mk Kelpie low D whistle

A creature that finds you, and lures you to the water of life.

mk Kelpie: from the same bench as the mk Pro, Midgie and Chameleon.

Made in Scotland

mk Kelpie low D whistle against a Scottish waterfall
"I am absolutely in love with this thing." Merlin
"This whistle makes all my other whistles pale by comparison." Sal M.
"Worth twice the price." Duke

// The difference you'll feel

A starter whistle sounds the same however you blow it - one flat note back, nothing to shape, nothing to learn. The Kelpie has depth: it responds to how you play, so soft is soft, full is full, and everything between is yours to find.

A cheap low D is cheap for reasons you only discover later: a shallow tone, wasted breath, and holes moved closer together to be easy to reach - leaving it slightly out of tune by design. The Kelpie puts the holes where the note needs them, and asks you to meet it.

// Made properly, priced fairly

Just like all high-end low whistles, the Kelpie's head is precision-made metal - not just a metal body with a plastic head for ease of manufacture - at a price that belies its construction.

Every mk Kelpie is machined and finished in our Glasgow workshop, by a small team who've made whistles this way for nearly 30 years - genuinely made here, by hand, one at a time. Email and you'll reach the makers themselves; phone, and we might not pick up - the workshop's a noisy place.

mk Kelpie low D whistle
"I have an injury on my left ring finger and was unsure whether I could play it at all. After just two days, I could play nearly all my tunes - remarkably easy to hit all the notes, in either octave." Neh, Verified Buyer
"Previous to this I bought a plastic low D to see if I'd like the instrument, then graduated to the mk Kelpie. I only wish I'd bought it sooner." CJ, Verified Buyer
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// The whistle you stop replacing

Two clean octaves and far more in the instrument than a beginner will use on day one - which is exactly the point. It won't become the limit. You grow into it rather than out of it.

Machined, metal, designed and sculpted like a work in itself - a tone that's warm and breathy with real body in the low end. There are cheaper whistles out there, but most players who own a Kelpie wish they'd come straight here.

// What it asks of you

The Kelpie is a low D, and a low D asks something of you. The holes are widely spaced - most players use a piper's grip and find it natural within a week or two. It's worth the stretch.

It isn't tunable, and it doesn't need to be: it's perfectly in tune with itself, a wonderful whistle for sessions, for playing alone, and for recording alike. If you regularly need to tune to others in the moment, the mk Pro is the one for you.

mk Kelpie head and finish detail
"My favorite whistle by far. If you're thinking of getting a whistle that's a joy to play and will probably last forever, this is it." Derek, Verified Buyer
"Best low D whistle I ever played, and I've played a few. Intonation is in the sweet zone. This is the one for me. Very proud to be playing a fine Scottish made whistle of such excellent quality." Robert B., Verified Buyer

// Features

- Deep, ethereal and haunting, or bright, nimble and buoyant - as you choose to play
- Tapered airway, balancing back pressure and air requirement
- No clogging or blocking
- Precisely positioned and cut tone-holes for superb tuning
- Ergonomic design to ease finger stretch
- Mouthpiece turned and cut on precision machines, not bent or moulded
- Solid, "take anywhere" one-piece construction
- The same craftsmanship and guarantee as every mk whistle
// Specifications
- Key: Low D
- Size: 565mm x 25mm diameter
- Weight: 210g
- Material: aerospace-grade 6000 series anodised aluminium
- Tuning: fixed, tuned true to itself (non-tunable)
- In the box: the whistle and a real-wool thick felt sleeve
- Shipping: all duties included to the UK, EU and US - free over the threshold
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