Chiff and Fipple Forums

Just wondering if anyone has tried the poster putty tweak on a Dixon trad and if so, what the result was. I have two Dixon Trads - one that I like very much and a newer one that I don't like as much, so I'm wondering if I should try and tweak it.

Yep, I did. Made it worse. Try it.

There is nothing new under the sun! Thanks folks.

yeah, I got a good one so I won't mess with it




www.tuxedomusic.com

MTGuru wrote:Yep, I did. Made it worse. Try it.

got my Trad brass about 4 years ago, it's a good whistle
filled the cavity, you're right

Ditto. It was no improvement. Although it was with my older, better one. I also have a newer one that's not as nice, so if you find good results I may give it a shot.

I filled it on mine (purchased 2.5 years ago) last year and it made it better. Had a little buzz on the low D that disappeared after filling. Also seemed to raise the pitch a bit, which was needed as it was playing a little flat bt (before tweak)

MTGuru wrote:Yep, I did. Made it worse. Try it.

My thoughts exactly.

I'm not sure what to think about the Dixon Trad anymore. I've always thought of it as a good starter/intermediate whistle because it's an easy player, well in tune, and it costs only $30. On the other hand, the word, "bland" has seen a fair bit of use on the forum lately, has had me thinking about what whistles I would characterize as being such, and I could also describe it that way. It's not a bad whistle at all - a lot of fun to just pick up and play - yet it has it's limitations. Some chiff without any real dynamic control....

...and so people feel the need to tweak what cannot be tweaked...

I tried it and I thought it made it worse also.

Bland... yep, after two years, i would say that.
Never had courage to tweak it as i went through hell to obtain it; however, this one has a defect, as it's inner cork is a bit tilted to the right.

But, generally, for Dixon Trad: narrow angles of the windway make it susceptible to clogging, thus frequently ruining the second octave sound. Which is (in it's own part) pretty dull and non-crisp.
The volume is also pretty low.

I was a bit depressed to find that the Trad suffers from the same variability as other brands. The one I got in 2006 iss still one of my favorites, but the one I bought last year is much inferior (to my subjective tastes, at least). It' s a lot raspier in the second octave, and the head to barrel fit is way too loose.

My Trad is a newer one. I added the Blue Sticky-Tac Tweak and I thought there was a small improvement. I would characterize it as slightly more mellow.

Thomaston wrote:and the head to barrel fit is way too loose.

Mine is like this as well.

I'm getting the impression that this tweak might improve newer ones, and make the older ones worse. This begs the question, has there been a design change in these sometime in the last couple of years?