The paperclip mute--a question...

spittin_in_the_wind · Post by **spittin_in_the_wind** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 8:02 pm

OK, so I've looked through the archives about mutes, and, lacking a garbage bag clip thingie, decided to try the paperclip and the rubber band.

So my question is, the paperclip is supposed to go in the window, right? I'm not getting very satisfactory results even with two and they keep falling out (perhaps bad whistle posture, but anyways...). So I tried a rubber band, cut it so it was no longer a circle, and trimmed it for width. It don't do no great job, either--first it's too soft and I can't hear the upper register at all, or it no longer mutes. I have it pushed all the way to one side, like the garbage bag clip suggested.

The other thing is, putting stuff in the window is giving me the willies about hurting my poor baby Dixon. Perhaps there's another effective method??

Robin

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 8:20 pm

Back at the lab, clinical trials
have determined the following:

If the paper clip is positioned
in the window so that it is leaning
against the blade, the bottom of
the clip braced against the fipple
plug, it stays in place without
difficulty. In short, the clip must
be leaning away from you when
you have the whistle in your mouth.

However if the clip is leaning toward
you, it slips into the barrel of
the whistle and shoots out the
whistle's end.
Several researchers were maimed,
so please be aware that this small
alteration in the paper clip's
slant can make the
difference tween an inexpensive
and effective mute, readily
available, and the loss of
friends and/or family.

However if clips aren't for
you, a small piece of paper,
rolled in a tight cylinder,
should do the job. Neither
clip nor paper-roll will
injure the window.

Stone Laboratories--
'Tomorrow's Whistle Accessories Today!'

Soineanta · Post by **Soineanta** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 10:01 pm

A rubber band works much better for me, and is a lot less complicated for simple minds like moi. Just wrap it around the lower half of the windway and fiddle with it til it works.

good luck!

spittin_in_the_wind · Mon Jan 20, 2003 10:10 pm

Soineanta, do you wrap a thick or thin rubber band? I tried this with a thin one wrapped 3 times around, pushed it up and down, but it sounded like a windbag with a hole in it no matter what I did!

Thanks!

Robin

CDon · Post by **CDon** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 11:27 pm

On 2003-01-20 21:20, jim stone wrote:
However if clips aren't for
you, a small piece of paper,
rolled in a tight cylinder,
should do the job.

For this application, little strips of paper cut from the sticky part of a post-it note can be used to fabricate all sorts of rolls with different sizes and shapes for experimenting. There is just enough stick to hold them together for a while to try an idea. Then something more permanent can be made.

On 2003-01-20 23:01, Soineanta wrote:
A rubber band works much better for me, and is a lot less complicated for simple minds like moi. Just wrap it around the lower half of the windway and fiddle with it til it works. good luck!

I have had good success using properly sized o-rings, perhaps several as nessary, and rolling them around until things sound right. You can buy all sorts of sizes and thickness at Home Depot or Lowes. They don't work any better that rubber bands, but are much easier to work with.

Happy muting!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: CDon on 2003-01-21 00:27 ]</font>

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:48 am

I've never had any luck with the paper clip method. My whistles sounded just as loud. I finally cut a T shape from an old credit card and that works just fine.

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 6:53 am

I've been using a tiny ball of blue sticky tack on the blade. It's adjustable, more muting if you block more of the blade, and won't harm the blade and it's easy to apply and remove.
Mike