Goofiest tweak....hairspray!!

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:19 am

A while back I bought a Silkstone from Wanderer. A year later he played it and noted that it seemed sweeter and purer than he remembered. Shortly thereafter I washed it thoroughly and the tone deteriorated, also it made squeaky sounds. I was just harder to play.
Going on the theory that my accumulated goop had improved the sound, I decided to try spraying in WD 40 to replace the goop I had washed out. It seemed to help a little, at least temporarily.
Then I tried hair spray. The sticky, high hold kind that turns a hairdo into a DOT approved motorcycle helmet. I applied it through the “window” hole. At first the improvement was minor, but after successive applications the improvement was very noticeable.
Note: Light sprays are best. Let it dry and give it another light spray. I’ve given mine about 10 good applications so far and it works like a charm.

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:52 am

um... what exactly whas the goop

that you washed from your whistle?

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:56 am

Puhleeeeease----do we really want to know?

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Wed May 18, 2005 2:08 pm

Just (morbidly) curious.

My whistles have remianed goop free (some are decades old)

My Trombones on the other hand, tend to cultivate goop at a rather prolific rate. Especially if I am playing for a broadway show. Long rehearsals mean you eat in the pit. Goop abounds.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Wed May 18, 2005 3:09 pm

I feel a little queasy...

gonzo914 · Post by **gonzo914** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:02 pm

I don't have whistle goop, but I do have whistle fuzz. I always carry a Dixon in my laptop bag, and it builds up a velvety layer of fuzzy bag dust that really does seem to mellow and soften and round the tone. When I wash it or when I lose it and have to replace it with a new one, I can hear a difference until I get a new layer of bag fuzz built up. Actually, I carry two now -- one to play and a back up that's just riding around collecting bag fuzz.

I don't know what the ingredients of bag fuzz are, but when I do bother to clean it, it doesn't appear to be mold or fungus. It's not gross or anything; it's just bag fuzz. And it does make the whistle sound better.

CDon · Post by **CDon** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:19 pm

Wanderer wrote:I feel a little queasy...

Geeeze!... You really played it?

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Wed May 18, 2005 5:41 pm

Were there Guinness worms living in your goop? I have had them in my whistle.

MarkB

whistlingharp · Post by **whistlingharp** » Thu May 19, 2005 12:13 pm

WOW!! Thank You!! This improved my Burke so much, I actually like the whistle now. It had so little back pressure before that I had tried tape, clay, toothpicks etc. and nothing seemed to work. I used two separate sprays of hairspray and the whistle is singing without one gasp for air.

I will add hairspray to my gig bag spares kit. Thanks for a great tip!

Linda

Leel · Post by **Leel** » Mon May 23, 2005 12:03 pm

This sounds interresting, BUT: what if you try it and don't like the results, how do you clean it out?

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Mon May 23, 2005 12:33 pm

Before trying anything else, I would try dishwashing soap and warm water, dunking in and out many times and then rinsing with strong stream of water. Hairspray does wash out of hair, I think. I would try this washing on something else before I put hairspray in my whistle. I would hesitate to use solvents of any kind. There is glue holding some things together in there I believe.

But I am no expert, that's for sure.

bjs · Post by **bjs** » Tue May 24, 2005 7:29 am

I applied it through the “window” hole.

presumably blocking off the windway first?

Brian

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Tue May 24, 2005 7:36 am

bjs wrote:
I applied it through the “window” hole.
presumably blocking off the windway first?

Brian

Aww, what's a little chemical poisoning in the name of art? Painters are
always smearing their fingers with heavy metals and breathing unhealthy
fumes... surely you aren't suggesting that whistlers are any less dedicated
to their art?

--Chris

bjs · Post by **bjs** » Tue May 24, 2005 7:46 am

Aww, what's a little chemical poisoning in the name of art? Painters are
always smearing their fingers with heavy metals and breathing unhealthy
fumes... surely you aren't suggesting that whistlers are any less dedicated
to their art?

I was thing it would increase back pressure by narrowing the windway. maybe not desirable. Then again it might help prevent clogging.

Brian

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:12 pm

No, I didn't block the windway first. Maybe I should have. In this early stage of research I don't know whether the beneficial effect was from hairspray in the whistle head or hairspray in the windway. I suspect the former.

Glad to see someone else got some benefit from this.

When playing this same Silkstone in a loud session, a regular audience member noticed the difference and asked if I had a new quieter whistle. The Silkstone now lacks the sharp bite that carries across the fiddles. I'll be using this one for small sessions only in future. It always seems that when you gain something you lose something too.