Anyone receive a McHaffie whistle recently?

Graphics Guy · Post by **Graphics Guy** » Mon Feb 04, 2002 1:28 pm

If he is not stopped, is this man likely to go on to defraud seniors out of their life savings?

I know some of you are out of pocket, and some of you have experienced economy with the truth, or maybe you feel your trust has been abused. But how much is at stake?

Take it on the chin, people. Move on!

HANG HIM !!!!..No ...wait that was something else..REVENGE !!! Ahh...there you go
Dan

ScottStewart · Post by **ScottStewart** » Tue Feb 05, 2002 8:10 pm

SteveJ, what I hope to gain is only one thing - the return of my money. I'm not in this for any other reason. Once I receive a refund of my money I will never again mention or reference McHaffie's name on this board again. It is unfortunate, but my reasons for pursuing this are based on economy. I will not go into detail here other than to say that my nine month old son is facing a medical circumstance which may not have a happy ending. This necessitates my conserving funds. At best, it will mean some time away from work for me. So, I am pursuing whatever cost free means available to me to gain a refund. If Mr. McHaffie would simply refund my money, nothing more would be said, and "move on" I would. If my personal circumstance were different, I would probably allow this "chancer" to skate. As it stands now, however, I may be posting my meager collection of whistles for sale at some future point. I hope it doesn't come to that, but considering the situation, I would gladly part with the whistles. I will not say how much Mr. McHaffie owes me, he knows the amount, but suffice it to say it is enough to help me plan for the near future. Don't get me wrong, I'm not poor or strapped financially. I'm just planning for what may be ahead. This has nothing to do with revenge or principle. It is purely economic. So, now that I've answered your question, here's an honest and fair couple of questions for you. Why does it bother you that those of us who have lost money are seeking to regain it? To paraprase you, what do you hope to gain by dissuading us from pursuing remuneration? And, if it bothers you that we are, why do you follow this thread?

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Wed Feb 06, 2002 12:23 am

Why does it bother you that those of us who have lost money are seeking to regain it? To paraprase you, what do you hope to gain by dissuading us from pursuing remuneration?

Scott, I have nothing to gain, but I thought that maybe you would. Let me explain.

In a similar situation I would rather write off the money I had lost than suffer the agitation, worry and hassle of trying to get it back when your chances of success are slim -- and from all the above information and previous threads on this maker, I assume they are exceedingly slim.

In making my remarks however I didn't consider circumstances such as the ones you outline.

If the amount of money you are owed is significant to you then I certainly hope you can get it back - and that the hassle involved in doing so doesn't outweigh the benefit or satisfaction you gain.

I didn't wish to offend you, and if I did please accept my apologies.

Steve

fiddling_tenor · Post by **fiddling_tenor** » Wed Feb 06, 2002 8:01 am

This will be my last post on this topic.

I've decided to cut my losses and move on. I've done everything I can think of to recoup my money (a mere piffling of change), more for my peace of mind that I at least tried.

My only hope is that this doesn't happen to anyone else. And that I'm not as stupid next time (I should have known better).

Ah well.

Christina A. · Post by **Christina A.** » Mon Feb 11, 2002 7:43 am

I bought a Low G last year from him. Took forever to actually get the thing and it's completly un-playable. I didn't bother complaining or trying to return it as it was such a hassle just to get the thing first time around. I wrote it off and when the budget permits I'll order another low G from Mack Hoover, who has excellent service and beautiful whistles.

CajunLady · Post by **CajunLady** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 3:58 pm

I just received my McHaffie whistle today. I have just started to try it out and cannot comment completely on its playability, but the upper octaves are clear and sweet.

I know that John has been ill lately...so, hopefully, he will be getting back to making his instruments and will do so with the skill of which he is capable.

I do not know John personally, but was able to obtain the whistle through a mutual friend.

Isilwen · Post by **Isilwen** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 9:39 pm

After reading some of the posts in this discussion, I'm quite glad I didn't order one last year. I had considered it for quite a long time, but as I had not saved up enough of my allowance, and the look Mom gave me when I mentioned I was considering another whistle basically made me re-think.

Instead I later bought a Weltmeister whistle, and while it is playable, it is only good for unaccompanied solo work because it is out of tune when played with other instruments.

I much prefer my Clarke and my Susato.

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 10:03 pm

As some of you may know, I actually have a McHaffie...it's not the best instrument I own by far, but it does sound the best when quietened to the point of near-inaudibility.
I do find myself playing it a lot these days, because I still have a wee baby lad who doesn't appreciate jigs at 2am. My wife's not overly fond of them either.

That said, it's not only on this message board that McHaffie has earned himself a bad rep. Recently my band and I played for the Houston Acoustical Society, and one of the organizers saw my shiny silver-ish metal Silkstone and asked if it was a mchaffie. When I told her that it wasn't, but that I did own one, she said "Oh, so you managed to get yours, then?"

You'll never know when your reputation will preceed you.

Greg

Bagfed · Post by **Bagfed** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 10:30 pm

I just read through all 5 pages on this thread. All of this seems to have been taking place before I got connected to the Wide World of Whistling, so I'm a little late to the game here. could someone show a picture of the Mchaffie whistle(s)? I was just curious.

The addage of an ounce of prevention = a pound of cure is so true when it comes to reputation. In the reverse, you can bend over backwards for a customer and not get the same amount of possitive as the negative you get from one mis-step. I hope Mr Mchaffie can redeem himself and his name. If I were in his shoes (may I never allow it)I would:
1. Contact Dale to publish some sort of appology with a way to be reached.(no excuses)
2. Stop taking new orders (if there are any)
3. Contact each person on the order list and ask if they want their money back or the whistles. Promise only to do the best you can.(People are amazingly understanding about having to wait if you don't keep bumping them back)
4. Contact all previous clients to see if the whistles are acceptible and fix those that aren't.
5. Ask all those you made things right with to talk about it.

This is very difficult but he must have had something there if a number of people were happy and if you capable of making one really good whistle and decide to sell it, every whistle you take money for should make you proud.

If you have your health and your good name, it's all good.
Aaron M. Rattray

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 10:44 pm

Bagfed rules. Great constructive suggestions.

My questions is this: I read about all the premium makers you all describe. How many of them will ship on trial basis? It seems like the only way to avoid this.

I tried a Water Weasel and returned it for the cost of postage. I actually sent him $5, $4 more than it cost because he was such a nice guy and I felt sheepish for not buyin' it.Unexpectedly, he sent another which I also returned. Haven't heard back but I think we're cool. With his way of doing business, you won't be screwed. He takes the chance and I am not sure what to think about that either for his sake....

I had to pay for Burke upfront and am happy. But I broke my own rule in that case: never buy a whistle you can't try first.I had the confidence that I probably COULD return it, but look at what has happened to you guys!

Should I feel like I need a more expensive one, like a Rose (?) and have to go on some waiting list, do I have to give a non-refundable deposit or something?

What are your experiences with returns (without pannin' the product itself, please)?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: The Weekenders on 2002-04-12 00:59 ]</font>

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Fri Apr 12, 2002 2:28 am

On 2002-04-12 00:30, Bagfed wrote:
could someone show a picture of the Mchaffie whistle(s)? I was just curious.

Aaron:
Here's a few pictures of my McHaffie, with some commentary. Let me start off with some generalities:

At a distance, as someone stated, the whistle's kinda pretty. All polished aluminum and copper highlighting. Mr. McHaffie's website really highlighted these aspects, putting his whistles in their best light. That's no different than most businesses, though.

Closeup of the mouthpiece. While I would consider most high-end whistle vendors' whistles to be more art than craft, I'd consider Jon's to be more craft than art. The pictures show a bit of uneven work on the windway window, and also the uneven cutting around the 'maker's mark', which appears to be a copper foil applique glued to the whistle body. This uneven work is also evident in the finger holes, though I didn't take a picture of them. I suspect Mr. McHaffie used a hand drill to make these, and not a drill press, based upon my own whistle making experiences.

The "labium" (the blade which splits the wind) is simply an angle ground into the body, with the moveable fipple slipped over. The whistle is in the 'quiet' position, with the windway window very small. The fipple block is black, but appears to be painted or stained. It feels like a soft wood like pine, and not a hard wood, like oak, and thus is similar to the traditional Clarke fipple block. I expect I may have block problems (like the trad. clarkes) after I play this for a significant period of time. I'm guessing that it's a soft wood by feel. You can get a soft wood dowels in the required diameter at a hardware store, but most don't carry hardwoods in that diameter (something like 5/16" or some odd size), so you gotta size one down with a lathe, or go to a specialty store. I suspect Jon just bought whatever wood was available.

The "tuning slide" is another copper sleeve. The picture was taken to clearly show the NIBCO brand stamped into the sleeve. This the same type of sleeve used for the mouthpiece. These are copper plumbing joiners that you can buy by the dozen at a hardware store for pennies apiece. I used them when making my own homegrown whistle. The aluminum plumbing feels "wiggly" at this join, and is not secure at all. The slide is metal-on-metal and it scratches the body when you move it around. That's likely because these joiners were intended to be glued, permanant plumbing fixtures.

I suspect that Mr. McHaffie did something much like I did when I wanted to learn to build a whistle: He found plans for homemade whistles on the internet, and modified them a bit. There doesn't appear to be any metal working or voicing at all done to the whistle, and thus, it's mostly an interesting craft project in my eyes. Since I know first hand how much of a pain it is to build these things when you don't know anything, I didn't mind paying the small price I paid. I would definitely have minded if I'd have ended up paying his much-inflated prices just before he disappeared. It took me a long time to get used to adjusting the fipple, but I have found three spots of varying volume that I can live with. Like I've said before, it's not my best whistle, but it's not my worst either. When it's in 'super quiet' mode, it can't be heard outside my room, which is the sole reason I own it in the first place.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Wandering_Whistler on 2002-04-12 04:28 ]</font>

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Fri Apr 12, 2002 3:08 am

The labium ramp doesnt appear long enough.Does it actualy play?It looks sort of like a metal susato. Peace, Mike

Bagfed · Post by **Bagfed** » Fri Apr 12, 2002 9:15 am

Wandering Whistler,
Thanks for the pictures. You are so right, from a distance they look GREAT but close up they are sub-par. It looks like a rough draft. Doing some refinement like maybe trying to source the proper diameter tubing stock or noodeling a better technique could have really made these good. The adjustable mouth piece is a very good idea. It just wasn't taken to it's fullest potential.
Aaron

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Fri Apr 12, 2002 11:06 am

yup, it plays..i have 3 spots that i can make a decent sound on, of varying volume. It generally never comes off of the "so quiet only I can hear it" spot, though, since I have bette whistles I use when I actually want to be heard.

On 2002-04-12 05:08, mike.r wrote:
The labium ramp doesnt appear long enough.Does it actualy play?It looks sort of like a metal susato. Peace, Mike

dennisd78418 · Post by **dennisd78418** » Fri Apr 12, 2002 12:23 pm

I agree with the previous posting on the quality of the McHaffie whistle. The adjustable fipple is unique, and useful for playing in the ultra-quiet mode (although it takes some getting used to). I think if you have WHOA its a "must have" because it's unique (especially now that they are apparently out of production). But there are certainly better inexpensive whistles out there. I got mine from Mr. McHaffie at an acoustic music festival. I couldn't get the first one he gave me to play a clear low D, but he exchanged it the next day, no problems. I think I paid about $24, and the whistle is worth that for the labor alone.