin. BTW: You, too, play several instruments. Lest we forget. 😉🧡
Youve alwzys reviewed these whistles without having played them.....? What....?
Are you now recommending it having played it. Whereas before you recommended it because you heard other reveiws that said good things....?? What ??
You are a very pretty girl
💐💕.
Oh. I see now. This is an advert. And your an actress in an advert..... sorry i thought you were a real person lol.....