soap/jetdry for Overtons ?

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 6:57 pm

Hi. I recently received my first Overton whistle, an alto F. When it's warm and dry (unclogged) it sounds really wonderful. However, keeping it warm and unclogged is proving to be a chore.

Have any of you Overton aficionados tried the soapy water or jetdry trick, and if so, does it help a significant amount?

Thanks.

-Brett

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 7:14 pm

My Overton is a low D. I found the clogging to be awful at first, but for some reason the problem diminished to a degree as I became more familiar with it. The main recommendation I have, besides warmth, is to cover the air hole and blow before playing. Jet dry helped a little, not a ton.

waitingame · Post by **waitingame** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 7:19 pm

emmline wrote:My Overton is a low D. I found the clogging to be awful at first, but for some reason the problem diminished to a degree as I became more familiar with it. The main recommendation I have, besides warmth, is to cover the air hole and blow before playing.

Exactly my experience with my Low F.

waitingame

Parkwood · Post by **Parkwood** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:25 am

Same with me, both my Low F and D clogged a bit at first. Now they don't at all! You'll just have to play it loads.... (not a great hardship!)

B

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:29 am

Remember that you need to blow hard on the Overtons, support your breath like a singer or brass player might. As you get used to doing that, the clogging problem goes away.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:30 am

Dish detergent etc. will help, but like others have mentioned, as you get used to the whistle you'll start to drive it harder, which keeps the windway clear, then you'll find clogging is rarely a problem.

Loren

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:31 am

Hehehe.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:35 am

Bloomfield wrote:Hehehe.

Dang it, you beat me to it again Bloomfield! I'm getting slow now that I don't have so much free time on my hands...

Loren

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:55 am

Okie Dokie, when I get home tonight I'm going to blow hard and drive it harder.

Fopah · Post by **Fopah** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 3:11 pm

I'm glad this question came up, i was thinking about asking the same thing... except for i dont know anything about soap and jetdry, but im having the same problem with my overtone Low D, but it seems when i first got it it played alot smoother, and only recently it has been clogging, and inspected the windway, even flossed it. but it still clogs... may I ask exactly what you do with soapy water?

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 5:41 pm

If you imerse the head (mouthpiece) of the whistle in a solution of warm soapy water for a few seconds and then take it out and let it dry, the inside of the windway should end up with a thin coating of soap which will act as a surfacent (sp?). This should make any condensation less likely to adhere to the sides (and especially the ceiling) of the windway. JetDry does this, even moreso, but it tastes really bad.

In my experience this doesn't work that well, but it does seem to help a little if you reapply fairly often.

This is my first aluminum whistle and I'd only tried it on brass/plastic whistles in the past...I wasn't sure how it would work with the aluminum (or aluminium if you prefer).

-Brett