How mellow is Waltons Mellow D?

Baen · Post by **Baen** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 9:55 pm

Saw this whistle on the Whistle Shop website. It's a high D whistle, but with a slightly wider bore, so it gives a more mellow sound than your typical high D whistle.

Has anyone had any experience with this whistle? Would it be a good alternative to a Low D whistle, since it is more mellow? ("suitable for playing airs", the webpage says).

It's offered in both brass and nickel. Which is best? I remember reading somewhere that one of the metals is supposed to be more mellow, whereas the other gives a brighter tone. I think the brass is more mellow, the nickel brighter--but I could have it backwards...

happy whistling,
baen

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 10:06 pm

Mellow D's are mellower than a thinner bore and they make beginners sound better. Once you play even a little bit that aspect won't matter any more. They're nothing at all like a low D whistle. For me the Mellow D was great at the very beginning but then didn't do it for me anymore.

Also, the mellow D is notorious as being the worst-in-tune cheap whistle. The bell note (the bottom D) in particular tends to be dreadfully sharp.

Still a fun whistle if you are the forgiving type.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 11:16 pm

Seems like most / all? of Walton's whistles are very sharp on the bell note these days...I wonder if their dies are off-kilter.

The Mello-D has a bit more resistance than most inexpensive whistles (though not nearly as much as the Syn...if you're looking for tremendous bang for the buck, the $30 Syn is a real gem). You can "lean into" a tune on it without causing squeaks and squawks.

On my Walton's whistles, I use black electrical tape to extend the tube until the bell note drops into tune.

As for a whistle to play airs on...if you've got the breath control, the $11 Oak is one of the sweetest whistles made, with a pure, melancholy tone but paradoxically lots of chiff between notes.

Also I think Bill Whedon (Serpent Music) is about to bring out a very inexpensive line of whistle. I like his whistles--they have a very traditional sound that appeals to me.

--James

dublingirl · Post by **dublingirl** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:27 am

I tried that Mellow-D once, it was horrible & needed a huge amount of air, because of the much wider bore. I wouldn't recommend it, but in relation to tone, brass definitely has a much sweeter tone than nickel.

What I would recommend though, is one of those Cillian O'Briain improved Feadógs, being sold on the Shannaquay site - www.shannaquay.com (I think). They have a beautiful tone, with the high notes easy to reach, and are much more pure in sound than say, the Generation whistles. They are quite cheap too, and good for playing in sessions! I have a number of them myself.

Dublingirl

dmcr35 · Post by **dmcr35** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 10:37 am

Am I the only fan of the Walton Mellow D whistle?

Yes, the bell D is quite sharp but can be tuned with a bit of the well known Blue Tack in the bell. Installing a bit of plastic (I cut a piece from a plastic soft drink bottle) on the ramp, again using Blue Tack as an adhesive has improved the sound and eveness between octaves considerably. See the page on "tweaking".

I like my Mellow D so much now that it is the only one I carry around with me. I have Generations and a Feadog which I feel don't come up to it.

Dave McRitchie
Toronto, Canada

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 10:48 am

I'm not a fan of the Mellow D either. Not only was mine badly out of tune, but it had a raspy, somewhat breathy character that I never could warm up to.

Redwolf

boomerang · Post by **boomerang** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 4:52 pm

I own 2 mello D's ine brass and one (a gift) is nickel
This tone of the mello d is noticeably softer then a regular d,
Hell i like them.
i experience none of the bell note sharpness as others have, in fact i havent had to tweak them at all,
I will say that i prefer the brass Mell D in preference to nickel, it has a much prettier tone,
I use them mainly for the slower prettier tunes,
any good whistle is a joy to own,
I know there are variables in any manufacturing process, some may be better then others, but you are never gunna know till you give it a go,
Good luck
David

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 5:10 pm

I like a good or well tweaked Mellow D. It has a rounder tone than a regular bore D, very pretty sound. On the other hand, as with a lot (maybe all) of the cheap whistles, you never know if you'll find a good one.

Best wishes,
Jerry

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 6:33 pm

Not my favorite whistle (in the cheapies, I like the Oak the most, then Generations or Sweetones) but not bad - and it has a bit more volume than any of the other inexpensive whistles I've tried.

But the Walton's C whistle (which shares the same mouthpiece and bore) is truly wonderful. (And a lot more "Mellow", too.)

sad-seamonster · Post by **sad-seamonster** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 6:54 pm

I just got my first Walton's mellow in the mail a few days ago. I like mine. It's kinda nice playing with such a wider barrel since I have long fingers, it definitely feels different in a good way to me because of its size. I have not checked it with a tuner but it does not seem drastically out of tune to me. I do have a hard time get a decent second octave b note out of it for sure.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 9:52 pm

In the order I just received today from www.thewhistleshop.com, I received two Waltons C's and two Mellow D's. Although they both use the same mouthpiece, these were clearly from two different production runs.

The mouthpieces on the C's were about as good as they come, with the soundblade well positioned a little below halfway down from windway ceiling to floor if you sight into the beak end. These whistles play very well without tweaking, and just filling the cavity under the windway is probably all the tweaking that's called for.

The Mellow D's, on the other hand, have the soundblade almost even (only barely below) the windway ceiling, which is not ideal at all. These whistles both play fairly well, but they're rough around the edges, not a pleasure to play, they don't "sing." To tweak them, I would (will?) have to laminate a new soundblade edge inside the mouthpiece to bring the position of the edge lower in relation to the windway floor.

However, all I have to do to turn these two Mellow D's into VERY nice whistles is steal the heads from the two Walton's C's, fill under the windway with poster putty, and stick 'em on the Mellow D tubes. I've already tried them without filling under the windway, and they do become reallly nice whistles already.

So ... At least until they change something with the molds, you might have success getting a really nice Mellow D by buying both a Mellow D and a C at the same time (it's what, another six dollars?) and swapping heads (if necessary). If the bell note is sharp (I didn't check, but just picking them up, they sounded OK), you can stick a little ball of poster putty inside the end of the tube or lengthen it a little by wrapping tape.

That's my $.02 for the evening on that one.

Best wishes,
Jerry

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:41 am

If the bell note were as sharp as mine, you wouldn't have to wonder, and checking it by a tuner really wouldn't be necessary either.

The bell note on most of my Walton's D whistles before tweaking sounds more like a flat E-flat than any kind of D.

Perhaps (hopefully!) they have improved since I bought mine...it was not a recently aquired whistle. And while it's ok post tweaking, it's not so great I want to buy more.

--James

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:10 am

Now I've checked with a tuner, and the intonation is definitely more accurate on these newly purchased Waltons Mellow D's than on the old one I have. The new ones are respectably in tune, bell note where it should be relative to the rest of the notes.

Best wishes,
Jerry

cj · Post by cj » Sat Nov 01, 2003 10:23 am

I like the tone on my mellow D, but it's badly out of tune. Maybe I'll try the C . . .

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 10:24 am

Thanks for checking that, Jerry.

I just may get a new one at some point.

--James