O'Brien Whistle Question

[artmusicsouth]

I just got an O' Brien set and I notice that as I ascend the octave the final note of the scale is not a clear D but instead has a lot of noise and inharmonic overtones. I have noticed that the blade in the window is not very sharp but has a rather sharp end with a sharp angle on it. It is not at all like my Clarke. Any thoughts on this?

[Wanderer]

I found with the O'Brien that I tested that the angle of the whistle in your mouth made a lot of difference in how much white noise was in the tone.

David suggested to me that the best tone is gotten by blowing directly down the windway with the whistle straight out of your mouth.

That said, the O'Briens I tried were both windy..one considerably less than the other, but both windy nontheless.

[JessieK]

True, the angle of playing makes a big difference. Mine isn't hissy at all (when I play it, anyway) when played at the right angle and with the right pressure.

[OBrien]

I'll admit that my design is unusual and I'm sure most will agree that different whistles require different playing styles- breath requirements, position, etc. Other makers I have corresponded with have agreed that sharpening the blade makes very little difference, but they do it because people expect it. Every whistle I sell is thoroughly tested for tone and tuning, but if a buyer is not satisfied, I'd hope they would send it back for adjustment, replacement or a refund.

[happyturkeyman]

I think I know exactly what you're talking about, AMS, and I believe I have it figured out. The second D comes out very raspy occasionally - venting helps, but sometimes not enough. The problem is the wierd way the O'brien doesn't clog. The water droplets that accumulate bend the airstream up, but it never actually gets to the point where it percievably "clogs." It happens so gradually that for a while it seems like just a bad note. I suspect that the no-blade design means the air flow is splitting on the cushion of air in front of the un-blade, which makes it more sensitive to those changes of direction that could potentially warp or pop that area of pressure.

If I remember to do the rapid inhalation trick before each song, I dont have mid-song problems. It clears out the condensation and makes a big difference if you really suck it out well.

The other thing I have found is that playing for about an hour in a close enough time space to negate evaporation solves the problem altogether. I suspect that the condensation and heat reaches a sweet spot, at least on the sides of the windway where it may not suck out as well, that draws new h20 deposits toward it. It becomes as sweet as you can imagine... mmm, mmm.

I am on the old, short-beaked model, although I suspect the situation is compounded in the longer-beak, longer-windway, more-backpressure newer ones.

Just writing this made me think about it some more, and I am pretty sure it's water droplets collectiing on the delrin bottom that force the air up. D with all fingers down has the highest air pressure in the tube, and already forces more air on the top side of the blade than on other notes. When the droplets force even more air up, I can only imagine what swirly, turbulent disasters the bottom half of the split runs into.

I'm sure its just a quirk to get used to like I did.
P.S. - What type of fipple plug is in your set? (Delrin, lucite?)

[OBrien]

I have pm'ed happyturkeyman and offered to send him a long-beak model so that he can continue his excellent research into the effects of moisture and air currents in my whistles. Stay tuned for further developments.

[artmusicsouth]

What man with a turkey isn't happy?

Thanks for your insights. I am going to give it another week and see how it goes. I have a Burke and I don't have the problems I do with this. Oviously they are totally different whistles. The Burke really has a sweet sound and great response. I'll let you all know what I do in the end.

Thanks.

[happyturkeyman]

Happy man with a turkey? Nay, happyturkeyman I am.

Again, AMS, what kind of fipple plug do you have?

[artmusicsouth]

Sorry I forgot to mention that it is a Delrin plug.

[KDMARTINKY]

I just received my O'Brien whistle in the key of C. I played a couple of tunes for my children with it before they headed of to sleep. The whistle to me is extremely well built and is solid. It plays wonderfully and is very smooth through octave transition. I have very few soprano whistles (because I love the Lows), but I am very proud to have this one in my collection.

Thanks David for a wonderful whistle.