Royce wrote:
Forget sending it back. Forget anyone else's advise. If you have some space to go sharp of A 440 with head movement, then all you need to do is file the top of C until it's sharp enough. But mind you, it should be about 5 cents or a bit more flat of your chromatic tuner to actually be "in tune." You may have to blow it into pitch anyway, but it's so funny listening to whistle wankers cry about C# when pipers don't often have any control over the same problem and the same people go around talking about how great this or that piper is and this or that chanter is, when the instrument is fundamentally wonky on both C# and Cnat. Blow around it. That's real life. Royce
Umm...Royce, hello??
You should know as well as anyone that the tuning of the pipes and the tuning of whistles are fundamentally different. You're comparing apples to oranges here. Yes there is a small amount of controlability with breath pressures etc., but if it's a design flaw, it's a design flaw. No getting around that. Your whistle should be able to play more or less in tune with little effort.
It doesn't matter how much you spend on it really. You can be certain that whistles that cost $400.00 are going to be in tune with themselves much more of the time than say a $50 or even a $100 make. Still doesn't mean they'll all be perfect all of the time.
I would agree that sending it back may likely be your best option.
JessieK wrote:I used a small (though coarse) sanding bit on the dremel tool, not a cutter. You need a steady hand, but it's not so fast and unmanageable. Much easier and simpler than those tools you described that I've never heard of.
Jessie, you and Glauber just gave me the best laugh I've had all day! Yeah, sure. Use an abrasive wheel in the Dremel, like Jessie said. I'm so used to locking things down in a vise and cutting on them with a milling machine, that the picture of a cutter just was the first in my mind.
Actually, though, send the thing back to Phil and ask for a different one, first, if you don't feel comfy mucking about with basmati files and *!@@#! Dremel tools 'n' stuff! That's probably the best idea.
Thanks for the replies everyone I've been tooling around with it a bit and it's getting better when I give it some more air. It's still not perfect, and if it gets too annoying I'll see if I can get a replacement or a fix, but for now it's ok.
I've been using piper fingerings, which are taking some getting used to but the holes are a bit too far apart to do it any other way. Honestly think I like the piper fingering better than standard whistle fingering anyway. It's more comfortable for me. However, since C# doesn't use fingers, the fingering isn't really an issue, unless someone knows an alternate fingering for C# that plays sharp. Thanks again!
There are quite a few fingerings for C#. All holes opened is rarely used. Half holeing works sometimes. Most of my whistles and flutes require one of these:
oxx ooo
oxx xox
I haven`t played a Kerry but I bet that one of these fingerings would solve your problem.
Blackbeer wrote:There are quite a few fingerings for C#. All holes opened is rarely used. Half holeing works sometimes. Most of my whistles and flutes require one of these:
oxx ooo
oxx xox
I haven`t played a Kerry but I bet that one of these fingerings would solve your problem.
Tom
Those are C natural fingerings.
Try these:
OOO XXX (what I use on my Burke AL-PRO low D)
OOO OOX (on all my high Ds)
OOO OXO (gives the highest pitch on my Burke AL-PRO low D)
OOO XOO
Last edited by fancypiper on Wed Nov 12, 2003 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Alternate C# fingerings - well, for some pieces (especially at speed) I will leave one or more of the lower fingers in place - instead of
OOO OOO
I'll play
OOO OOX
or even
OOO XXX
But, if anything, these tend to flatten C#, not sharpen it.
After that, if you can't blow it in-tune after it's thoroughly warmed up (say, 15-20 minutes of continuous play) - I'd probably send it back to the maker and let him have first crack at fixing it. If he can't/won't fix it, THEN consider breaking out the files and grinders.
Well see there you go. Playing by ear has its drawbacks. Like carring on an intelagent conversation about music. Sorry for the mistake. Time for some music.
Royce wrote:If that's too much work for you, again, go wank a 400.00 whistle, mail it back and forth and back and forth while the maker pretends to actually do anything to it for you, and get out of Irish Traditional music because it's always been more a craft than an art anyway. Or go pick up an oboe or something guys. Really.
Gotta hand it to you, Royce buddy: no matter what the subject, your opinion is always so measured, objective and constructive!
Tell us something.: I've been with Chiff and Fipple since shortly after I bought my first low D. I've learned loads from this community, and I intend to continue to learn and contribute. Many thanks to Dale and everyone who makes this site happen.
I own a Kerry Low D. A couple of months back, I noticed that it just wasn't sounding as pure as when I first bought it. I e-mailed Kerry whistles about it, and Phil send me a new fipple.
When I pulled the old fipple off, I experimented. I put the old fipple in the palm of my left hand (covering the pipe hole) and the new fipple in the palm of my right hand. I blew through each. The old fipple produced a sound that was a full note off.
Upon inspection (held up to a lightbulb) I was able to barely see two hairline fractures in the old fipple. The new fipple has functioned just fine. All that to say, if nothing else here has helped solve the problem, you might just need to contact Phil for a replacement fipple.
Wow, thanks a lot for the alternate fingerings. 000 XXX helps a lot. I don't have to blow as hard to get it to go sharp for some reason. I'm just glad I don't have to send it back...low whistles are very addictive. Not quite as shrill as the high whistles. Thanks for the help!
I got my Kerry yesterday, and it seemed to me you had to blow harder for a C# than a high D with an unpinned or single-pinned fingering. I will have to see if playing it triple-pinned (oooxxx) will help when approaching the second-octave D from below. All of my lower whistles squeak when I do this, probably because I'm not sealing the holes properly.
Yeah, sure. Use an abrasive wheel in the Dremel, like Jessie said. I'm so used to locking things down in a vise and cutting on them with a milling machine, that the picture of a cutter just was the first in my mind.
That's probably the best idea. 
