Chiff and Fipple Forums

Sorry, I'm sure the question must have come up before, but I can't find a relevant thread (how can I do a string search? Quotation marks seem to be ignored...)

Coming from recorders I'm used to carefully swabbing out my instruments after playing - which is easy enough to do, given the relatively wide bore on even a soprano recorder (which I hardly ever play - the bigger, the better). But my whistle is a Clarke Sweetone, which is not only tiny but conical as well, so the bottom opening is so narrow that none of my swab sticks fit through (not to mention that there's a metal edge running the length of the bore). As the head doesn't come off, the "hanky on a string" trick won't work either.

So should I mess around with wire and a piece of cloth, or do I just shake out the whistle and/or blow out as much condensation as I can, or do nothing at all and just let it airdry? What do you do?

Kade1301 wrote:Sorry, I'm sure the question must have come up before, but I can't find a relevant thread (how can I do a string search? Quotation marks seem to be ignored...)

Use google or some other engine with 'site:' support. Prefix your search with site:forums.chiffandfipple.com, e.g.
site:forums.chiffandfipple.com "my search string"

As for after playing.. I do nothing All my whistles are plastic or metal. They're fine.

Have a smoke and go to sleep ?

Mr.Gumby wrote:Have a smoke and go to sleep ?

I was going to say, go to bed.

I've never cleaned a whistle, inside or out, ever. They still play just fine.

In fairness though, a Sweetone will rust, I had one that rusted without being played, ever. But perhaps that's the best for them, all Sweetones thrown into a big pit to let them rust away, I am all for it.

Mr.Gumby wrote:Have a smoke and go to sleep ?

I think the playing the OP meant was playing a whistle...

Best wishes.

Steve

Thanks for the tip, Tor!

Mr.Gumby wrote:...But perhaps that's the best for them, all Sweetones thrown into a big pit to let them rust away, I am all for it.

Now could somebody please explain what's wrong with Sweetones? I see them disparaged all the time, but I really like mine! Granted I know next to nothing about whistles, but it's reasonably well in tune, plays almost on its own into the second octave, no shrieking or squeeking and I love the breathy timbre and how quiet it is (for now - granted, in public that may change.) Even my cat doesnt't mind it (unlike the Feadog). I really don't see what more one would want for € 6.71, postage included.

So why the hate?

We don't dislike the Sweetone; it's like the Model T. Sometimes, you want to chuck it. Other times you love it. They are prone to rusting.

No,the regular Clark is the Model T!

Aside from any other things people may not like about them I've always,and my non-whistler and non-musician friends also,have found the Sweetones to be Dulltones.Relative to other models,of course. I do still have a couple I haven't gotten around to selling or giving away yet.

I've read on here the Megs (cheaper) were better.

(edit)I see they no longer make Sweeetones in white or yellow-so mine MUST be collector's items!

Maybe I can "vintage" them on ebay for $100 each.(Just kidding).

Please don't feed the WOAD.

I usually rinse out my metal or plastic whistles after playing, then shaken off the drops.

Shake out the body, blow out the windway. That's really all you can do. Well, you could blow it dry with a hair dryer I suppose but that's 'way overkill for an inexpensive instrument.Also, don't put it in a closed case. Let the air get at it to evaporate any remaining moisture.

This has got me wondering...since these and similar whistles are prone to rusting, maybe adding an internal coating of something would help.If you could get the head off you could tape the finger holes closed,close the bottom end with your finger, and pour in some water based polyurethane.Let that drain out and let the whistle dry in a vertical position. Occasionally I make a wooden whistle from a type of wood that is somewhat porous, and I've treated the bore this way with good results.

What those guys said... I just blow out the windway, too, but did notice that my relatively new low-D (Thunderbird) seemed a little "off" (after a couple of months of playing it) and decided to clean the windway. I used a piece of paper sized down to fit correctly and just ran it back and forth a bit. I noticed that there seemed to be some aluminum residue/corrosion on the paper and the whistle definitely played a little better.

SO... my advice is to clean the windway periodically, especially with a new whistle and especially with an aluminum one. I suspect the plastic/delrin versions are not as corrosion/whatever inducing...

Pat

All the years that I played wooden flute I was strict about swabbing after playing.

With my whistles, which are all aluminium, lacquered brass, or nickel-plated brass, I do nothing but (as people have said) blow the water out of the mouthpiece.

Yes with low whistles the windways can have a buildup of moisture and gunk and occasional cleaning are needed, along with the toothpaste thing.

I don't disparage the Sweetones. They are a very nice at home whistle and I have heard them played admirably at a session. They don't seem to screech like some of the other inexpensive whistles I have tried. It is also possible to remove the head. I can't remember if I did the dip it in hot water method or used brute force but most of mine have removable heads now, though they did not come that way. At one point all my kids had one as did I so there are 4 rolling around the house in different places, and they are handy if a tune pops into my head. One of them was tweaked by Jerry Freedman. I don't believe I've ever swabbed one. But if you are determined, I recently purchased some "super colossal" pipe cleaners on Amazon US for a flute I have with a tiny foot opening. They make a decent mop and do fit inside a Sweetone. Perhaps they are available in the UK as well.

I think you are correct that they are a value at their price point.

tstermitz wrote:Please don't feed the WOAD.
...

I won't claim to be immune, but maybe a bit less likely to succumb because I've discovered with recorders that no instrument in the world will make a beginner sound good. All that's needed is an instrument one likes to practice on.

Of course that doesn't stop me from being curious! Which is why I bought the Feadog (sorry, my French keyboard doesn't have the accent) - for € 5 it was the easiest way to find out about straight vs. conical bore. But what the world really needs is a shop that has many different whistles - from cheap to expensive - and is willing to send out selections: Parcels with 5 to 10 whistles, the customer picks one and returns the others. And the returns are an accepted part of the sales process and even if they all come back there's no bad feelings (but maybe another package with higher-end whistles). That's how it works for recorders in Germany!

busterbill wrote:I don't disparage the Sweetones....

No, that was Mr. Gumby. But he doesn't seem to have an answer or want to elaborate...

As for the cleaning part, I suppose I'll go with the majority and limit myself to a bit of blowing and/or shaking when I think of it. Considering the price I've paid for my whistles, I think a pot of PU (or electricity for the hairdryer) will cost me more than a replacement in a few years time (assuming it does rust and the rust affects the sound negatively and that I still want to play these whistles instead of having "upgraded"). I'm wary of removing the head because I like the Sweetone as it is. I had to remove the head from the Feadog because it was unbearably sharp - now it's "tuneable" but I believe more prone to screeching than it was before. So I won't try to fix anything that's not broken