Whistle Tweaking!

[MeMyselfandI]

Hello all, I have two questions ( ). I have a brass Feadog, and feel like I'm getting a bit drowned out in my local session, especially when playing in the lower register. Is it possible to make this whistle louder, at least in the first octave? If so, how would I go about doing it? That is, without using a microphone, etc. or just getting a better whistle. So far, I have taken the head off, and filled in the gap under the windway, with good results. Secondly, the responsiveness of the whistle is so insane, it's kind of annoying. I normally play the Irish flute, and while it's really responsive, it's not nearly as responsive as my Feadog. So, is there a relatively safe way to make it ever so slightly less responsive? (My theory is that if I blunt the blade slightly, it will do the trick, but I'm not quite sure) I feel like if I can accomplish that, I will be a bit more comfortable playing it. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

- Adam

[Peter Duggan]

Try some Blu-Tack/poster putty round the top and side edges of the window to make Copeland/Bracker-style wings/ears, then remake them in something more durable if you like it?

[MeMyselfandI]

Hm, good idea. I will try that. Why I didn't think of it, IDK because I did that with one of my homemade low whistles, with good results. I think I will also go ahead and blunt the blade slightly, but not that much, as to reverse it. Unless someone says it's a bad idea...

[German Whistler]

its a bad idea
sorry dont know if it realy is but just had to say it

[Peter Duggan]

BTW, this tweak's been around in one form or another for a long time, as described by Anthony Baines in Woodwind Instruments and their History (1957):

Already one sound-strengthening device has been introduced by Carl Dolmetsch, and is effectively used by himself, Edgar Hunt and other recorder soloists when playing with a largish orchestra. It is a small baffle-cum-megaphone, of wood or cardboard in the shape of a wheelbarrow top, clipped over the voicing of the recorder with its sloping end pointing downwards. It enables the player to blow much harder without going sharp, and at the same time projects the sound outwards into the hall.

So of course that's taking the concept a stage further than the deeper window you get with the 'standard' ears, but the start point's much the same. (Think I probably tried it about 35 years ago after reading that, but can't remember how it performed...)

Note also that it has more effect (good or bad!) as plain 'ears' on some whistles than others, and I've never tried the full 'wheelbarrow' on a whistle.

[MadmanWithaWhistle]

Wow, neat anecdote, Peter! Thanks for sharing.

[megapop]

Blunting the blade affects the "flippiness" of the register switches, which of course is part of the respensiveness-issue. Also, according to the excellent C&F tweaking guide by Dale and Jerry, blunting the blade also strengthens the bottom notes, as it increases the length of the voicing window. Isn't this exactly what you want? I think I'll try that too on a feadóg right after hours! I always liked them just for their responsiveness, but maybe this way you'll get the ultimate (cheap) Überwhistle!

[MeMyselfandI]

Well then, it looks like I have my road map! Thanks everybody! I will let you know the results once it's finished. Although, I won't have much time to work on it much so it might be a while Maybe I'll get lucky though...

[megapop]

Well, I did yesterday evening, and I can't put that Feadóg down thenceforth. I removed just a tiny little bit of the blade*; now the bottom notes are not that much stronger, you can hardly realize it. I guess you could take away a bit more for this purpose, but I fell in love with the sound as it is now: it's noticeably richer and somewhat chiffier, and I can put much more expression into the notes without having to fear buzzing or register flips; especially the second register sounds smoother this way. Though it would be really interesting to remove even more, I think it's close to perfect as it is now, so... never change a running system... After all, yes, concerning the breath control it is less responsive now. Recommended to every Feadóg owner out there . Why haven't I just done this sooner?

*In that tweaking guide Jerry mentions 0.002", which I first thought was a decimal error. But it seems to be true, comparing it to an other Feadóg I have, you can see the difference only due to the roughening done by the sandpaper (I used 240 grain, by the way). Actually I just blunted the blade a bit, rather than really increasing the size of the voicing window.

[MeMyselfandI]

I just finished tweaking it, with similar results as megapop. Although, I blunted the blade quite a bit, mainly for window enlargement. The sound seems to be somewhat sweeter and less piercing and shrill. I then tried using some sticky-tac and made those "ears" around the window. I can blow a slight bit harder, and its not as floppy as without it, but the change is very very slight, almost unnoticeable. I didn't notice much difference in the response or volume either. But oh well, no harm done, if anything, it sounds better.

[colinz]

Hi Guys,
You mention jerrys tweaking guide where can l get or view a copy of it ? thanks

[MeMyselfandI]

Oh yeah, its right here: http://www.chiffandfipple.com/tweak.html
It can be found on the Chiff and Fipple home page (not forums) under "engineering department".

[colinz]

Hi many thanks for that MeMySelfandI, found it very interesting, regards Colin.