Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi all,

I was just gifted a vintage brass C Generation and am loving it! I want to play it in the band I am apart of, but it seems to be sharp. Is there any way to make the whistle tuneable? I've heard of people putting the mouthpiece in hot water to loosen the glue, but I am a bit worried about my mouthpiece cracking. Anyone have any experience with this process or know of other methods?

Also, my whistle seems to have been "modded" a bit, the previous owner drilled a back thumb hole. Not sure yet how to really take advantage of it, but interesting for sure

In my experience, the hot water didn't crack the plastic heads, but it did discolor them. They all were lightened to one degree or another. My Generations are all 1975-1977 vintage; perhaps the age had something to do with it? I did have one (D) whistle that the head did not budge, at the heat and torque that I was willing to apply (and had worked on the others).

TantheWhistleMan wrote:Hi all,

I was just gifted a vintage brass C Generation and am loving it! I want to play it in the band I am apart of, but it seems to be sharp. Is there any way to make the whistle tuneable? I've heard of people putting the mouthpiece in hot water to loosen the glue, but I am a bit worried about my mouthpiece cracking. Anyone have any experience with this process or know of other methods?

Also, my whistle seems to have been "modded" a bit, the previous owner drilled a back thumb hole. Not sure yet how to really take advantage of it, but interesting for sure

I generally point the whistle head down and pour hot water at the joint where the tube and the head meet. It usually doesn't take long to loosen the glue. Sometimes the glue rehardens and you have to do it again. I did it to two vintage generations with no problems

It's usually easier to get the head loose on the nickel-plated bodies.

I've had lacquered brass bodied Generations that were so stuck that no amount of heat or torque would loosen it. I suppose a chemical that dissolves lacquer would be needed?

pancelticpiper wrote:It's usually easier to get the head loose on the nickel-plated bodies.

I've had lacquered brass bodied Generations that were so stuck that no amount of heat or torque would loosen it.

The one of mine that wouldn't budge was a brass D as a matter of fact.

You want to be careful though, C heads are the tightest fit of them all and most likely to crack when twisted. Best option is to shun the hot water (heat also softens the plastic of the head) and just 'throw' the whistle with some force into the tube of a wider whistle. Forces will only move one way, along the length of the tube, and heads come off cleanly in a few goes (depending on the amount of force used).

Well I was able to get my mouthpiece off in under a minute with the hot water. I was surprised too, seeing as mine is brass C. But hey, no breaks, and the fit is tight but not too much to where I can't tune the thing. Very happy with the results