MK Pro Bass Low C, the Magic Purple Whistle - my full review...
Welcome back to my blog! I wanted to introduce you to a magical purple whistle which some of you may have spotted in my recent music videos...
It is the stunning MK Pro Bass C whistle which I recently got from 'Big Whistle'. These beautiful instruments are designed and produced by musician Misha Somerville, and have been honed to perfection over decades.
I bought the more unusual key of bass C - this is a fantastic addition to your whistle collection if you play and record songs in many different keys, but MK low D whistles are also very popular amongst pro players so this post will also be relevant to you if you are considering buying one of those.
I took the MK out into the forest and played some melodies to test out the sound...
Appearance -
The design of this whistle is really visually beautiful - the aluminium pipe is very sleek (I have heard it took over 10 years to refine it to this quality and you can really tell!).
These MK whistles come in a range of different anodised colours - I chose the purple because I thought this looked particularly enchanting, and it almost has an iridescent effect when the light reflects off it, giving it a magical quality as though it could be an instrument made by a forest fairy.
I love the shaped mouthpiece which tapers out towards the top - it's really unique and you can feel the craftsmanship that has gone into it.
As well as looking beautiful, this whistle also functions and performs exceptionally well...
Sound and tone -
The MK low C whistle has a very distinctive sound - for me, it has a bell-like resonance and is very smooth and rich. It has a wonderful volume level, as some low whistles can be quite quiet on the lower end and too loud at the top end, but this one is very balanced. I feel the tone of this whistle is quite full and not as airy as some other low whistles - it doesn't have too many overtones and is more of a pure sound. You can be really expressive and push through with your breath with this whistle, so it has an excellent dynamic range. For these reasons it's also a great whistle to record with! You can see this whistle featured in my Braveheart 'A Gift of a Thistle' music video, where I play a passage mostly in the second octave - take a listen...
You can watch the full music video on YouTube here - https://youtu.be/7wdPF-eyiRM?si=OjnYXDS1mRQueh-b
Playability -
I was really surprised by the exceptional playability of this instrument - being a bass C whistle I expected it to require a lot of air to play and was prepared to take a big breath to reach the high notes, but I was mistaken! This whistle plays with relative ease across both octaves - there is no point at which you feel you have to suddenly push with a lot of air to get the notes out, they simply glide out. It obviously requires more air to play a whistle like this than it does to play high keys of whistle, but this one doesn't take as much air pressure to reach those high notes as you would expect.
Because this is a low C whistle, the note holes are of course going to be a bit more spaced out than on a low D - but I personally only really feel this on is the low C note where the note hole placing is further down. It does require a bit of a stretch using the pipers grip to reach it, especially if you have small hands, but this just takes a little adjustment and practice to get used to.
Overall this is a really beautiful whistle, and I would recommend MK as a great brand if you are looking to get into playing low whistle!
You can buy the MK bass low C whistle from the Big Whistle website here - https://bigwhistle.com/product/mk-pro-bass-c-low-whistle-black/?ref=Leyna&v=7885444af42e
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned as I have more posts and reviews on the way soon!
Some of the links included in my blog are affiliate links, which means if you click on one and go on to purchase an instrument, I will earn a small commission and you will also be supporting me! I only endorse instruments that I play and love ☺️
