No Longer Laughing

pixyy · Post by **pixyy** » Thu Jun 28, 2001 3:17 am

Last weekend I went on a trip to the coast and had stuck my telescoping laughing Whistle in the pocket of my jacket.
After walking for a while i reached into the pocket ... and IT WAS GONE!
What misery! We went back, searched the beach, asked the local icecream vendor, the lifeguard, uprooted trees, stripsearched confused tourists, called 911...

I think I need to accept the loss -
and order another one from Noah,
and another whitle to ease the pain whilst I wait for its arrival - you understand, don't you?

Post by **rich** » Thu Jun 28, 2001 7:49 am

Perhaps you can mitigate your loss with a short eulogy -- er, I mean, review -- of the departed whistle. Despite my comments in the cheap-zen thread, I'm thinking of trying one myself...
<ul>-Rich</ul>

pixyy · Post by **pixyy** » Thu Jun 28, 2001 8:48 am

Eulogy on a departed Laughing Whistle

't was not long since first we met
I would have liked to get to know you
But it's so true what others said
you sounded sweet even when I blew...

Oh Laughing whistle with your Telescope
I lost you on the beach
To find you back there is no hope
closed pockets' value did it teach.

When you arrived you were so shiny
you tarnished whilst i held you in my hands
When I scoped you some scratches liny
upon your tube appeared in bands.

Noah, your creator said
'avoid this you can not'

I took some time to understand
you preferred the gentle touch
For when my breath got out of hand
you went up an octave notch

You were the one and only whistle
that my girlfriend truely liked
So I could sit and play a little
in the quiet of the night

Jeroen

Post by **rich** » Thu Jun 28, 2001 8:52 am

*blink*.

Touching and all -- but how was the whistle to play?

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Thu Jun 28, 2001 12:25 pm

*Sniff, sniff.* 'Tis a bit like losing a close friend, isn't it? (:

Condolences.

Tom

pixyy · Post by **pixyy** » Fri Jun 29, 2001 2:15 am

Hi Rich,
There were some clues in the eulogy, but here's some more 'factual' information based on my experience

For one thing it's a very nice looking whistle. Well made and the telescoping design is really cool.
Even though it's not much smaller than any other D whistle, it feels small - or rather delicate, without being fragile or anything.

It is a very quiet whistle, due to the narrow bore and the very narrow airway.
The air-channel tapers from where you blow towards the fipple window, causing a very narrow stream of air over the blade.
If you play, say, an Overton or Chieftain D before and pick up the Laughing whistle, you would probable blow it straight into the 3rd octave!
It needs very little air, and that takes some getting used to.
So far I didn't manage to really play it up to speed (that is, the 'turtle-reel' pace that I can manage on my other whistles

So i mostly played airs and other slow tunes on it. I'm sure if i would have played it more i could have developed the breath control that would really make it flower.

hope this helps
Jeroen

MLK · Post by **MLK** » Fri Jun 29, 2001 2:11 pm

Jeroen,

So sorry for your loss. But I do thank you for your review of the dearly departed.

We were considering purchasing a Laughing whistle for our son. Your review of the whistle was just what we needed to hear.

I suppose you could say that the spirit of your dear whistle will live on with those who care for the siblings of your loved one.

Condolences,
Meg

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Sat Jun 30, 2001 4:49 pm

Is there some sort of locking mechanism on a laughing whistle that prevents the sections from rotating or sliding while you play?
I'd also really like to know what the diameters of each of the three sections are.
I've been considering buying one for quite a while now, and this post has really peaked my interest.

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Sat Jun 30, 2001 6:49 pm

My Laughing Whistle had no mechanism to keep the instrument together while playing. However, friction seemed to do a wonderful job..up until the point that I polished the instrument and unthinkingly lubricated the slides..doh! The thing just slid all over the place after that! I had to carefully un-lubricate the thing as best as I could.

paulilittle · Post by **paulilittle** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 4:51 am

For a BRIEF while after I got them I was very disappointed with my Laughing whistles They'd both clog up with moisture before I could finish a set, it was SO frustrating. They would play so sweetly for a few moments and then just stop and Gurgle!
I tried soaking the fipples in detergent and that had some success though I was blowing bubbles for a while.
Eventually after a few frustrating days they became "broken in" and now they function perfectly. They have by far the sweetest tone of all my whistles and people don't tend back off so far when I play in the top register.
Now I love them to pieces (parden the pun) Their quietness and foldability make them Ideal for "stealth whistling" missions or whilst practicing in the vicinity of unsympathetic whistle heathens.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with them? at one point I was almost ready to give up! Persistance certainly paid.

[ This Message was edited by: paulilittle on 2001-07-04 06:59 ]

JayMitch · Post by **JayMitch** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 10:42 am

I too love my Laughing Whistle, but found I have had to adjust to its idiosyncrasies. It has a very small windway, so the air requirement is very small and it does have a tendency to clog with moisture. I had to learn to back way off on the air pressure and use every trick in the book to keep the airway free of moisture.

It still takes me a minute or two to adjust when I switch either way between the Laughing Whistle and, say, my wide bore Burke. The difference in the air requirement is just huge. But you can learn to adjust.

The payoff is a very pure, sweet, quiet sound which is perfect for playing alone or when I don't want to bother anyone or when I'm just in a quite mood. And, or course, it will collapse to about half its extended length, which is pretty neat.

Oh yes, the reason it doesn't need a mechanism to keep the sections in place is that the whistle is conical -- as you pull the sections apart they get tighter, and then friction does the job. Actually, mine was a tad loose when I first got it, but Noah explained to me how to make a small adjustment that tightened it up.

One final point. I understand that Noah is about to go into semi-retirement as a whistle smith because he's going back to school. Anyone interested in ordering a Laughing Whistle would be well advised to get in touch with Noah soon.

--Jay

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 12:45 pm

I also have a Laughing Whistle, and really enjoy playing it around the house. It is probably the quietest 'good' whistle I own, so I probably woudln't try to play it in a very big session. It sounds more "whistley" then "flutey" (like those technical descriptions?) while easily sounding better than the other 'whistley' instruments I own.

Evidenly Mr. Herbison narrows the windway with wax (or at least that's what it tasted like!)..during my break-in period with this whistle I ended up blowing most of this wax out while clearing the fipple..which had the nice side effect of moving the whistle's breath requirements closer to my other instruments. It didn't seem to affect the tone. I don't know what kind of wood is used in the fipple, but I think during this period, the fipple would tend to absorb moisture and swell, affecting the playability--the same seemed to happen with my traditional Clarkes until they were broken in.

Word of warning: I went on a polishing kick recently, and polished and lubricated every tunable metal whistle I own. Big mistake! Since the only thing that holds the Laughing Whistle together is friction, lubricating it is a *bad* idea (which I suppose I should have realized beforehand). If you want an adventure, try playing a reel on a whistle when its segments keep shifting under your fingers!