I normally stick a paperclip in the fipple on my Acorn whistle, but a paperclip doesn’t fit in my Generation. I bought that sticky tack stuff that is recommended but I wonder if I bought the right stuff?
It’s like sticky plastic but it’s not moldable or shapable like clay as I expected. So even though I cut off a square and can squish and squeeze it, it always springs back to a little square. I am having trouble getting the right size that mutes without cutting off all sound or totally warping some of the notes, or falling into (or out of) the fipple.
Is this the right stuff or did I get the wrong stuff? I bought it at Staples and it was their own Staples brand they didn’t have any other.
Doesn’t sound right… Try target or walmart. There is the
“Sticky Tack” brand (which is blue), and I’ve found an Elmers brand version which works. Look near the crayons.
It sounds like you got little foam squares. :-] I think I got mine at Walmart. This one is made by Super Glue, is yellow and is called HandiTak. you could check the picture hanging section and the stationary dept. Good luck.
I](http://whistle.jeffleff.com/graphics/TapeMute.jpg>I) use a bit of electrical tape dangling into the window, as I’ve illustrated here. Other kinds of tape work too, but electrical tape can be reused pretty often and doesn’t tend to leave much residue. I think this works better than blocking part of the window with tape or putty or whatever. Covering around half or a bit less works well on most whistles, if you block too much, the sound breaks up.
Well, tape does work, but it seems to make the whistle go flat. Not that I ever tested to see if a paperclip makes it go flat, but it did not seem to as far as I could tell (I’ve lost my paperclip so I can’t test it now – need to buy some more paperclips.)
Use a small rubber band and double/triple/whatever it
and slip it down over the mouthpiece towards the bottom
of the window. Then just squeegy it up and start to
cover the bottom part of the window until you get the
volume you want.
After I saw BoneQuint’s picture, I’m wondering if we’re talking about the same thing. I don’t put the Handitak over the window. I put it down under the windway, in that (what I call) dead space in the fipple. This way, with that back space filled with the tack, all your breath is directed forward, toward the tone holes. I have it in my Feadog and the sound is better.
Yep, you want the putty not the plastic squares. I got mine at Staples, “Duck” brand blue Poster Putty. As I remember, it was located in the aisle near the adhesive tape and Post-Its.
But I’m surprised about the paper clip. Here’s a photo of my Generation D with a standard small gem-type paper clip in the window. It fits and works fine.
That works, too, but may destabilize the tone. The paper clip just mutes without making the whistle more skittish.
Diane’s not talking about the the “putty tweak”. She’s just muting the whistle for quiet practice. A bit of putty on the ramp/blade can act as a mute, too.
Doesn’t the paperclip just fall right out like that? I actually drop it down the fipple on my other whistle. I like the paperclip. If I drop it in large-end-first it mutes the sound quite a bit. Narrow-end-first softens the tone and gives it a breathy sound which I like. But alas, it doesn’t fit the Generation.
I gave the rubber band a try. It’s hard to get it to mute the whistle without cutting off all the sound.
Nope … it’s gently wedged in there, but not enough to damage the blade. I can even turn the whistle upside-down and the clip stays put. I still don’t understand why yours doesn’t fit, but maybe you’re using a different type of clip?
Mine doesn’t fit because I wasn’t sticking it in the same hole yours is stuck in. I was sticking it down the top.
But I just found an old paperclip in the junk room that is quite thin and it fits in the fipple with about 3/8 inch sticking up the top. Annoying but not dreadfully so. That seems to do the trick. Sticking it in the windway didn’t quiet it much.
I don’t know why but I just can’t stand the sound of my whistles. The high D is too high and hurts my ears. The Generation Bb tends to honk and make goose-like noises. The paperclip seems to soften both and make them tolerable. Plus it lets me blow harder. Whistles don’t take enough air and I end up with too much air in my lungs I have to figure out how to get rid of.
I’m just a flute player, I guess. I just play the whistle to have something portable or to practice when my face starts getting tired.
Don’t despair! It truly, truly, truly just takes time to get some control, and you’ll learn to make it sound sweet and lovely. While we’ll always have differences here over expensive vs. midrange vs. cheapies, almost everyone agrees that at least 90% of the sound comes from the player, and not the whistle. They can all sound good.
I went out to buy a low whistle but some of the notes sounded flat so I bought a fife. He he. It’s in tune and sounds really crisp and clear. Not goosey like my whistle. It’s rather loud if you play it the way god intended, but I can play it quietly, too. Plus with the metal work on each end I think I can kill someone with it.
