Silkstone still blows mightly

[bjs]

I had a Silkstone PVC D. I loved it. It was my favourite take everywhere with me whistle. That was it's downfall. Stuck in my belt while mowing grass. I mowed it's head off. I'm going to play the field for a bit before getting another. Drown my sorrows with a little WHOA for a while.

Brian

[rh]

...

[izzarina]

I have a PVC Silkstone D -- I'll grant it has a good sound, until I try to play the 2nd octave B. No matter what, that note will not play nicely. I bought it through the Whistle Shop and Thom Larson did offer to have Paul Hayward adjust it. But I don't understand how it can be adjusted -- for just that one note, when it's probably something I'm doing wrong ... isn't it?

I'll take suggestions, please ....

~Judy

I don't think it's you Judy...I'm having the same problems with it. Other than that it seems to play very nicely, so it would seem that maybe a couple of adjustments would be in order.

[Will O'B]

Hey, Judy. I also used to have a Silkstone PVC D -- I say used to because I sold it as it was just too loud for playing in my small office and it was aggravating my tinnitus something terrible. Anyway, I was thinking back to when I first got the whistle and how my playing sounded like a sack of wet cats competing in a cussing contest (actually that's not true -- I'm not being fair to the cats). It took a little time before I was able to make the second octave b sound respectful. I learned that by agressively jumping into the note and tonguing it gave the extra push that was needed to get a clear tone out of the whistle. Of course this is just my own personal experience with the Silkstone, and yours may indeed have a flaw that needs to be tweaked.

Will O'Ban

[glauber]

My only experience has been the alluminum (aka alloy) Silkstone, and it does not have such a silly high b.

[McHaffie]

... But I don't understand how it can be adjusted -- for just that one note, ....

Actually, as Glauber said... if the offer was made I would go ahead and send it in because in fact, believe it or not, a whistle can be adjusted for just about anything. Think about how many of those (quite good) tweaked whistles there are for sale.

i.e. one of the ways to remedy a 'wild' upper end of an upper octave is to shave just a tad off of the windway, or adjusting the blade angle, the sharpness / dullness of the blade, etc.

The possibilities depend on the overall design of course, so it really could be any one of a number of things. So don't count yourself short.

It's just one of the things that go along with handmade instruments... once in a while one might come along that needs an adjustment.

Just take up the offer and be the happy owner of a quality instrument!

[Will O'B]

Yes, Glauber, I remember you playing the aluminum Silkstone at the Kerry Piper. I recall that you played it quite nicely, in fact. You also very generously offered to let me play it at the session, but I refused because I was so new and didn't know any of the tunes. The PVC that I referred to always required that I push extra hard and also tongue in order to cleanly hit the high b. Whether that was that particular whistle's peculiarity or mine in the way I played it, I really don't know. I learned, with that whistle, that I had to attack it in that manner, and that's what I stuck with. For what it's worth, I also own a Burke composite vsb D (which I love), a Susato vsb D, a Feadog D and a Sweetone D that all reach the high b with a lot less fuss. You may call it *silly* if you like, but that's just the way it was.

Will O'Ban

[glauber]

[michael_coleman]

The aluminum silkstone looks a lot like a syn and from what I have heard, sounds a lot like one as well. Can anyone give me a more informed opinion?

[glauber]

They're about equally loud, but the Syn is more of a "blending" sound, while the Stone stands out a little more. Of course, the Stone costs about four times as much as the Syn. For these 2 reasons, i think the Syn is a good whistle for beginners.

Silkstone has the best tuning slide i've ever seen in a whistle. Better than Burke's. Syn has a very basic and maybe too short tuning slide, but still works fine.

The Silkstone is finished in a pleasing (to me) matte tone, and the finger holes are very nicely chamfered (is this a word?). The Syn is very basic: irregular finger holes, annoying (to me) extremely shiny finish. I dulled the finish of my Syn with steel wool, and it was an improvement, but of course it will never look as good as the Silkstone, which is dulled in a lathe (dulled matte in a lathe!).

The Syn has a very noticeable pin to hold the fipple plug in place, which looks like a wart.

On the other hand, the Silkstone has a funny narrowing of the outside of the tip which serves no purpose other than making it more vulnerable to being damaged by a fall.

Both are good whistles and pleasant to play, IMHO.

The Syn got a lot of bad publicity, but most of it was about the early models. The newer models seem to be much improved.

[jkrazy52]

I don't think it's you Judy...I'm having the same problems with it. Other than that it seems to play very nicely, so it would seem that maybe a couple of adjustments would be in order.

Well, at least now I know it might be the whistle and not me ... since you hit the same spot with it.

You're right, Will - if you aggressively attack the note it will be more likely (but not always) to play, but be louder and doesn't blend well with the rest of the song.

Thanks for the advice, all. I'll ask Thom if the offer still stands, next time I order something.

~Judy

[bjs]

Re Silkstone. This may be ofinterest:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... ht=#198523

Brian

[Will O'B]

You're right, Will - if you aggressively attack the note it will be more likely (but not always) to play, but be louder and doesn't blend well with the rest of the song.
~Judy

So now you tell me that the note is supposed to blend well with the rest of the song . . . I dunno, but it just seems to me if this was such an important requirement that you would have mentioned it in your original post! Seriously, though, my silkstone was so loud anyway that punching the note the way I suggested really didn't produce a sound which was that noticeable from the rest of the tune. It was the loudness of the whistle as a whole that caused me to sell it. Taking everyone's advice to send it back for adjustment is undoubtedly the smart move here.

Will O'Ban

[jkrazy52]

So now you tell me that the note is supposed to blend well with the rest of the song . . . I dunno, but it just seems to me if this was such an important requirement that you would have mentioned it in your original post!

Golly, some people just want it all spelled out proper and everthing! It's enough to make a person take up the r*c*rd*r, instead.

~Judy

[Will O'B]

It's enough to make a person take up the r*c*rd*r, instead.

~Judy

Watch y'er language, Missy! There are children that read these posts.

Will O'Ban