March update

Whistle
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Last year this time it was Mack’s March Mayhem. This year I started to think maybe it should be Mack’s March Maybes.

Maybe March won’t be as slow as February…
Maybe some new innovation would help…
Maybe the “perfect” whistle is the next one…
Maybe the quiet whistle will acquire some volume…
Maybe I’ll get a call from a famous whistlemaker giving a bit of encouragement…

Truthfully, I never anticipated the last maybe till it actually happened!

Not only was I wonderfully encouraged; he and his beautiful wife and even their cat made me feel like family.

My obsession of late has been to make a Whitecap that potentially improves the Generation Bb.
Someone slipped one of these attempts to Colin Goldie. Needless to say I was nervous.
All my worries about what he would think melted away when he said he liked it and played me a tune.
“It could use a little more back pressure, and here is what I suggest.” ( paraphrased by me)
I followed his instructions and the result is really pleasing (to my ear) and very exciting! It’s a long way from perfect, and only a little louder; but I am motivated! It made MY March!

I am very much taken in with the Goldies: Brigitte, Colin, and Jacques. What a great family!

Last year’s questions are still pending:

what’s a whitecap?
who’s hoover?
why’s he quiet?
where’s he now?
when will we hear?

Stay tuned!

Mack

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Ah yes, Mack. From working with the both of you, I am not surprised in the least that you are fond of Colin. And Brigitte is simply a treasure, wot?

Hope all is well out west…My beautiful wife and daughter will be in your part of the country for the next 6 days. Wish I could be there, with them.

My Hoovers continue to light up my musical life…

Be well.
Byll

PS: Hi, Mr. Hoover, Sarah here, My mom and I are going to Arizona pretty soon. I’m going to see the desert, and the Grand Canyon. I’m going to have a realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly good time. Guess what, I played my white-cap in one of Daddy’s concerts in January. It was fun and the whistle played great. Listen, I gotta go, the computer screen is starting to look wierd to me, which is always a sign that I’ve had enough computer time for one day. See 'ya!

Sarah
(Official signature, though over the computer, of Sarah Elizabeth.)

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Hi Sarah,
Thanks you so much for your note! The Grand Canyon a huge and spectacular place which I could never get enough of and the West is almost limitless. I can’t get enough of it either even though I live here. I wish you could stop in for a visit, but I know that’s impossible. It makes me realllllllly proud you are into music and playing whistle, especially a whitecap, and with your Dad no less! Computers are wierd! They came along after I had gotten used to life without them. Now it seems I can’t get along without
them any more! I never would have met you or the wonderful folks I have without my computer! Including of course, your great Dad BYLL!


Ok Dale, Rich and the rest of you forgive me for bumping this, but how could I resist!?

Mack

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Hi Mack,

it was really good to talk to you the other day and a pleasure to finally make contact with someone I have read about for a few years. We always enjoyed reading your monthly updates and we are even in one ourselves.

I have read a lot about your whistles through C&F for a long time but never came across one over here until a few weeks ago when I had a visit from another charming board member. She brought me a nice little present along which has been played on quite a bit since it arrived. I really like it. From what I understand it is a “special tweaked for Colin” Whitecap. The head design looks really good and I like its timeless form… classy. The playability is different from what I normally make but I can play anything that I want to on it. It has quite a wooden tone, is responsive and a solid player, when I go for a note then I know I will get it without any bad surprises. I can now understand the good write ups from players who liked them. What I have is a head fitted on a Generation Bb body making it play a hundred times better than the original head which I got as well. It is louder than the Generation head and has a clearer more open tone with all the notes sounding balanced when going through the two octaves. I can only presume that with your own body that you make, it would be even nicer.

As you know I personally prefer whistles with a little bit more backpressure but that is only because I am lazy and do not want to take too many breaths when playing a piece of music which was why I suggested what I did. I am looking forward to see and play your new model and how it compares with the one I already have.

It is amazing how many nice whistles there are out there nowadays. When I first started playing I could only find a handful of makes to choose from and some of those where not that great. Since that time makers have sprung up like mushrooms (myself included) and the quality has made a big step forward.

When I go through my whistle collection (I am still missing a few makes here :slight_smile: ) it is just amazing what choice there is in sound, playbilities and looks, having Burkes, Busman* (snakewood), Butler, Camac, Clare, Clarkes, Copeland, Cook, Dixon, Generations, Herbison, Howard, Feadogs, Kasparik’s, Lambe, Parkhursts, Oak, O’Riordans, Overtons, Reyburn, Rose, Serpent, Silkstones, Sindt, Schultzes, Susatos, Swaynes, Tully, Waltons and quite a few unnamed whistles in metal and wood going back to the 1800s. And now I have also a Hoover to add to it. Thanks Mack! Actually we had two new Hoovers arrive in the last three weeks, your Whitecap and a Dyson :smiley:

Keep up what you are doing, much appreciated!
Colin





(* I wanted to write about this already, will do so soon :slight_smile: )

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About a month ago, I contacted Mack about making information on my Whistle Tonebodies available to him. That way, the special scales and keys that I make will available with Macks mouthpiece.

Mack, I will sending those off to you shortly.

Daniel Bingamon

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I can’t resist once again saying hi and relating how much I enjoy the whitecap whistles.

I have a D on an Oak tube that is just wonderful, a B-flat that’s even better than that, and a C whistle that is so quiet you can play in the same room with a sleeping baby. The D and B-flat are more session volume, but that C is the perfect practice whistle, in my opinion.

Mack you make good whistles!

–James