This is one of those subjects that are hard to discuss because we can't actually hear each other...

But to throw something in for people to think about: recently I heard a radio discussion about singing, in which a (classical) singer said that having a big range was nothing to get hung up about, and she gave the example of Shirley Collins as good folk voice because her songs are pitched close to her natural speaking voice, which highlights the purity and truth of the songs she sings.

I think I agree that one feature of a pleasing folk voice is the choice of a natural pitch - this suits the material and makes the words more audible than if the voice is pushed up as high as possible. Having said that, the "growlers" who insist that they have a low voice but can actually reach only about half an octave could do with some encouragement to stretch their voices upwards a bit.

Marje