Newly arrived Dixon - problem - advice?

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Wed Aug 22, 2001 4:21 pm

Well, The Whistle Shop is definitely speedy, I'll give them that. My Dixon tunable just arrived, but the high D seems a little off to me It seems like the D in the 2nd octave is tilted more toward an Eb. Maybe I'm just used to my Susato, but I play by ear and it simply doesn't sound right. And that's a major factor for a whistle.. I used Tune it to confirm the frequencies after tuning it - made the A dead on to 880, and everything else checked out except the second octave D and a little bit on its neighboring C.

I'm keeping the Whistle Shop's return policy handy, I may end up exchanging it for another Dixon. Or maybe something else, if this is normal. Is there normally a disparity between whistles for just one or two notes? If anyone is willing to help me troubleshoot, I can make .wavs of a simple scale in susato and in dixon as a comparison, and I can get numerical frequency values with Tune-It.

[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2001-08-23 00:55 ]

Jens_Hoppe · Post by **Jens_Hoppe** » Thu Aug 23, 2001 2:39 am

A few months ago I bought a nontunable Dixon low D from the Whistle Shop. Turns out it was seriously out of tune, both "with itself", and out of tune when checking against a tuner.

On Rich's advice I wrote Tony Dixon, telling him about the problem. He was more than kind in his reply, seeming almost embarrased to have let such an instrument out his door. And he offered to send me a tunable replacement free of charge. This replacement turned out to be much better in tune with itself, and is a really nice instrument. So I'm happy with his customer service.

That being said, you might want to try the whistle out for a while, to determine if it's really out of tune, or if it's merely a case of getting to know its particularities. If you are convinced the whistle is at fault, my advice would be to contact Tony or the whistle shop.

Cheers,
Jens

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Thu Aug 23, 2001 6:48 am

I dont own a Dixon although I do have a Susato and I,ve read that the air requirement for the Dixon may be slightly more.Its pretty normal for 2nd octave notes to sound flat if you,re not pushing hard enough and maybe you just need a few days to adjust.I would also learn to trust your ears more than any sort of tuner as perfect tuning may sound wrong to many traditional musicians.

Mike

DrGiggles · Post by **DrGiggles** » Thu Aug 23, 2001 7:57 am

My Dixons are a little off on B C C# and D', but I can usually compensate by adjusting my blowing.

It's still more in tune than most of my lower-priced whistles - with the possible exception of my Susato.

If it's really off, I would suggest you contact Thom and make plans for an exchange.

Good Luck,
Frank

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Thu Aug 23, 2001 8:10 am

It's off enough to my ear that I don't want to play it! =( I emailed Thom last night, hopefully something will work out.

Who generally pays for shipping in a return? I've never returned a mail/net order item before.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Thu Aug 23, 2001 3:16 pm

Well, this worked out well. Similar to your experience, Jens, Tony Dixon is sending me a new one, and I'm returning the original to The Whistle Shop. I'm impressed at the speed involved all around concerning replies, and quite satisfied with the customer service of both parties!

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Thu Aug 23, 2001 3:30 pm

Well see, here's the flip side of what's been discussed in some other recent threads.

I've also received excellent service from both Tony and Tom in the the past. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever hearing anything negative about either one's customer service, it's all been positive.

Way to go guys!

Loren

Grannymouse · Post by **Grannymouse** » Sat Aug 25, 2001 10:56 pm

WEll, I got one of the good ones! I tried out a couple of the tunable high D's at Thoms'..... picked one I thought sounded a tad better but really little difference. I've played it along with other instruments and with little adjustment. Haven't noticed any additional air requirements and easy transition from one octave to the next. So thanks Tony and Thom...you done good! Gm

stimps · Post by **stimps** » Sun Aug 26, 2001 2:30 pm

Yeah, I've ordered a ton of books & stuff from the Whistle Shop too, and haven't had anything but great service. The prices are good too, even considering the exchange rate. Good job.

stimps