Another Chinese whistle on Amazon

[Quark]

I've just bought another whistle from Amazon and because it's so ridiculously cheap it won't be going back. It was purely added to an order to make free postage an option, and this time I'm happier. It doesn't appear to have a makers name of any kind, and comes with a generic cloth pouch. I'm going to attach some Dropbox pics which separately give FOUR types of metal the tube is made of ! It's got a textured paint (?) finish which although I don't like it, isn't too bad. I'm assuming, but not certain, that the tube material is aluminium but it's definitely thick walled. Plastic mouthpiece and non tuneable. I'm not going to attempt to describe the tone but it's certainly acceptable. It doesn't slip easily into the second octave and will require a bit more time playing to see if the effort is worth it, because of the extra pressure needed. But as stupidly cheap whistle it's an interesting fun thing.
I've order a Killarney which I'll report more fully on later although I've just seen one for sale on eBay which include a close-up of the blade which looks horrible, and I'm hoping mine is better.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w10b0lm8 ... v4ag7&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/izd090xj ... 10628&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/d1cqs208 ... rk5xu&dl=0

[Moof]

The milling on Killarney blades is a bit weird looking, but at least on the two I own, it doesn't seem to affect the way they sound.

They're the most efficient whistles I've played, making them ideal for an asthmatic. I'm not sure how, but the makers have somehow given them good back pressure but kept the upper octave easy. They're not the planet's loudest whistles, but they seem about right for the group of between six and 10 that I play with.

[Jayhawk]

Are you sure that puppy isn't tunable? Maybe try putting the head in hot water in a mug for a bit and twisting?

Those descriptions are pretty funny. Good to know it's not running.

Eric

[Quark]

Hi Moof
Thanks for that interesting info, as it happens I do have emphysema so that's good to know. I only play for my own pleasure so the volume is not a problem, well not for me, maybe for the neighbours . I've seen other higher end whistles with this appalling machining on the blade and I just don't get. I would file these down by hand then finish with progressively finer grades of emery paper before polishing. So I'm clearly missing something?

[Quark]

Hi Jayhawk
Yea, I've always been a big fan of Chinese translations . Re the head, yes I do intend to try and remove it, but I suspect with the modern adhesives that are used now it may not be possible, I'll let you know. The quality of the tube and it's surprisingly accurate tuning make it well worth getting the head off by any means and making it a test bed home made experiments.

[Moof]

Hi Moof
Thanks for that interesting info, as it happens I do have emphysema so that's good to know. I only play for my own pleasure so the volume is not a problem, well not for me, maybe for the neighbours . I've seen other higher end whistles with this appalling machining on the blade and I just don't get. I would file these down by hand then finish with progressively finer grades of emery paper before polishing. So I'm clearly missing something?

If the whistle has a nice tone, it doesn't need refinishing – you might even end up doing more harm than good. The milled 'stripes' aren't really noticeable until you look closely anyway.

If I got one that didn't sound as good as I'd hoped, I'd ask if I could return it and swap it for another example. Most mid-range producers probably send out some below-par examples even with the best of intentions – product testing is subjective. People are just more attentive and on form some days than they are on others.

When I looked closely I saw that one of my Killarneys actually has a little gouge where the milled ramp meets the edge of the window. It doesn't affect the sound (it's the sweeter of two D whistles) and nobody but me has spotted it. Even if it was more disfiguring I wouldn't have returned it, as it's such a lovely whistle. I have a Feadog D from about 1981 that's a bit rusty inside and has a dent in the barrel where someone trod on it at a party, but I still wouldn't swap it! It has a lovely smooth traditional sound, and I might never find another one as nice.

[Quark]

Hi again Moof
Thanks for that, but I realise I might have given the wrong impression. It's not my intention to do anything to the Killarney I've ordered. What I meant was that's how I would do it myself, but that isn't likely to happen now, I'm too old to mess about with it. Thirty or fifty years ago I would have given it a go without thinking, but these days I'd rather pay someone else .
I hear clearly what you're saying about your Feadog, because only today I think I've found something similar. Yesterday I grabbed a handful of cast-offs from my drawer and came across one that I remembered I'd quite liked but had put aside for some reason. So I gave it a toot and found it was nice but not through both first octaves. I thought what the hell and decided plug the cavity, but all I had to hand was some wood filler. Then I found that the head had no intention of budging, so I went ahead and filled it anyway, making an obscene mess in the process! I cleaned the windway and and blade as well as I could and left it to set. This morning I found to my dismay that it hadn't set, it was still soft. I did some final cleaning of the windway and blade in addition to smoothing some rough bits round the window etc. Then I played it a bit, and then I played it some more, it was beautiful! My only hesitation is the filler which may never set . I thought just enjoy it while you can, so I did that for a while and realised that I wasn't having to think about giving variations in pressure or anything else, it was fantastic! By now I should tell you that this was an old Walton's Guinness, the black jobbie. Light as a feather with it's very thin aluminium tubing and white plastic head. It's so good I cant believe it will stay like it, I'm just fingers crossed. Wish me luck.

[Moof]

Wish me luck.

Good luck, and it'll probably be fine!

My Feadog has a small piece of Blu-Tack in it. If I fill too much of the cavity it deadens the tone, but it does need a little nodule the size of a lentil. Occasionally in very cold weather it will fall out, and I poke a fresh one in with the end of a knitting needle. It's not a problem that it's neither set nor permanent – I actually prefer it that way, as I can adjust it. It's never fallen out whilst I was playing, it's usually overnight in winter when the heating's off and the house is freezing.