Chiff and Fipple Forums

Feadog whistleheads are a puzzle to me.

I've tweaked a hundred or more, and I find that the whistleheads themselves are the most consistent physically of any mass produced whistles I've worked on. However, I agree with Tony that there is quite a bit of variation from one Feadog whistle to another in how it sounds, especially in the upper register. I'm quite familiar with the ragged sounding upper G that many of them have.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Is there any place in the US to order a Feadog Pro D from?

Jerry Freeman wrote:Feadog whistleheads are a puzzle to me.

I've tweaked a hundred or more, and I find that the whistleheads themselves are the most consistent physically of any mass produced whistles I've worked on. However, I agree with Tony that there is quite a bit of variation from one Feadog whistle to another in how it sounds, especially in the upper register. I'm quite familiar with the ragged sounding upper G that many of them have.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Hi Jerry, I have a Feadog (non-pro - it's some kind of green duco on brass)- although it's a bit hard to control i love the sound, the raggedy G went away when I filled the gap under the windway. My problem now is that the lower register is way too quiet and there's a lot of chaotic noise between the octaves, is there anything I can do to tame that a bit?

You may be able to improve it by scraping a bevel onto the windway floor exit where the windsheet spills into the voicing window, but you have to be very careful with this, as it will keep getting better and better and then suddenly the bottom two notes will refuse to speak at all. At that point, you just have to throw the whistlehead away or do major reconstructive surgery.

Best wishes,
Jerry

I didn't know a whistle had so many parts. I musta lost my packing list.

Jerry Freeman wrote:You may be able to improve it by scraping a bevel onto the windway floor exit where the windsheet spills into the voicing window, but you have to be very careful with this, as it will keep getting better and better and then suddenly the bottom two notes will refuse to speak at all. At that point, you just have to throw the whistlehead away or do major reconstructive surgery.

Best wishes,
Jerry

I've been sanding my windway, and I came to that very spot. It's sounds quite nice, but the D and definitely the E are "damaged". They're very responsive, and you can't blow them as hard as you could before; then, they'll squeak. Not a successful tweak, but I stopped just before that point and the sound is quite lovely.

The tube size is nearly identical. The difference in size is no doubt the plating thicness. The OD is Pro .505 inch, the standard brass .504 inch. Th ID is Pro .474inch, the standard brass .477 inch. This makes 4 a thickness of .031 for the Pro and .027 for the standard brass. The Pro I have been playing is completely untweaked, not even sticky tack. I will probably do at least the sticky tack to the new brass.

The bottom line is if you like the Feadog sound and how the Feadog plays you will probably love this whistle. If you don't like the Feadog this will not convert you. If you want a similar sound that is right in tune, easy to play, well made, and you are willing to pay nearly 10 times as much get a Humphrey's narrow bore and when you do make sure you get the Eb tube to go with it. If you like a purer sound with a little more back pressure get an Alba Q1.

There is no one in the USA selling these that I know of. Thom Larsen take note. However it only took 2 weeks from Dublin with $5 shipping for 2 whistles.

Ron

Hi!
Bought a Feadog Pro while in Dublin last week, got a bit curious after reading Bloomfield's review.

My impression in short:
They are trying to make an Oak, but they are not there yet.

/MarcusR

just wanted to let everyone know that Whistle and Drum is now carrying the Feadog Pro.

[Thread revival. - Mod]

I'm resurrecting this thread just to say that I love my Feadog Pro and that it has a very very sexy sound. A lit bit of saxophone, little bit of violin and lots of Irish awesomeness.

It's kinda hard to play though, i actually hated it in the beginning. But once you find the correct blow pressure and get used to it...ah!

Rupfipple wrote:[Thread revival. - Mod]

I'm resurrecting this thread just to say that I love my Feadog Pro and that it has a very very sexy sound. A lit bit of saxophone, little bit of violin and lots of Irish awesomeness.

It's kinda hard to play though, i actually hated it in the beginning. But once you find the correct blow pressure and get used to it...ah!

Dang. I was getting ready with a sarcastic "zombie thread" comment and it turns out to be a moderator. I like my Feadog Pro but not as well as I like the original Feadog. Jerry's whistles are my public whistles but the Feadog original is what I keep in the glovebox.