Big Hole Overton Low D

[raindog1970]

I've been getting accustomed to my new Overton for almost three weeks now, and I'm just now getting able to play it accurately and without my hands cramping from the strain.
It's a "Big Hole" Goldie Overton low D... made like the low Ds Bernard Overton made over 20 years ago.
It's very unusual in that it only has two different sized finger holes: 10.5mm and 12mm... seriously, there really are only two different sizes.
It's quite a beast for someone like myself who has fairly skinny fingers and only an 8cm 3-finger stretch... 9cm if I really push my limits.
Still, it has to be the most rewarding whistle I've ever played.
I'm a Spillane fan (he said the "S" word!), and I can play along with my CDs and blend right in with this whistle.
I really don't want to start the controversy again, but let me just say that I no longer have any doubts about who made Davy's whistle.
I don't see myself ever playing any lightning-fast tunes on this whistle, but it has no equal for playing slow airs.
The big holes allow for effortless note bending, and they make the second octave easier to reach.
This is my second low D, my first being a Dixon tunable.
The air requirements for the Overton are significantly less than for the Dixon... much to my surprise and delight.
Condensation build-up was horrible when I first got it, and even Jet-Dry didn't seem to do much to help eliminate it.
Thankfully, after several coats of Jet-Dry applied over the past couple of weeks, the condensation problem has now almost completely disappeared... I don't think it was bonding to the metal at first.
Thanks once again to whoever it was who first suggested Jet-Dry to eliminate condensation problems in whistles... it's nothing short of a miracle how well it works.
Thanks also to David Migoya of <A HREF=http://www.fyfer-restorations.com>Fyfer Restorations</A> for his fantastic customer service in selling me this whistle... and the packaging was so good I had to use pliers to get the end cap off mailing tube!
If anyone is considering ordering a low D from Colin, be mindful that he still makes the big hole model on request... and I hope you love yours as much as I love mine.

_________________
"[Rain Dogs] ...the ones you see wanderin' around after a rain. Ones that can't find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants..."
Tom Waits

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: raindog1970 on 2001-12-13 23:28 ]</font>

[Snowleopard]

[Thread revival. - Mod]

Be very interested in reading an update to this post, twenty years on and a lot of water having flowed under the bridge. Anything further to add to this?

[raindog1970]

I still have that whistle, and still love it. That old post was made around the time I started dabbling with making my own whistles. I've now enjoyed an almost twenty-year career as a whistle maker, but I still play a few whistles made by other people. The big hole Overton has remained a favorite, and I would never consider parting with it. I hope Colin still makes low D whistles to those specs nowadays, because it really is quite different than any other Overton/Goldie I've ever played.

[Mikethebook]

Is it a soft blower you have or a harder blower?

[stiofan]

In 2019, I ordered a Goldie tenor D with 2 bodies - 1. w/standard-size hole configuration, the other, 2. w/large-holes. It was like having two completely different whistles(!), but with the same head (Mike: fyi, it also had an Eb head). I can't say if the current large-hole model is comparable with Gary's 20-year old 'Overton Goldie,' but it took the cosmic drainpipe thing to a whole new level, especially for those evocative Spillane tunes. I played it all through 2020, then sold it on to another C&F member, finding the narrow-bore low D I have now more suited to my own playing style, and also have gotten more into flute playing lately.

[Mikethebook]

I've sent a PM to you stiofan.