Chiff and Fipple Forums

I am enjoying playing the Alba mezzo G and the Bb. The C, not as much. The C shares the same tone body diameter as the Bb, and while the Bb feels superb (to me) the C is a bit loud and stiff.
So, here is the question: Does the A share the same tone body diameter as th G or the Bb? I thought I would ask while waiting for an answer from Alba.

I can't answer your question, but I will say that I've owned Albas in a number of keys and sometimes Stacey uses a diameter of tubing rather larger, or smaller, than is usually seen with other makers.

Yes I would expects a High C that uses High Bb tubing to be on the stiff side.

I had an Alba Low C for which she used the huge tubing (24.5mm) she uses for her Bass whistles in A, Bb, and B. My Alba Bass A plays like a dream but the Low C had stiff high notes as would be expected.

On the other hand I have an Alba Low E (natural) for which she used her Mezzo F tubing (18.5mm) the Low E thus having a rather narrow bore (cf Low Eb Overton 22mm, F Burke 19.8mm) however my Low E plays like a dream, once I got used to playing it.

Thank you for your input, Richard. If the Alba G shares the tone body with the A, the A wouldn't be to my liking. I must say, the G and Bb are beautiful players.

I tend to prefer the narrow-bore side of things.

I've owned and played Mezzo A's with quite a variety of bore-sizes.

The narrowest one was a Susato, it was their High D whistle tubing (which was a bit big, more like the Generation C tubing) stretched all the way to make an A.

It was a fantastic player! I gave it to an old friend years ago who hopefully still enjoys it. It's tuning is spot-on, the tone dark and quiet.

My current A is a home-made stretched body made to fit into a Bb Generation head. It's the best A I've ever played. Jerry Freeman makes A bodies to fit his modified Generation Bb heads, they're great. Likewise I had a Sindt B/Bb/A set, three bodies one head. Seemed that the Bb was the "home key" for that head, it played slightly better than with the B or A bodies, but no doubt all three played great.

In the middle, perhaps, were two other Susato A's, a bit different from each other, but both nice players.

My A Burke was a bit wide for my tastes, an air-hog, and stiff high notes.

Then I've tried A's made out of tubing that works great for G's, or even F's, that's just too wide for A.

I've heard your mezzo A on your YouTube post, Richard. It certainly is a sweet player. Likewise, the Susato Oriole C uses an optimum tone body for my taste. It shares the tone body with the D and Bb.

Susatos are odd in the bewildering variety of bore-sizes they can be seen in.

I've had Susato mezzo A's with three, perhaps four, different bores, high D's with three different bores, mezzo G's with two or three different bores.

They were making everything from high Eb to mezzo A using the same tubing for a bit, similar to the Generation C tubing.

I had a Susato high D once (one-piece, no tuning slide) with really big tubing, I think like a Generation Bb. It was the loudest whistle I've ever played. And it came tuned a quartertone flat! I had to chop the bottom and carve out all the holes.

AFAIK the one they dialed in early and didn't mess around with is their Low D. I've owned several of them and they all played very well and had seemingly identical specs. (They tend to experiment with hole sizing and placement too, but the Low D's have been pretty much alike.)

In any case playing all those things, and Burkes, and the variety of Albas gives one an appreciation of how bore size affects playability.