Tweaks: The Thread

[pancelticpiper]

Here's the modified Generation B flat that I just finished yesterday.

It plays exactly how I want a whistle to play. It's right in tune from the "bottom D" to "high B" (in D-whistle terms).

The voicing is how I like it: full round low notes and extremely sweet easy high notes.

I started with two old Generation B flats I happened to have.

Both had the same tuning quirks:

1) in D-whistle terms, the E, G, A, B, and C were all in tune with each other, but the Bottom D and middle D were both quite flat.

To solve this I chopped the bottom around 2mm.

2) in D-whistle terms, the F# was a hair flat so I carved out that hole.

3) As is common with Generations, the whole 2nd octave was a bit flat. To solve this I chopped the head in two, right through the window, and glued the head back together. There's a period where the glue is only partly set and you can move the pieces of the head around to get the voicing exactly how you want it, by the alignment of the blade and the windway.

Photos:

Left is a stock Generation Bb tube, on the right is the one I chopped and carved.



Left is a stock Generation Bb head, on the right is the one I chopped.

[FrankFlute]

I just filled up the hole beneath the flue on my Dixon DX005
Did that with epoxy-glue. Put some masking tape to cover the flue and the cutting edge, and dripped the epoxy with a small needle into the hole.
Huge improvement.
I am a starting tin-whistler, and now it's easier to get the 2e octave.

Just wonder why Dixon doesn't fill up that hole at fabrication. If I should deliver one of my native american flutes that way, I'd be out of bussiness.

[PB+J]

Here's the modified Generation B flat that I just finished yesterday.

It plays exactly how I want a whistle to play. It's right in tune from the "bottom D" to "high B" (in D-whistle terms).

The voicing is how I like it: full round low notes and extremely sweet easy high notes.

I started with two old Generation B flats I happened to have.

Both had the same tuning quirks:

1) in D-whistle terms, the E, G, A, B, and C were all in tune with each other, but the Bottom D and middle D were both quite flat.

To solve this I chopped the bottom around 2mm.

2) in D-whistle terms, the F# was a hair flat so I carved out that hole.

3) As is common with Generations, the whole 2nd octave was a bit flat. To solve this I chopped the head in two, right through the window, and glued the head back together. There's a period where the glue is only partly set and you can move the pieces of the head around to get the voicing exactly how you want it, by the alignment of the blade and the windway.

Thank you for posting that. I have to say that chopping the fipple in half looks like a recipe for trouble to me.

How do you control how much you are reducing the opening? Is it just the width of the kerf on whatever you used to cut it?

What are you using to glue it back together? A plastic solvent glue would soften the plastic and possibly mess up the windway. Super glue might not provide an airtight seal. Is that why it appears to be wrapped in some black material?

It seems to me, with no experience in this area, that you could accomplish the same thing the way Freeman and O'Briain do, by gluing a pieces of plastic to the top of the blade and extending it past the stock blade edge.

[Sedi]

Just wonder why Dixon doesn't fill up that hole at fabrication. If I should deliver one of my native american flutes that way, I'd be out of bussiness.

I might be wrong but I think it has something to do with the injection molding process.

[thomasaasen]

"Big Whistles" store has their own "Shush" whistles that are tweaked Generations and Feadóg. You also have Galeòns Tweaked Feadóg Whistles. O'Briain Improved Whistles too. Don't know if they are mentioned before, but here they are.

[thomasaasen]

I just filled up the hole beneath the flue on my Dixon DX005
Did that with epoxy-glue. Put some masking tape to cover the flue and the cutting edge, and dripped the epoxy with a small needle into the hole.
Huge improvement.
I am a starting tin-whistler, and now it's easier to get the 2e octave.

Just wonder why Dixon doesn't fill up that hole at fabrication. If I should deliver one of my native american flutes that way, I'd be out of bussiness.

Thanks for the tip. You can also do this on an Oak Whistle. I wonder if there are more whistles you can do this with? It makes just an great improvement.

[thomasaasen]

Anyone knows if Chris Wall makes his own brass tubes for his SweetBrass Whistles? He makes an fantastic mouthpiece that sounds wonderful on his whistles. It's for sure one of my favorite. Don't know if it can be called a tweaked whistle?

[MadmanWithaWhistle]

Just wonder why Dixon doesn't fill up that hole at fabrication. If I should deliver one of my native american flutes that way, I'd be out of bussiness.

I might be wrong but I think it has something to do with the injection molding process.

I've found in my tests that a slight concavity produces better "punch" or attack to the notes, but has the disadvantage of making the octave break a bit flatter. Jerry Freeman is shoving mesh in there or something, but I just undercut the airblade and restrict the bore of the body tube at the top a bit.

[Chris Wall]

Anyone knows if Chris Wall makes his own brass tubes for his SweetBrass Whistles? He makes an fantastic mouthpiece that sounds wonderful on his whistles. It's for sure one of my favorite. Don't know if it can be called a tweaked whistle?

I do indeed make both the mouthpiece and tube right here in my shop. It's not a tweaked whistle at all, as it is totally produced by me, with the exception of I do not actually manufacture the brass tubing itself. But I do cut it to size and drill the holes myself.

[MadmanWithaWhistle]

Here's the modified Generation B flat that I just finished yesterday.

3) As is common with Generations, the whole 2nd octave was a bit flat. To solve this I chopped the head in two, right through the window, and glued the head back together. There's a period where the glue is only partly set and you can move the pieces of the head around to get the voicing exactly how you want it, by the alignment of the blade and the windway.

Relative to the original position, did you move the airstream vertically upward, or downward? i.e. more air passing over the blade or under it?

[thomasaasen]

Anyone knows if Chris Wall makes his own brass tubes for his SweetBrass Whistles? He makes an fantastic mouthpiece that sounds wonderful on his whistles. It's for sure one of my favorite. Don't know if it can be called a tweaked whistle?

I do indeed make both the mouthpiece and tube right here in my shop. It's not a tweaked whistle at all, as it is totally produced by me, with the exception of I do not actually manufacture the brass tubing itself. But I do cut it to size and drill the holes myself.

Thanks Chris.
Your whistles are just amazing. I love everything about it. My hands goes directly to your whistle whenever I sit at my dest and want to play some. I'm so grateful that I got this SweetBrass Whistle in High D. I sure hope those who haven't tried it out and love playing whistles get the chance to play one.

[Seamus McNaught]

As I lay in my casket, I hope someone has the good sense to tuck my Freeman tweeked Shaw C under my arm.

[RoberTunes]

It's great to learn the many tweeks, the reasons and results. While I'm not one of Generation's dedicated millrights or sheet metal hobbyists, I simply don't have the toolset, I can keep these things in mind. I have ideas occasionally about whistle design, either to improve one of the lesser-cost models or consider making my own PVC or hardwood R&D Frankenwhistle, and having access to the thoughts of others working these things out, is precious.

[thomasaasen]

OK, sounds like a good plan.

Tommy does a fantastic tweak on Walton's whistles.

I must agree, I love my tweaked Walton by Tommy Dion. I also got my Feadóg tweaked by him, and it sounds great.

[learn2turn]

I found out that you can remove a Generation's mouthpiece by immersing it in boiling water.

Just to follow on from that, I was doing a bit more of this today. It's important not to leave the whistle standing upside down in the water, because the mouthpiece will go soft and deform as it slumps under the weight of the whistle. I lost the mouthpiece on my favourite nickel C this way! So this does work - and I tuned a couple of G's nicely - but you need to suspend the mouthpiece in the water rather than let it sit there.

Boiling is overkill. I just removed the fipples from my Generation D and Bb to putty the hollow in the fipples and tune the whistles. I found 150F/65C water for 20-30 seconds to be plenty to get the fipples to slip right off. A meat thermometer has the perfect range for measuring temps in that range.

-l2t