Tuning a Feadog?

Chatterton · Post by **Chatterton** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:12 am

According to the Official Chiff & Fipple Inexpensive Whistle Guide, the green -fipped Feadog I've been getting to know lately is tunable, but for the life of me I don't know how to do it. My electronic tuner tells me I'm about 40-45 cents sharp, so if someone can tell me how to get that to a more tolerable temperment before I start playing with others I'd appreciate it.

Thx - stv

CranberryDog · Post by **CranberryDog** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:25 am

You need to remove the green mouth piece. On the Feadog, the mouth piece is hel on by a friction fit, unlike some others that are glued on. Once it's off, I usually sand the area that was covered by the fipple with 600 grit sandpaper. Then lube it with cork grease, candle wax or whatever is handy.

To remove the fipple I did a twist/pull motion. It was on very tight so to get some traction, I wrapped the fipple and body with an old innertube I had cut into strips. Then the twist pull motion. It took some effort and after getting red faced it finally came off.

Now you can flatten the pitch by pulling the mouth piece away from the body; probably less than a 1/4 inch. Good luck.

Chatterton · Post by **Chatterton** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 5:41 am

Wow - how extreme. Are all "tunable" whistles that much work?

I'm currently suffering through a pinched nerve in my left shoulder, so I think I'll learn to cope with my slight sharpness for now.

pancelticpiper · Post by **pancelticpiper** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:18 am

Well 45 cents is not what I would call slight sharpness- it's a quarter-tone high, and unusable for playing with others. Actually Generations are much more trouble, in that the tops are glued on. You have to dip the top in hot water to soften the glue. I have one Generation, a terrific-playing top, where I just could not get the top off no matter what I tried, and I ended up ruining the whistle.
Anyhow my Feadog top was not difficult at all to move and has become rather loose. I put teflon tape on the joining to make it air tight.
Also the scale of my Feadog was a bit off and I ended up enlarging a couple of the holes. Now it's a terrific whistle, perfectly in tune, with very light action and a sweet voice.

emtor · Post by **emtor** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:39 am

No,-tunable whistles have a tuning slide of some sort which makes tuning less of a struggle. The Feadog isn't tunable, but by loosening the head and pulling it a bit out it will play a bit more flat.

I'll probably get flamed for saying this, but in my opinion tunability is ruining the scale of the whistle. The scale of the whistle is determined by the size/location of the fingerholes, which are calculated on the basis of the total length. By tuning you change the length, but now the location of the fingerholes will no longer correspond to the "new" length of the whistle.
By this you tune the bottom note and the rest of the scale will become out of tune, and more so the more you go up the scale.
Personally I'd prefer non-tunable whistles, since I'm not playing in sessions.

CranberryDog · Post by **CranberryDog** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:58 am

emtor wrote:No,-tunable whistles have a tuning slide of some sort which makes tuning less of a struggle. The Feadog isn't tunable, but by loosening the head and pulling it a bit out it will play a bit more flat.

I'll probably get flamed for saying this, but in my opinion tunability is ruining the scale of the whistle. The scale of the whistle is determined by the size/location of the fingerholes, which are calculated on the basis of the total length. By tuning you change the length, but now the location of the fingerholes will no longer correspond to the "new" length of the whistle.
By this you tune the bottom note and the rest of the scale will become out of tune, and more so the more you go up the scale.
Personally I'd prefer non-tunable whistles, since I'm not playing in sessions.

I don't see why you should get flamed for simply being wrong. We all make mistakes. Moving the mouth piece to correct 45 cents is not enough to significantly alter the whistle "length". What is suggested is the most basic of tweaks. Also, the OP is interested in playing with others as opposed to you plan to play alone. In additon, playing alone with an out of tune instrument will not do your "ear" any good.

BTW, if this basic tweak is too "extreme" you might consider getting a Jerry Freeman tweaked Feadog, they are great and reasonably priced. Cheers.

Jason Paul · Post by **Jason Paul** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:53 am

Not all of them are that difficult to tune. My Feadóg head came off fairly easily. Also, once you've removed it the first time, it should slide up and down with very little effort.

If you have a hard time, you can put the head in hot (not boiling) water for 10-15 seconds. If even that doesn't work, try putting the whistle in the freezer for a while, then try the hot water trick, making sure to only put the head of the whistle in the water.

The point of the freezing/hot water stuff is to loosen any glue holding the head on, but mainly using contraction and expansion to your advantage.

Jason

CranberryDog · Post by **CranberryDog** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:54 am

Chatterton wrote:Wow - how extreme. Are all "tunable" whistles that much work?

I'm currently suffering through a pinched nerve in my left shoulder, so I think I'll learn to cope with my slight sharpness for now.

Sorry to hear about the pinched nerve. I've been down that road; good luck. Do you have a friend that could help you? It just takes a minute to do, but might require a little muscle power.

emtor · Post by **emtor** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:30 am

Pulling the mouthpiece out to correct a 45 cent sharpness WILL make the total length of the whistle longer than it was before. I don't seem to understand how such a statement could be wrong. If the increased length resulting from the 45 cent flattening poses a problem for most folks or not is another question. My statement was simply that changing the length of any whistle creates a misalignement of the positions of the fingerholes, and since the fingerholes are calculated from the original length of the whistle, the scale will no longer be in tune.

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:25 am

Are you sure that is the case with mass produced cheapies though (or, the feadog in question)? Seems to me they would all have the same mass-produced tube that goes down the line to be capped off with the same mass-produced headjoint. I doubt they are each tested for pitch before being set.

Jason Paul · Post by **Jason Paul** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:01 am

The issue isn't about the length of the tube, but about the length from the cutting edge to the end of the tube. What Erik is saying is technically correct.

However, I don't think the difference is too noticeable on a cheapie. Plus, who knows what position the head is really "supposed" to be in when it leaves the factory? It's possible that moving the head so the bell note is in tune will put it where it should be, thereby bringing all of the other notes in tune.

People do this all the time and rarely, if ever, complain that all of the other notes are out of tune.

Jason

emtor · Post by **emtor** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:26 pm

Plus, who knows what position the head is really "supposed" to be in when it leaves the factory?

A good point.

People do this all the time and rarely, if ever, complain that all of the other notes are out of tune.

It's usually no problem as long as the lengthening/shortening of the total length is small. Whistleplayers soon learn to adjust pitch by adjusting breathing pressure, and this happens automatically without the player thinking about it. In this way the scale is usually corrected, and the scale is percieved as being quite OK.

Regarding Feadogs/Generations etc:
It could be a good idea to cut off a little bit of the top of the shaft after the head is removed. In that way the whistle could be made tunable both ways i.e. sharp/flat.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:04 pm

Chatterton wrote:Wow - how extreme. Are all "tunable" whistles that much work?

Nah, not necessarily. Feadógs are not glued. Just use a pair of latex kitchen gloves to get a better grip. Or wrap a bit of masking tape or a few rubber bands around the whistle tube to give your hand something to grab. A gentle twist and pull should do the trick, and the head should pop right off.

Once it's off, wipe off the end of the tube and replace the head in the right tuning position. If it binds, use a bit of cork grease or Chap Stick or Vaseline to lubricate the end of the tube. If it's too lose, a bit of Teflon (PTFE) plumber's tape around the tube will snug it up nicely.

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:11 pm

Jason Paul wrote:I don't think the difference is too noticeable on a cheapie. Plus, who knows what position the head is really "supposed" to be in when it leaves the factory? It's possible that moving the head so the bell note is in tune will put it where it should be, thereby bringing all of the other notes in tune.

Precisely. That's what I was trying to say. I wasn't necessarily arguing with Emtor, his statements were technically valid. You said better what I was attempting to say

CranberryDog · Post by **CranberryDog** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 5:46 pm

straycat82 wrote:
Jason Paul wrote:I don't think the difference is too noticeable on a cheapie. Plus, who knows what position the head is really "supposed" to be in when it leaves the factory? It's possible that moving the head so the bell note is in tune will put it where it should be, thereby bringing all of the other notes in tune.
Precisely. That's what I was trying to say. I wasn't necessarily arguing with Emtor, his statements were technically valid. You said better what I was attempting to say

Right. I wasn't arguing wih Erik either; just pulling his leg a little. The whistles that I have tweaked; Feadogs, and Generations played in tune by Golly.