oxo xxx is more common on flutes. Try oxx xox, which is the usual alternative for sharp oxx ooo fingerings on whistles. And it is absolutely normal that a cross-fingered cnat is a bit quiet, not only on Gens.

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Ralph is a mouse.

I have a question for anyone with an answer.....Where can I buy 'blue tack' aka 'poster putty' Thanks in advance, Mickey

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I have a Clare that had the same problem.....I used steel wool instead. It worked! Now I'm doing that to all my brass whistles! it made a Gen brass D un-tweaked sound great!

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I have not seen the genuine Bostik brand Blu-Tack for sale in a store in the US for maybe ten years. It seems to have been completely buried by alternate poster putty products from Elmer's, Scotch and Duck brands. The Elmer's stuff is safety orange in color. You can find generics at dollar stores too. Poster putty is generally available at most any big box store that sells adhesives, school supplies and arts/crafts products ( Home Depot, Lowes, Staples, Office Max, Walmart, Target, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.. Look in the Back-to-School section at the big stores this time of year. Poster putty is a college dorm room staple.

Any pliable putty or clay product should work for the purpose on whistles. Poster putty will remain pliable for a longer time than some materials though.

Wonder why no one uses Silly Putty? It comes in outrageous colors too including glow in the dark types.. Probably doesn't explode when it comes into contact with glass though. No fun.

Feadoggie

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I've proven who I am so many times, the magnetic strips worn thin.

In my experience it didn't stay firm. Thankfully I got it out of the whistles before it started to ooze down the tube.

Ah, that'd be why then. Thanks for sharing.

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I've proven who I am so many times, the magnetic strips worn thin.

You're welcome.

Thanks all ! Last question....what's the best way to enter the cavity below the wind-way under the blade? From the top or from the tube sleeve? And what is good to use as a tool for seating said putty into cavity ? Mickey

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Really? Ok!

The best way to do this is to use a custom made poster putty plunger. These can be cobbled up from an empty caulking tube and caulking gun. An industrial grade clay extruder will also work. Make sure that the tube/nozzle at the end of the caulking tube is machined to exactly 1/2" in diameter. You'll need a lathe for that. Now block the top quarter or so of the nozzle with a teflon coated piece of 6063 aluminum. A 4 axis CNC mill is the best tool do make this but a 3d printer with powered brass medium might also work in a pinch. The teflon is necessary to keep the putty flowing. Bonding it in to the nozzle is the hard bit. That particular part is meant to block the putty from going into the windway and blocking it. So a custom nozzle for each type of whistle you will tweak is important. Then buy about two dozen packs of poster putty. You'll need that much in order to generate enough pressure to fill the cavity uniformly. Heat the putty to ~85 degrees and mix it thoroughly so that no air pockets remain. Hand kneading is suggested to maintain the intended tone of the whistle. Stuff the putty into the used caulking tube. Re-install the plastic plunger. Let it sit with the nozzle facing up over night maintaining a temperature of at least 82 degrees. Next day you insert the cartridge into the caulking gun and do a test squeeze to relieve any air that remained in the tube. Then and only then insert the nozzle into the head of the whistle to be prepared. Make sure the windway blocking mechanism is properly oriented. Squeeze out about 1 cc of putty. Count your fingers. Use a surgical scalpel inserted through the window of the whistle head to cut off the putty stream. The scalpel is important to make sure that the face of the putty is cut smoothly and flat to the end of the windway. Count you fingers again. Remove the nozzle. Insert the whistle tube and play. You should be able to tweak another 599 whistles with what's left in the tube.

Or ... you could just put a bit of putty on the eraser end of a new-ish Ticonderoga #2 pencil and do what you can. It works best to try this with the head off of the metal tube though.

Feadoggie

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I've proven who I am so many times, the magnetic strips worn thin.

Hey! Feadoggie......Thanks! I think, I will try method # 2 LMAO!

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Method #2 worked real good! Thanks!

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Becker Pvc low whistle tweak,
It was 18.00, but I wanted to try it,

these tweaks have made it quite playable & pleasing to my ears.
After taking the mouthpiece ,, that makes up the windway ceiling, I found the windway to be a softened V shape, {smaller part of V goes to fipple} I used a Loctite blu tack stuff to make the wind way more of a a ll shape.
also in the cap that forms the winday ceiling , I marked where the air path was and put some clear sticky back strips of a material similar to stick on pickguards, but thinner. I put on 2 layers.

these two things gave me a much more focused stream of air,, Im thinking of a way to do this with out sticky and makle it permanent,,, but haven't taken the plunge yet.

lastly and I just did this sat,, I formed some "ears" going down the sides of the fipple hole, ala Copeland, {but ghetto }

I like it. I desire a clean pure sound in the 2nd octave and witht these mods and air control have mostly achieved it,

I wish the pipe wa a bit smaller diameter, more like a Dixon, I believe it would give the low octave more character.

as always YMMV but you may want to try it,, if it doesn't suit your fancy , just pull the stuff off.
Oh, yes the blue tacky stuff looks like crap there on ethe sides of the fipple hole, and may not be quite worth having as it only seems to help very slightly.
Steve

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http://www.youtube.com/user/sjeter61
My tunes , if you're interested

got a C feadog in mail for playing duo with wifey, I have to say I did not care much for it out of the box,,,,, but I took head off with the hot water trick,,,, just filled the cavity with some blutack, to in line with windway exit,,,,, and it sounds good.

I wont say its a better or worse sound than the Blackbird, its different, even a bit mellow. For me,, not quite as easy to avoid playing errors, as the BB ,,, but still a nice sound & whistle. not trying to fan any flames,, just something you may want to try.

I did the same withe a D little black, and the results were not nearly as noticeable.
FWIW

Steve

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http://www.youtube.com/user/sjeter61
My tunes , if you're interested

I have two brass Dixon Trads (not the solid brass), so I decided to try the cavity fill on one of them. This was my first tweaking experiment.

I thought I had some poster putty around here but couldn't find it, and it's too cold to go out to Staples to buy some, so I ventured into unknown waters. I used bathroom caulk.

The first thing I have to say is: This is a bad idea. Don't do it. I knew it was a bad idea before I started but thought I'd try it anyway. And I wasn't even drinking.

I have a small "patch" tube of white latex caulk, so I thought I could release it straight down into the cavity, no muss, no fuss. This was crazy, of course. The stuff doesn't come out in a straight line, so although I filled the cavity, I also got caulk everywhere--but none in the windway. I got some around the windway, but none in it.

Well, I chalked, or caulked it off as a learning experience. When the stuff started to get firm in a few minutes, I used a pencil to tamp it properly in the cavity. Then I decided to see what I could do about cleaning the mess I'd made inside the mouthpiece. This took a couple of hours, using carefully cut plastic strips, but little by little I was able to get the stray bits of caulk out. I used one of those ultra-bright LED lights to check inside, and each time I found a bit I'd reach in with the plastic strip and pull it away.

To my astonishment, I eventually got it all out. The surface of the area where the cavity is filled isn't smooth; it looks like the surface of the moon. But I got the all-important area under and back from the blade nice and clean, and the ramp is impeccable.

So, the cavity is filled with latex caulk that is now firm in its stippled ugliness, should anyone ever peer in there. The sound is...well, it's what I expected, based on reading this thread. The bottom D and E are stronger than on the other Trad, but the timbre is softer. Having them side by side, the difference is very clear. The bell note on the untweaked Trad has a slightly "dirty" sound; not breathy but not pure either. I've never liked that aspect of the Trad. It breaks to high D very easily, although I've had these things so long I don't notice that.

The tweaked Trad breaks to high D less easily and has a slightly breathier timbre. It's a definite improvement, and the same observations apply to low E. After that, they sound much the same.

Interestingly, filling the cavity makes the Trad sound much like the Hermit Hill brass whistle I recently bought, since one of the main differences between the two is the bottom end. But with the cavity filled, the Trad is now a bit louder at the low end than the HH. Not a big difference though.

In the second octave, I've always been able to play the Trad with confidence, and it's no different with the cavity filled. The second octave is, in my opinion, the best thing about the Dixon Trad.

So, this is an endorsement for doing the cavity tweak on the Dixon Trad, but just don't do it with bathroom caulk.