Technique in changing whistle heads

[inthevale]

I have spent enough time on forums to realize that there are very few topics and questions that have not been covered before. So apologies in advance.

I just received my Susato Kildare series S in high D today. It sounds quite nice to my untrained ear, albeit (as so often mentioned here before) a little on the shrill side in the 2nd octave. But it is noticeably better in that respect than my Oriole D and seems in tune with itself. Whatever it lacks in tuning is most likely due to my still clumsy style and lack of breath control.

The question is about changing heads and bodies on this whistle. I pretty gently pulled the head straight back and off with no seeming problems. I replaced it the same way and it seems fine.

Now, in keeping with my long standing practice of doing things backward, I put in a call to the helpful folks at Susato to ask how best to remove and replace flute heads. I was told it was always best to do this with a turning or twisting motion as a way of avoiding wear and damage to the very small O ring seated in the serrations of the flute body. The need for generous and frequent lubrication (the Kildare comes with a tube of lubricant) was also stressed.

The only thing that seems to stand out is a reluctance to break to the second octave when blowing XXXXOO. A pretty hefty puff is required here. Once there it stays well.

So all said, I like the Kildare and will handle the head issue as advised in the future.