Chiff and Fipple Forums

OK this is interesting, I've only been playing just over three years and like almost everyone who starts out with a nice selection of whistles; inevitably you blame someor all of the instruments for your lack of ability. I know I did. My Dixon Trad still does have a loose fitting head which requires a light tuning every time I grab it. Small dab of glue would cure this of course. My Killarney brass felt almost unplayable with it's light breath requirement and easy clogging; I love it now. Easy blowing and stable in both octaves would probably be preferable to perfect tuning (does that even exist) for the rank beginner if you ask me. I'm sure I'll take a beating for that comment tho.

There seems to be some variation with the Dixon heads. On my nickel "trad" model it's nice and tight, on my "heavy brass" model it's rather loose but that should be an easy fix for any brass instrument repairman. The tuning slide is just a thin piece of metal, very similar to a boehm flute tuning slide. It can be fixed by very slightly widening the slide from the inside out.
But I also had Generations on which the head became loose when making it tunable. Some heads are actually glued, some are just friction-fitted. So there is some variation here as well. A tiny piece of clear sticky tape fixes the problem rather easily.

Easy blowing and stable in both octaves would probably be preferable to perfect tuning (does that even exist) for the rank beginner if you ask me.

Yes, it does exist. A maker who knows what he's doing can pretty much tailor-make a whistle to any specification (within reason).

Easy blowing and stable in both octaves would probably be preferable to perfect tuning (does that even exist) for the rank beginner if you ask me.

Yes, it does exist. A maker who knows what he's doing can pretty much tailor-make a whistle to any specification (within reason).[/quote]

I think we're mostly talking about mass produced whistles here with a few exceptions, so it seems a bit more luck of the draw and it's not like you're allowed to try ten or twenty whistles anymore in a music shop until you hit gold.

OK I hope it's OK to hi-jack my own thread but my mate who I'm trying to help with this dilemma actually lives in Hamburg. I offered to send him a couple of my whistles and some tutorial books but he figures the shipping doesn't make sense for that since he can buy locally. Any good recommendations for whistles in the EU or UK I suppose? I suggested Whistle Shop but that's all I can think of.

Mr.Gumby wrote: You arre operating under the false assumption the cheaper whistles need tweaks. Which is nonsense. It was a thought that was prevalent here during the earlier days of these forums but which has disappeared mostly since the forum grew up a bit.

Equally, none of my whistles are a loose fit when tuned, not a single one in any key. Which ones of yours are wobbly and loose?

I feel like I've just had really convenient luck with my whistles, which influences my opinions haha. My dixon trad headpiece fits absolutely perfectly, like it was hand made. My feadog is extremely out of tune, and the only way to get it partially in tune was to pull the headpiece out, which then became not tight and I had to use some flute joint grease I got with a cheap keyed flute and tape to seal and hold the headpiece on. Which still plays terribly out of tune, but less bad than before. I'm pretty confident I just got the worst one from the factory, because everyone else loves theirs. My Generation Bb does play relatively well. But once upon a time I used hot water to take the headpiece off and then put it back on. Then a while later I went to twist it to pull it out a little bit to try and get more perfect tuning for recording, and it turned a whopping 20 degrees and has been permanently stuck. I couldn't even get it off with hot water and pliers now haha. While trying to not break it.

But every time I say that cheaper ones are worse I get a ton of people saying their cheap whistles are better, so this is why I've just been trying to commit to building my own haha. Why cant Generation make A, G, F, and low D's. For like $20-30 each. Even if some were duds or needed tweaking, it would be amazing.

Polara Pat wrote:My Dixon Trad still does have a loose fitting head which requires a light tuning every time I grab it.

Try a little candle wax on upper part of the brass tube. Drip it on and before it hardens slide the head on. It isn't permanent, but it will help.

Alaskamike wrote:

Polara Pat wrote:My Dixon Trad still does have a loose fitting head which requires a light tuning every time I grab it.

Try a little candle wax on upper part of the brass tube. Drip it on and before it hardens slide the head on. It isn't permanent, but it will help.

That's worth trying, thanks. I might consider bees or the blend I use for waxing in accordion reeds since it's a bit pliable and should give a good seal.

just curious... why isn't ther a practice whistle out ther? or is ther? if ther is, i cant find it. if someone would design a "QUiET!" D-whistle i bet 1000's of them would be sold the day they were offered! i would buy two in case i lost one... maybe even THREE!

Well, there are the Clarkes, & Tony Dixon one piece ABS, they can be played quietly - just depends on how quiet you want a whistle to be.

Amanda S wrote:just curious... why isn't ther a practice whistle out ther? or is ther? if ther is, i cant find it. if someone would design a "QUiET!" D-whistle i bet 1000's of them would be sold the day they were offered! i would buy two in case i lost one... maybe even THREE!

https://www.bigwhistle.co.uk/index.php? ... name=shush

I've tried one of the Shush whistles (can't remember which one) in the wild. It was quiet, and played reasonably like a normal whistle. There is a trade-off when using "whistle mutes" on standard whistles in that they don't play properly any more and so are compromised for practising on.

There are probably other options too. I know that Mack Hoover narrow bore whistles are quiet, but nothing more than that..

Amanda S wrote:just curious... why isn't ther a practice whistle out ther? or is ther? if ther is, i cant find it. if someone would design a "QUiET!" D-whistle i bet 1000's of them would be sold the day they were offered! i would buy two in case i lost one... maybe even THREE!

That's a really good point. I imagine that parents of young recorder players would have already come up with it if it was a thing though. haha

My Timothy J Potter whistle was already quiet when I put a piece of brass around the blade. The blade cover dropped the volume by about 5dB. Now it's around 70dB - based on my far from scientific observations. My Dixon Trad with the similar blade cover is about 75dB.

I would recommend Dixon Trad D or Waltons Mellow D when it comes to the sound. Maybe Feadog is a good choice too, for someone who needs a whistle with very low air requirements. There are also colored models if you think the kids would find a colored whistle more appealing. Check this whistle buying guide for several nice options.