Susato tuning problem

[Cammy]

I'm pretty happy with my susato D whistle (2 piece) but it seems to play a wee bit flat, especially the second octave no matter how short I make the whistle. Anyone else got this or know how to remedy it (filing?)

[Phil Hardy]

These whistles are not for the faint hearted,you need to blow them good and hard to get the best out of them.
If you want a breathless pennywhistle go for a Generation or Feadog etc,if you want a great whistle with balls get a Susato.
They are the best budget whistle with balls AND they are IN TUNE!
Phil..

[regor]

I agree with what Phil says...

[peeplj]

From my own experience, I'd say Phil has the right of it. These whistles need good breath support, especially in the second octave.

At first it's going to produce a tone that's strident and cutting; over time, you'll learn to sweeten the tone without sacrificing breath support or intonation.

--James

[Wanderer]

I'm pretty happy with my susato D whistle (2 piece) but it seems to play a wee bit flat, especially the second octave no matter how short I make the whistle. Anyone else got this or know how to remedy it (filing?)

The guys posting are correct...Susatos generally can be blown in tune. I've had several, and all of them have been fine. But, you're a little shy about it, or new, you probably won't give the second octave the breath it requires.

[mutepointe]

dear cammy:

here's my two cents. how do you know your whistle is a bit out of tune? if you're testing the sound by whistling into an electronic tuner that's amazingly not the best way to check in tuneness. just by changing the way that you blow into the whistle, you can get that tuner to be jumping all over the place. try playing along with another instrument or cd or the radio or something to see if the whistle sounds pleasant playing with someone/something else. a whistle being in tune has as much to do with the whistler as the whistle itself. it just may be that you're new to this whistle and still have to get a feel for it.

my susato is finely in tune.

let us know how things turn out.

[Chiffed]

Goodness sake, take that Susato outside and blow it like yer tryin to kill somebody. You'll find it will even go sharp, if you want. Careful not to let your lip obscure the windway - this happens to me on short-beaked whistles, and can change the tuning. Or maybe it's my imagination.

[Cammy]

...try playing along with another instrument or cd or the radio or something to see if the whistle sounds pleasant playing with someone/something else.

This is actually how I found out that it does indeed play a little flat. I am aware how whistles work and that blowing with more force will raise the pitch, but the resulting difference in volume between the two octaves doesn't feel very musical to me, it feels too extreme. (of course I might be playing the lower octave too quietly to start with, I'll have to experiment a bit wit a bit of more blow) But I need to practice this thing with ear pads anyway when playing at home, these whistles really are bloody loud although I like the clear sound. Anyway thanks for the responses.

[WhistlinBob]

All these fine folks are correct I have two susato's a high and low in D
I really have to get into them to get the best sound (man my wife hates me )they are not for quiet night playing if you Know what I mean
I love the quality for the price though

[Whitmores75087]

Protect your ears, buddy.

[Oreo]

I'm surprised no one mentioned, undoubtedly because it has already been written about so much, that you can sweeten and soften the upper register by muting the whistle. Somehow, and for some reason I don't understand, I find that some of my various muting techniques makes it so that I don't have to blow so hard to get the upper register in tune. Or maybe it is that I am still blowing, but the tone is softer, so I don't mind the effort.

One of my favorite mutes for Susatos is to make a corner of cloth book binding tape stick up into the lip, like this: --^--
Or like this: ----^
Some place tape verticle closing off a side of the fipple: ---||
Or a wad of plasti tak can be positioned in various ways on the "exit ramp" of the fipple.
Sometimes I stick toothpicks up into the windway, where the wind comes out, to narrow the windway.

Since some complain of Susatos sounding like recorders, I figured that the fipple was just too efficient. So I filed away the sharp edge of the fipple:
-__--
It is easy to go too far! I don't recommend trying this! But when I built the lip of the fipple back up with epoxy, the whistle played great, better than before the tweak.

I like the tweaks that I can undo best. That way, when you want to be ear-splitting, you can.

Oreo

[peeplj]

A Susato, properly played and controlled, isn't ear-splitting at all.

It is, however, a whistle that it takes a certain investment in time and effort to learn to control and play well.

However, this is also true of other whistles--Feadogs, in particular, require a certain level of ability and control in the player to sound their best as well.

--James

[Kate Dowling]

I've been holding myself back about these plastic whistles for a while now.

I really don't understand what people like about Susato whistles in the first place. They are loud and don't get a lot of variation in tone. They just don't do it for me. In many ways they sound more like a recorder than a tin whistle. Is that the appeal?

I would rather play an $8 Generation whistle than a Susato any day.

I'll prepare myself for an onslaught of negative feedback now - just thought I would stir the pot on this subject finally!

Kate Dowling

[peeplj]

Nothing wrong with Generations, either. I've got quite a few good ones and I like 'em alot.

The thing about the Susato is a lot of folks don't put the time into the whistle to really learn to play it. It's an easy whistle to play badly but not a particularly easy whistle to play well.

Played well by someone who has learned to control the thing, they are marvelous whistles.

--James

I've been holding myself back about these plastic whistles for a while now.

I really don't understand what people like about Susato whistles in the first place. They are loud and don't get a lot of variation in tone. They just don't do it for me. In many ways they sound more like a recorder than a tin whistle. Is that the appeal?

I would rather play an $8 Generation whistle than a Susato any day.

I'll prepare myself for an onslaught of negative feedback now - just thought I would stir the pot on this subject finally!

Kate Dowling

[Crysania]

I've been holding myself back about these plastic whistles for a while now.

I really don't understand what people like about Susato whistles in the first place. They are loud and don't get a lot of variation in tone. They just don't do it for me. In many ways they sound more like a recorder than a tin whistle. Is that the appeal?

I would rather play an $8 Generation whistle than a Susato any day.

I'll prepare myself for an onslaught of negative feedback now - just thought I would stir the pot on this subject finally!

Kate Dowling

To each their own Kate. Susatos don't have to be loud and they have quite the variation in tune if in the right hands -- Kevin Crawford's for instance.

And as I say to a lot of people -- they don't sound like recorders. Plastic recorders don't sound like recorders either. They sound like a whole different animal to me.

~Crysania