Tony Dixon Irish Whistles

Tony Dixon Music is a family business in Bideford, Devon, founded by Tony in 1997. He has played concert flute since he was a boy, and the company began when his son came home wanting to learn. Rather than buy an instrument for an enthusiasm that might not outlast the term, Tony made him a simple six-hole flute. His son's head teacher admired it and suggested he sell it as a beginner's instrument. A distributor placed an order, and the business grew from there. Nearly thirty years on, Dixon whistles are played the world over, built to the same idea: quality at a price a beginner can meet.

Choosing your Dixon whistle

Traditionally, whistles were made with thin walls, and that is a good part of what gives them their bright, tin-whistley voice. In more recent decades, likely starting with the late Bernard Overton, makers took to thicker walls, which produce a more substantial, solid tone. Which you prefer comes down to the sound you are after, and both are worth exploring.

The Trad is the classic construction, a thin-walled nickel body with a plastic mouthpiece. The tone is sweet and clean with a pinch of chiff, that touch of breathy edge at the start of a note which gives a whistle its character.

The Modern is built in thicker-walled aluminum, and gives that slightly fuller voice.