Finding a wooden whistle head to fit a sweetheart fife

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The Foeux
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Finding a wooden whistle head to fit a sweetheart fife

Post by The Foeux »

Dear chums,

I have had no success selling a Sweetheart fife (Bolivian Rosewood).

I know they can be 'converted to' and (were even sold with) whistle heads.

Any tips?

Cheers,

F
Narzog
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Re: Finding a wooden whistle head to fit a sweetheart fife

Post by Narzog »

If you arent at least a hobbyist whistle maker I definitely wouldn't be trying to mod your sweetheart fife. It would be really easy to ruin, and then have 0 value. A lot of what makes a whistle what it is, is in the mouthpiece design and dimensions. So evne if you made a mouthpiece for it you might not like how it plays.

Looking at his fifes, the only way to make a mouthpiece and not ruin it would be to make an entire new headjoint that fits on the tuning slide. Would be a ton of work and require really good tools, ranging in the thousands of $ (good lathe, gun drills, etc).

If you have no interest in it as a fife I'd continue to try and sell. Keep listing, drop price, try ebay for more views (but makes less money cuz fees), FB has a group called the 'irish whistle and flute marketplace' that is good for selling stuff like this.
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Steve Bliven
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Re: Finding a wooden whistle head to fit a sweetheart fife

Post by Steve Bliven »

Also question whether it's a fife or a piccolo. The former plays primarily in the 2nd and 3rd register—which is fine for playing outdoors in an area without armed neighbors. The piccolo plays in the same register as a D whistle and consequently has use in Irish trad music. If it is a piccolo, and is advertised as such, you might draw more interest here.

Best wishes.

Steve
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RoberTunes
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Re: Finding a wooden whistle head to fit a sweetheart fife

Post by RoberTunes »

If you don't have a second, separate attachment mouthpiece to make a particular instrument tube into a second fife/flageolet/flute/piccolo or some other contraption,
I wouldn't do anything to try to alter the one head joint you have. Post it for sale as is, as a fully functioning instrument, on the major reselling websites.

Sweet/Sweetheart has a well-earned great reputation, if you include closeup pictures and a good description of the tone, playability, condition it's in (and mention the wood surface, the mouthpiece, the joints if any, the cleaning
you've done, how you've taken care of it, you should get some attention).

When reselling, it's important to give people the profuse information they need to give them confidence in the value, at least,
and a lot of sellers on eBay and other major sites, simply don't inspire confidence or attract attention because they just post the name,
price, one photo and contact info. That's just creating apathy or fear, because it suggests that the current owner puts little value in the thing,
which sets off all kinds of alarm bells. You want to attract attention from as many as possible, not just expert whistle players, who in some cases have gotten treatment
for their WHOAD and who won't buy anyway.
Tommy
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Re: Finding a wooden whistle head to fit a sweetheart fife

Post by Tommy »

The Foeux wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 7:51 am Dear chums,
I have had no success selling a Sweetheart fife (Bolivian Rosewood).
I know they can be 'converted to' and (were even sold with) whistle heads.
Any tips?
Cheers,
F
Is this fife one part with embouchure hole and tone tube? Or is there a tuning slide between the embouchure hole and tone tube?
''Whistles of Wood'', cpvc and brass. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69086
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