MK Low 'D' slipping, help

The Ultimate On-Line Whistle Community. If you find one more ultimater, let us know.
Derek Blackwell
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 4:55 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Seattle

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by Derek Blackwell »

And Derek who wanted to hire D Mc to polish his MK, although Misha now makes them this way.

I'm sure Pancelticpiper will agree (he's mentioned many times) all MK's seem to play differently. I concur. I wish they were all plain aluminium. The one you like best might not be. I haven't tried anything from last four years of production. I wish more MK's would make it across the pond, they're worth comparing, unlike Burkes which are extremely predictable.
User avatar
An Draighean
Posts: 889
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:18 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: Parker County, Texas, USA

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by An Draighean »

No problems holding or playing mine; dark green matt finish.

Bought mine directly from Misha four or five years ago; can't compare it with anything else as it's the first and only low whistle I've ever had, but I'm happy with it. Don't play it all that much - it's currently in storage with most of our household stuff.
Deartháir don phaidir an port.
User avatar
pancelticpiper
Posts: 5298
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:25 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Playing Scottish and Irish music in California for 45 years.
These days many discussions are migrating to Facebook but I prefer the online chat forum format.
Location: WV to the OC

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by pancelticpiper »

Derek Blackwell wrote:
I'm sure Pancelticpiper will agree (he's mentioned many times) all MK's seem to play differently.
Probably different whistles from all makers play differently, it's just that my sample-size with most makers is one or two, while I happened to own six different MK Low Ds, usually two or three at a time, trying to find that magic one, which I did.

My largest sample-size was my oft-mentioned chance to try a straight-from-the-factory box of 24 Generation D's.

Next was my opportunity at the NAMM Show to play a dozen or so Dixon High D's.

In truth those six MKs had much less variation than the 24 Generations, or my two Killarney Ds.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
User avatar
RPereira
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:36 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: "And the man in the rain picked up his bag of whistles,
and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds,
and nothing was ever heard from him again..."
Location: Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UK

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by RPereira »

I have found that mouthpiece patches for clarinet and saxophone do the job with a nice grip.
Image

Take a look into these ones:
https://www.justflutes.com/category.php ... order=name
I am using the BG A10L (black) on the MK Pro Low D and MK Pro A.
I have put a pad for the upper hand thumb and other pad for the lower hand pinky.

I wish that Misha could offer polished versions again, however this is what he replied me:
“Metal polishing is a very dirty process. Standing at the polishing wheel for many days and weeks was slowly killing me - inhaling the polishing/metal dust into my lungs. Any solution needs to be sustainable in terms of health and safety- I've done enough damage to myself as it is!”
RPereira
______________________________________________
"And the man in the rain picked up his bag of secrets,
and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds..."
User avatar
Sedi
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 6:54 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Practice, practice, practice. You're never too old to learn.
Keep on fluting.
---u---o-o-o--o-o-o--
-----------------------

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by Sedi »

Interesting, that's why I wear a dust mask when polishing aluminium or sawing, filing and cutting it. And not one of those small ones, either. Something like this:
https://www.rothhaas-online.de/artikel. ... t=10373300&
pigwhistle
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:29 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by pigwhistle »

Thank you R Pereira for that tip, I have ordered a couple of packets. Thanks also for posting the reply to you from Misha about the polishing process, I guess that ends the speculation on that subject, and fair enough too.
User avatar
RPereira
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:36 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: "And the man in the rain picked up his bag of whistles,
and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds,
and nothing was ever heard from him again..."
Location: Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UK

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by RPereira »

pigwhistle wrote:Thank you R Pereira for that tip, I have ordered a couple of packets. Thanks also for posting the reply to you from Misha about the polishing process, I guess that ends the speculation on that subject, and fair enough too.
You're very welcome!
RPereira
______________________________________________
"And the man in the rain picked up his bag of secrets,
and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds..."
User avatar
stanton135
Posts: 235
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:39 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi Nano. I was somewhat active on the Chiffboards maybe 5 or 6 years ago, participating in several whistle tours (Bracker, Hardy, Ellis). I took a break from the Chiffboards, and music mostly, for several years because I got a full-time job and had a baby. I'm easing back into the music, though (which is great, I missed it). It's good to be back!
Location: Northwest Indiana

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by stanton135 »

Another option is a thumbrest. Susato makes nice plastic clip-on thumbrests (https://www.susato.com/products/0970-su ... -recorders). I found a #4 fits the MK D very nicely. Personally I added the thumbrest not because the whistle was slipping, exactly, but more to ease up tension in my lower hand. It helps!
bruce.b
Posts: 94
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 11:23 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I’m a whistle, fiddle and tenor guitar player. Mostly low D, mostly Irish trad, but I’ll try any fiddle tune on whistle.

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by bruce.b »

Derek Blackwell wrote:Here's another thread on the subject, my comments there still sum it up for me.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=100763

At the time, Misha didn't offer a silver (plain aluminum, aluminium, as you wish) finish. Not long after these comments he started doing that. Coincidence?

I have yet to get my hands on a plain metal MK. I have several matte ones and they drive me bonkers trying to hold them, more than any other whistle I've encountered and I've tried many. Mine are covered in egregious amounts of electrical tape. Still baffled, he got so much about these right.

The silver MK is anodized like all the other MK’s. It’s the same finish without the dyes for color. I asked him about this because I’d like to get a silver D. I wouldn’t want one without the anodized finish. I put a product for guitar picks on mine for the right thumb. It might be called “monster grips.” There are several products like it out there.
Derek Blackwell
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 4:55 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Seattle

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by Derek Blackwell »

Thanks Bruce, I stand corrected. I guess nobody else here has bought an MK in silver. I'm surprised and disappointed. I thought maybe Misha had been inspired by the earlier discussion and pictures.

While the anodized finish looks nice, I have several low C/D/F/G/A plain aluminum/aluminium whistles by various makers and don't have similar grip gripes with any. They may get more scratched and tarnished, but for me it's all about practicality. I do find it's helpful for the low Cs and sometimes Ds to use a Susato thumb rest, but that's to reduce fatigue, not to keep the thing from slipping out of my hands, as with any MK I've tried, maybe 6 or 7 over the years. Now that I think of it, they were all anodized. I just looked at the MK site for the first time in a long while. Misha used to offer a polished version which was more expensive, but this option seems to be gone. I recall he wrote to me these were easier to grip and I had intended to order one someday. I wonder what on earth happened? I'll say it again, MKs are otherwise a triumph for playability.
bruce.b
Posts: 94
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 11:23 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I’m a whistle, fiddle and tenor guitar player. Mostly low D, mostly Irish trad, but I’ll try any fiddle tune on whistle.

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by bruce.b »

Monster grips would be perfect if they were a little bigger. If you place it well, it took me two tries, it should solve the problem. It is a very grippy surface. I’m kind of surprised Misha doesn’t offer something like it, just bigger amd oval shaped. It makes the contact point more solid than any smooth metal or plastic surface. They stick really well amd don’t shift, plus they are clear and not all that visible. I have another one for picks that is a cicular cork material. It also looks like it will work well. I need to find them again and try one.
User avatar
stiofan
Posts: 543
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 1:43 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I've been a C&Fer since 2003. Currently playing wooden flute & (mainly low) whistles, along with the bowed dulcimer.
Location: Sonoma County, CA USA

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by stiofan »

Derek Blackwell wrote:Misha used to offer a polished version which was more expensive, but this option seems to be gone. I recall he wrote to me these were easier to grip and I had intended to order one someday. I wonder what on earth happened?
I asked Misha about the polished model back in 2018. His response was: "We had to discontinue the polished finish whistles because of health and safety concerns with the process itself. I'm still looking at ways around this however and I hope that we can switch back to polished finish in the not too far distant."

In 2015, he put this out on the MK blog: Polished finish MK Pros will be discontinued for the foreseeable future. This is so that we can concentrate on finishing work on different keys of whistles – G, A & Eb are all in the pipeline (quite literally!). We do currently have a very small number of polished finish Mk Pro D and Fs until such time as stocks run out. [May 2015]

We'll see. I for one would be keen on seeing the polished version available again.
PB+J
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:40 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by PB+J »

I have a silver anodized MK low d. I almost never play it, because it’s such an ergonomic disaster for me.

I should probably just order a couple susato thumb rests.

I’ve actually thought about installing a clarinet thumb rest. I’d have to drill holes in the whistle and tap the holes, but then I could screw the thumb rest to the whistle body and not have to worry about glues or sticky tape.

Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Durable-Clarinet ... nts&sr=1-2

The model above has a ring for installing a neck strap as well as the thumb rest. The little machine screws it comes with would protrude into the whistle, probably not a good thing i guess, and drilling and tapping would be a fiddly operation, but it would make the whistle easy and comfortable to play. I could maybe find small machine screws that didn't protrude
User avatar
stanton135
Posts: 235
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:39 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi Nano. I was somewhat active on the Chiffboards maybe 5 or 6 years ago, participating in several whistle tours (Bracker, Hardy, Ellis). I took a break from the Chiffboards, and music mostly, for several years because I got a full-time job and had a baby. I'm easing back into the music, though (which is great, I missed it). It's good to be back!
Location: Northwest Indiana

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by stanton135 »

I'd say definitely try the Susato thumbrests before making a permanent alteration to your instrument. They're plastic, snap on in a second, and don't go anywhere until you move them.
Derek Blackwell
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 4:55 pm
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Seattle

Re: MK Low 'D' slipping, help

Post by Derek Blackwell »

Susato thumbrests are a pretty good solution. I find they do slip a bit on my MKs, I've tried several.

I'm sorry to hear about Misha's health concerns, I'm quite sympathetic as I have lung issues myself. I haven't heard about this from other makers though; I wonder if there's a good solution, or are they all putting themselves at risk?
Post Reply