Developed over 40 years by master craftsman Brian Howard, the Howard low whistle has benefitted from continuous design improvements to bring you an affordable, professional instrument of world-class quality. Recent developments on the whistle head, the result of David O’Hagan’s extensive experience as a instrument maker and sound engineer, mean that the Howard low whistle is better than ever.

A few years ago we started researching Stradivarius violins and other instruments made at that time. There amazing resonant qualities appear to be primarily linked to the harmonic tuning of each quadrant (the top and bottom of the violin can be divided into four quadrants respectively) of the violin to the overtone series and to the very special quality of the lacquer. The soft acoustic resin compound is an offshoot of that research.

Making an instrument that plays is easy, making an instrument that is very good is much more difficult, making an instrument that creates a sound that is somehow more than the physical tone itself is something of a lost art; what the great instrument makers of the past did to achieve this was the motivation to study the instruments of the golden age of violin making. The effect of the resin is audible, in that the tone is slightly mellowed, a little bit quieter, while at the same time richer and you could say more musical, in that there is a greater connection with the music being played and to the tones that form that music. We are also working on a hard resin insert.

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 maker, Brian Howard, has been making whistles for over thirty years (the present design being in production since 1985) – and if there’s one thing he’s famous for it’s never sitting still.
The best way to keep up with the changes is simply to replace the head, which’ll cost you about a third of the price of a new whistle.

The build quality is superb.  You’ll find no rough edges here, nor any burred finger holes.
The head itself isn’t much to look at, but it’s very much the ‘engine’ of the instrument – and a lot of what goes into making this part is a closely guarded secret… it’s what makes every whistlemaker’s instruments distinctive.

The volume is the first thing that hits you. It’s easy enough to make a higher pitched whistle that can belt out a note, but as the pitch drops it becomes that much harder to maintain the volume. The Howard low whistle manages to maintain a good volume in the lower register without sacrificing the tone.

Of course, the whistle’s true potential comes through when you back off the volume and allow it to find what I like to think of as its ‘resonance’. It’s a bit hard to describe exactly what this is, but it’s effectively that point where volume and tone (and tuning) balance each other out. This is when a whistle starts to sing.

Even more remarkably, this ‘resonance’ is maintained in the second octave…without the need for any increase in volume. Better yet, although it’s quite easy to slip into the upper octave it’s entirely at your discretion – there isn’t that sense of instability that plagues some whistles. That’s quite an achievement on a low whistle, I reckon.

Tuning? Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – saxophones don’t play in tune, you play them in tune – and the same goes for whistles. For sure, you need a head start in the shape of a decent bore and accurately sized and placed finger holes, and that’s exactly what you have. It really shows in the upper octave too.

Tonewise it’s rather difficult to categorise this whistle. That, in effect, is the strength of this whistle. I could say that it’s warm, but it’s also bright. I could say that it’s broad, but it’s also focussed. Pick any description you like and it’s probably in there somewhere. This then is the whistle’s forté – it stands on its own.
you’re a beginner and want to start on a low whistle then you’ll absolutely love the Howard. It has an immediate response and a very ‘morish’ tone – it’s quite hard to put it down once you’ve picked it up. It will lean to your preferences to some degree – mine is for a more ‘baroque’ tone, and this whistle will match many an expensive recorder in that respect.

you’re a seasoned whistle player then you’ll already have your own ideas about what constitutes the tone you’re looking for, but there’s a better than even chance that the Howard will give you something that no other whistle will.

From a stage performance point of view it’s worth noting that these whistles work well with amplification and recording as they tend to suffer rather less from sibilance and breath effects than many other low whistles. Stephen Howard   www.shwoodwind.co.uk

I’ve always really liked the Howard Low D as it possesses all the qualities I like in a whistle; an ABS head (I really don’t like putting metal in my mouth) a brass body (it may be hang over from my sax playing days but to me ‘proper’ instruments are made of BRASS, I’m not a fan of aluminium it’s nasty reactive metal prone to corrosion (from saliva) and oxidation, plastic bodies are okay for a starter/practise instrument but you wouldn’t want to play one long term) a STRONG bottom E & D (often VERY fragile on other Low D’s) and a good volume balance between the registers (the Howard excels here) but the thing I love most about the Howard is the tone, it really is unique, quite unlike any other Low D I’ve played.

So as a long time Howard owner/player/lover I was first a little saddened when I read that Brian Howard (the eponymous maker of Howard Whistles) had retired due to health issues (now recovered thankfully and living in sunny Gibraltar where he still makes his famous chanter reeds) but then excited when Howard was relaunched under the new owner/maker David O’Hagan.

A very impressive and professional looking website appeared announcing the ‘New Improved Howard Whistle’ and although I already had a more than serviceable Howard, I succumbed and purchased a ‘New Improved’ nickel Low D. I have to confess I was a little sceptical about the ‘improved’ claim (my ‘old Howard’ did everything I asked of it I failed to see what ‘improvement’ could be made) but as soon as I unwrapped the new one a number of things were immediately apparent:

Better finish on the logo (now laser etched rather than a simple sticker as before) much smoother tone holes (lovely for slides) but the mouthpiece REALLY is ‘improved’, now beautifully polished with no sign of moulding lines, reduced bulk at the part you place between your lips and it has a very nice satin like texture, easily the most comfortable mouthpiece I’ve ever played, but the REAL ‘improvement’ lies within, I don’t know what David has done to the innards but the Howard now has:

Greater back pressure.

Effortless transition to the second octave.

Even greater balance between the octaves.

Stronger than ever bottom D and E (rock solid, you just CANNOT accidentally overblow to the next register)

It’s really is an utter joy to play and I’ve hardly played anything else since I bought it. You do need decent embouchure/breath control to get the best out of it (at the top end in particular) but it’s well worth putting the work in as you will be more than rewarded for your efforts.

In conclusion; for a very modest price you are getting a superb hand crafted instrument (David does EVERYTHING apart from the various coatings/platings and engraving in his workshop) that will last a lifetime (also have to say that David really is a top bloke and his ‘after sales’ service is brilliant)