2 Questions-a little help please?

[Nyte]

Hi all!
I've got two questions I could use a little advice on.
First: I'm in need of a REALLY quiet whistle to practice
on while the little one is asleep (and so the wife doesn't throw things )
any advice on a really quiet whistle? I've heard Whitecaps are quiet
but I have only heard clips from the internet (which isn't really
a good judge for my circumstances)

Second: I would like to record my practice sessions to play back
and review...I thought the computer might be best for this.
I can get a cheap mic, but any advice on inexpensive (or free)
software that will record my sessions? I saw one that will record in
short bursts...but I would really like to record the entire practice
(or at least most of it) in one go.

As always, I am very grateful for any and all advice.

Regards,
Nyte

[cpelsor]

Quiet Whistle: Alba Q1. Nice and quiet.

http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk

Recording software: Good, but not great, open source software called Audacity.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Available for all platforms.

[Darwin]

My quietest whistle is a Whitecap on a Feadog tube. I have one on a Hoover tube that's a bit louder, and one on an Oak tube that's louder still.

As far as I can tell, it's mostly the size of the window that's different. The one on the Feadog has the smallest, and the Oak has the largest.

I can reduce the volume of the Whitecap-Feadog even more by putting a little piece of masking tape so that it sort of blocks most of the ramp on the blade. The tape doesn't sink down; it curves to match the cylindrical shape of the mouthpice, so there's a bit of a space between the tape and the ramp. Looking down into the window, I can just see the edge of the blade behind the tape.

The tone is still nice, and it doesn't hurt the tuning, either. I've tried this with some other whistles, but the results haven't been quite as nice. Still it helps with even the Whitecap-Oak.

[markbell]

Hoovers are generally a nice, quiet whistle, unless you ask Mack to make one louder. It's the signature sound for a Hoover.

Audacity, as cpelsor pointed out, is decent. I have used it before to make sound clips.

[Wanderer]

My quietest whistle is a Hoover.

I have a whitecap that's not quiet, also. So if you get a Hoover, tell Mack you want something for when the family's asleep, and I'm sure he can accomodate you. "Quiet" is his signature sound.

I second the vote for Audacity. I used to use Goldwave (which I paid for) but now use Audacity (which is free) for recording clips for my website.

[tin tin]

You can make any whistle quiet by placing silly putty over the ramp...mess around until you get a nice balance of quietness and a nice tone.

[Jay-eye]

Hoover narrowbore. Mine splits in two so it's my constant companion travelling whistle too.

Audacity does the job for me.