Newbie needs help-New Low D is shifting octaves WAY too fast

[Mattmcdee]

Sigung, I hope it all gets fixed up to your satisfaction. I recently ordered one of Nick's Copper dreams, I'm hoping I will not have the same issue. I'll let everyone know how it goes. From those previous posts though, it seems he is very customer oriented and will help you.

Matt

[sigung]

There are plenty to choose from. Personally, I would strongly recommend A Dixon TB012D (or TB003D) as good value for money learner (and beyond) low D. Especially if you are on the European side of the pond. I have one, and my only small criticism is that it takes more air than I like - though I seem to be in a bit of a minority here. The whistle has a strong low end and a sweet top end.

Other folk here will have opinions just as strong (and just as valid), so you will need to sift through many replies, compare prices and scour the used instruments section for a bargain....... good luck.

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of advice I need. Doesn't bother me that he's in England, I've been ordering RC parts from Hong Kong.. they do eventually get here, and I'm sure if I order one from him, it will get here long before I'm able to play well.

[sigung]

I'd absolutely contact Nick directly. I have no experience with his instruments but I have many others and have never had a maker refuse to correct a flaw (or even to make a finicky personal adjustment) without question or cost other than shipping. I can say with complete conviction that I've sent back five instruments over the past few years to four different makers with no objections from any and all have completed the work as requested.

If this proves not the be the case with your issue, then please let us know as we are a community here of players, makers and others who have open and honest dealings with each other on a regular basis.

It must be a correctable issue if he is able to create quality sound samples on his site from the same model. However, if this is a design flaw, and I completely trust MTGuru's opinion here, that he is unwilling to correct then Nick should refund your purchase price with nothing more than a return freight charge if anything.

ecohawk

I sent him an extreme closeup of the labial lip, his response was:

"Sorry you are having trouble with it. Please send it back to me. Yeah, looks like I missed a spot on the blade. I'll re-work it for you. I'll make sure I do it the day it gets here and get it right back to you. I apologize if it was a mistake on my part"

So I am very encouraged by his speedy and concerned response. I'll be sure to let everyone know how the repair comes out.

[sigung]

I'm new here but offer some ideas.

Firstly detergent is the way to keep a clear windway on recorders and whistles. A drop gently spread at entry and blown through will cause moisture to glide through rather than accumulate. Detergent is designed to bind water and oil particles together and with no oil around it will not combine with water. I've used this on plastic recorders and whistles for many years and it works.

Piper's grip is nice in theory but be prepared to adapt as not everyone's fingers have joints that will seal the holes tightly due to dryness etc. I use a mixture of fingertip pads and piper's grip but will change to all tips sometimes for more precision.

I have a Howard whistle I play now and then. It needs gentle pressure to play and can be be a bit jumpy if breath isn't carefully controlled. It has a black enamel finish. My other low D is a Kerry whistle bought in one of Phil Hardy's clearance sales for half the cost of the Howard. It loves to be blown hard and encourages involvement in the expression of tunes. This results in a lovely combination of note and breath sound. It has a plain metal tube which feels great to hold.

A low G whistle is easier to span than the low D and can help to develop the stretch you need for the bigger whistle. Mine is a Susato and I love the sound. Play it on its own with D fingering or transpose as you would with a treble recorder so that you read a G note as a D fingering and so on. It takes a while to develop this technique if you've never done it but it is worth persisting with because you can then play any notation in two keys. Some tunes in O'Neill's or Kerr's go below low D or are written all above G. These tunes can be annoying if played on a D or Low D but sit beautifully on the Low G whistle.

Eamon

Well, for someone who's new you sure sound like you know your stuff. Thanks for the detergent idea, Nick suggested that as well, so I'm going to be sure to try it.

Piper's grip is coming along, albeit slowly, I'm not able to use it on the left hand, but that's okay, I can span the holes with that one. I can use it now with limited success on the right hand, so we'll see.. I bought an 8 dollar Walton's tin whistle today, and I can play it with none of the problems I was having with the one I'm having repaired, so at least I now have a tried and true benchmark for comparison when I get the other one back.

[sigung]

Thanks everyone for your help! I've been on a lot of forums, but this one has a really exceptional membership. What a great bunch of people you are!!! You help, ideas, thoughts, everything. Just what I needed.

[hoopy mike]

Thanks everyone for your help! I've been on a lot of forums, but this one has a really exceptional membership. What a great bunch of people you are!!! You help, ideas, thoughts, everything. Just what I needed.

The coffee's great here too...

[DrPhill]

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of advice I need. Doesn't bother me that he's in England, I've been ordering RC parts from Hong Kong.. they do eventually get here, and I'm sure if I order one from him, it will get here long before I'm able to play well.

You are more than welcome.
You should find them on sale your side of the water - I was only referring to the fact that you have to pay for the transport (one way or another) and that may make them less good 'value for money' when compared to one that did not have to travel.

[sigung]

I wanted to let everybody on this forum know that Nick Metcalf is one of the most committed and customer service oriented people I've ever met in this or any other business. He took my complaints very seriously, his initial response to me was;

"I will do whatever you'd like to make you a happy customer including refunding you the whole cost of your whistle if that's what you prefer, or modifying it until it meets your needs.

He made me a brand new whistle with custom adjustments to accommodate my "newbie"-ness. He also took the time to fine tune this new whistle in several ways to maximize it's ease of play without compromising it's range or flexibility. I received this brand new whistle within 4 days of me sending my original whistle back to him for adjustments.

Customer service just does not get any better than that!

During the course of our conversation, we discussed MtGuru's previous comments about my complaints, and, Nick's response was, and I quote;

"I have sold over 7,000 whistles to professionals and amateurs alike, and you can find my whistles at sessions and being used in traditional Irish music all over the world. I did appreciate the 3 page list of things he didn't like about my whistles and even implemented a few changes to correct some of the things he didn't like."

Nick went on to offer me some tips and tricks to help accelerate my progress and even offered me a free Skype lesson if I wanted.

I further discovered what a gentleman Nick is. He has withheld many very positive reviews that have directly compared his whistles to other makers because he feels it would be improper to take advantage of those reviews at the cost of another maker's reputation.

In light of Nick's stellar response, I think you can't go wrong if you buy a whistle from him.

[maki]

Great customer service response, are whistlers lucky to have such wonderful whistle smiths?

[Dansails]

Some low D's can be touchy at the bottom. That said, you seem to indicate that the problems gets worse as you play. Could you be suffering from condensation in the windway? Play again, and when the problem happens put a finger over the fipple window and blow hard. Does the problem go away? If so then you have moisture build-up. This is a common problem with whistles that have narrow windways or are made of metal (I know nothing of your whistle, and am talking in generalities here). If this is your problem then there are plenty of solutions suggested, and you have to find what works for you and your whistles.
- warm the whistle before playing
- clear the whistle while playing (sucking, or a quick hard blow while covering the windway)
- treatment with a surfactant (Duponol, detergent, soap, Guinness)
- there may be others

Thanks so much for this tip. I tried the soap on my aluminum low D and was frankly amazed. I have used Carmex (a chap lip and cold sore remedy/ waxy substance). I thought putting something I can put on my lips and was waxy would let the moisture slip on through. I don't recommend it though. It works... for a short time. And it requires you take the fipple apart. Back to the soap and Guinness.... how often do you add more soap? Does the Guinness really work? If so, I just have to remember to drink while I play and constantly apply the remedy to the whistle~!