Humphrey retrofit head mini-review

tin tin · Post by **tin tin** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:00 pm

I just received a Gary Humphrey retrofit head for my brass Generation Bb tube, and I am most pleased. Gary’s workmanship and attention to detail is wonderful—this is not PVC as you see it at the hardware store! The two-toned gray PVC looks sharp; I bet it would look great on a nickel tube. You can see some images at Gary’s website: http://webpages.charter.net/raindog1970/
The tone is strong and full with moderate volume and nice backpressure. The bottom octave is a bit reedy and complex (with a strong bell note), while the upper octave is clearer. There’s no shrillness, and there’s very little air (if any) in the tone. Balance and air requirements are very even across the range. It’s a very responsive whistle, and ornaments sound crisp and bubbly with a little bit of chiff.
This is an exellent instrument at a great price--high end quality with a mid-range price.
Here’s a related post:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... highlight=

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 4:00 pm

I have a Raindog fitted head also, I really, really like it. The Gen D tube that I'm using is a bit wonky on the tuning (the f# is 20 or so cents flat), but the whistle head itself puts out a remarkably solid and fairly interesting tone, not too breathy, not too pure. The upper octave plays very nicely under control. If anybody has ideas on a replacement tube please chime in, I was thinking of perhaps a Feadog.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 4:33 pm

I don't have one of Gary's retrofit heads (yet), but I do have a Hoover Whitecap, which I also used to have on a Generation body.

I also found the tuning to be a bit off on the Generation tube.

Having moved the head to an Oak tube made it into a really nice whistle. So an Oak tube would be my recommendation.

--James

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:33 pm

peeplj wrote:I don't have one of Gary's retrofit heads (yet), but I do have a Hoover Whitecap, which I also used to have on a Generation body.

I also found the tuning to be a bit off on the Generation tube.

Having moved the head to an Oak tube made it into a really nice whistle. So an Oak tube would be my recommendation.

--James

Hmm, how's the fit with the Oak tube? These are 13 mm tubes (I think), but some seem to be slightly larger than others. Gary makes the heads a little larger to accomodate all, requires a wrap or so of tape with the Gen tube, but nothing drastic. Yeah, so my question is, are the Oak tubes maybe a little larger, smaller, or almost exactly the same as a Gen tube?

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:00 am

I've got my retro-fit head on an Oak tube. I also tried a Generation and a Feadog. The Oak sounds the best to me. None of the three were as in tune as I'd of liked. The Oak almost works without tape, but for a snug fit you do need a bit.

Ideally, it would be nice to have a Reyburn body (or some kind of better made/tuned metal body) to try with the retro-fit head.

My solution was to get one of Gary's complete PVC whistles, which is tuned very well but doesn't sound exactally the same as the retro-fit on a metal tube.

-Brett

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:27 am

Right Bretton, I didn't get the PVC tube because of feared tonal characteristics. If I remember correctly, Gary can't find brass tubes in the 13 mm diameter here in the USA, so he doesn't use brass at all. What a pity!

(makes me very sad)

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 8:12 am

Monster wrote:Right Bretton, I didn't get the PVC tube because of feared tonal characteristics. If I remember correctly, Gary can't find brass tubes in the 13 mm diameter here in the USA, so he doesn't use brass at all. What a pity! (makes me very sad)

From the feedback I've been getting, I gather that most whistlers prefer metal tubes over polymer tubes.
The matter of 13mm brass tubing was my attempt to make my PVC tubes with a short piece of brass grafted to the head end, so that my retrofit heads would also fit my tubes... an idea that wouldn't work very well even if I could find a US source of metric tubing.
I'll stop by Hobby Lobby this evening, and see if they have any 1/2" brass tubing in stock... if they do, I'll try my hand at making a couple of brass Eb and D tubes over the weekend.
If they turn out OK, it may be time to discontinue my PVC tubes!
Of course, if they turn out OK, I should probably also discontinue my retrofit heads... nobody would want to bother with cheapie tubes of questionable tuning if I offered a better alternative.

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 9:46 am

I put my retrofit on an Oak tube. It's great. The Oak is slightly larger than a Gen tube and the head fits snug without teflon tape. I'd be interested in a Humprey's Whistle brass tube for my retrofit, if thats possible Gary. Let me know if that's available.

Best Regards,
Jon

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:22 pm

Gary Wrote:

I'll stop by Hobby Lobby this evening, and see if they have any 1/2" brass tubing in stock... if they do, I'll try my hand at making a couple of brass Eb and D tubes over the weekend.

Or maybe you can strike up a deal with someone from a metric-friendly area right here off the board. You pay them a little something for sending the tubes, and send them a whistle now and again. Would be a lovely thing.

I went to Ace hardware today, bought a round file and used it on the tone holes on a Gen Eb, it actually improved things a bit, good enough at least for now.

pneuma · Post by **pneuma** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 10:06 am

I too just took delivery of a Humphrey retrofit. I have it on a mark 3 feadog tube, and it is fantastic! Highly recommended.

I have a number of <$100 whistles - Freeman Gen, Susato, O'Briain Improved, Silkstone PVC, Dixon, Clarke Original, etc. - and this is easily my favorite whistle - I've found my Holy Grail. It is sweeter than the Freeman (my second favorite) but still chiffy enough for a traditional sound.
Very responsive - second and third registers are easy transitions.

Shawn