Feadog

lyrick · Post by **lyrick** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 2:48 pm

Peter Laban wrote: The usual suspect is advertising it on GC for 16 and calls it a silly price. How right he is although I am sure this is not what he meant. In fairness, you probably get the free pouch worth 2 euro thrown in.

Peter, I'm guessing you meant Shanna Quay rather than GC as having it for 16 euro, which is the case. (I didn't want to name names in my post, but since it's out there now, might as well name the right name. It is quite a difference in prices.)

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:34 am

RonKiley wrote:The crack I mentioned started out as a mold line as jerry said but after a few months it cracked all the way through on that line. As I said a little super glue made a nice repair that has lasted for a long time. It plays nicely and is one of the whistles that I turn to from time to time.

Ron

Yeah, I had one like that, and I think I posted about it on C&F a long time ago... That line is present certainly on every Feadog MkIII fipple I've had, both D and C, but only cracked on one - and as I've had loads of Feadogs I don't consider it a common flaw.

I'll definitely get a few Pro's. Any idea if they'll do a version in C too?

Despite the dozens of whistles that WhOA has left me with, from cheapies to mid-range, I always go back to nickel Feadogs and unpainted Sweetones.

I have a pair of Nickel Feadogs, D and C, which I have tweaked by filling the void beneath the windway with blu-tac. Both are absolutely beautiful, pure, sweet whistles. Filling the void makes the 2nd octave much steadier and soothes away much of the Feadog's usual harsh edge. And there are few classier looking instruments than a nickel Feadog.

I totally love the nickel MkIII Feadog above any other whistle I've ever owned or played. I have a bunch of them. I can't wait to get my fingers on the Pro.

ChaoticGemini · Post by **ChaoticGemini** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:32 am

From looking at the pictures posted, I have a Mark III. It's my only Feadóg. I think I would like it's sound for some songs, but it is horrible in the upper register, so it doesn't get played at all.

Tina

Peter Mullin · Post by **Peter Mullin** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:50 pm

FWIW, my Feadog, and all the others available for sale at one local music store, in July 2004, had the exact same flaw or crack in the mouthpiece as pictured in a recent post. So far mine hasn't come apart, even though played more or less daily and carried about in the bottom of a messenger bag that is frequently stuffed into steel bike baskets.

Peter

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:25 pm

ChaoticGemini wrote:From looking at the pictures posted, I have a Mark III. It's my only Feadóg. I think I would like it's sound for some songs, but it is horrible in the upper register, so it doesn't get played at all.

Tina

If it doesn't get played at all you've nothing to lose by trying the blu-tac tweak. It may make a surprising amount of difference...

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:56 pm

Well,the Feadog Pro arrived today-I've only had time for a quick 'Blast' on it,so the full review will have to wait until the weekend.
On first view,I was impressed by the weight and thickness of the body-I've just dug out my Oak,and I think that the plating is a tadge thicker on the Feadog.
The finger hole placement on the two whistles is identical,though hole 6 on the Feadog is slightly smaller in diameter than the Oak.
I ran through 'The Home Ruler' ,'She Beg,She Mor' and 'Roisin Dubh' and detected a bit of a rasp (which I do sometimes get on the Oak-maybe this is due to my lack of familiarity with this whistle-I don't play it very often-maybe it DOES just need a good warm up))-I think the Blue tack tweak may sweeten the tone.
Anyhow,on first view,the Feadog Pro IS a very handsome whistle for the money (I payed 11 Euro from Shanna Quay,postage includedand I only ordered it on sunday morning,so top marks for quick service).

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 6:21 pm

Feadogs have a characteristically edgy/reedy/raspy timbre. This is one of the things that differentiates them from other Generation type whistles. This edginess may be reduced if you change the angle (at the bevel edge, not the entire ramp) and/or sharpness of the soundblade.

Best wishes,
Jerry

lyrick · Post by **lyrick** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:35 pm

Jerry Freeman wrote:This edginess may be reduced if you change the angle (at the bevel edge, not the entire ramp) and/or sharpness of the soundblade.

Jerry, in what way would you change the angle of the bevel or the sharpness of the soundblade to reduce the edginess? Would it also reduce the nice pop (I think some call it tubular chiff) that Feadogs seem to have in the lower octave?

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 9:19 pm

lyrick wrote:
Jerry Freeman wrote:This edginess may be reduced if you change the angle (at the bevel edge, not the entire ramp) and/or sharpness of the soundblade.
Jerry, in what way would you change the angle of the bevel or the sharpness of the soundblade to reduce the edginess? Would it also reduce the nice pop (I think some call it tubular chiff) that Feadogs seem to have in the lower octave?

I would try dulling the soundblade a bit. That will tend to make the bevel at the edge of the soundblade a little steeper at the same time.

I'm inclined to think that the pop you're talking about would not change significantly if you do this, but I can't be sure. When I tweak Feadogs, I am careful not to change the timbre, which is how I discovered that that edgy/reedy/raspy component goes away very easily if you make even seemingly small alterations to the soundblade edge. So I haven't studied all the various changes that happen when you take the edginess off the voicing because I've focused my effort on NOT taking the edginess off.

(That is not a judgment as to whether the whistle sounds better with or without the edginess, which is a matter of taste entirely. It's because I'm presenting my tweaked Feadogs as Feadogs that sound like Feadogs and not as Feadogs that have been tweaked to sound like something else.)

Best wishes,
Jerry

ChaoticGemini · Post by **ChaoticGemini** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:46 pm

buddhu wrote:
ChaoticGemini wrote:From looking at the pictures posted, I have a Mark III. It's my only Feadóg. I think I would like it's sound for some songs, but it is horrible in the upper register, so it doesn't get played at all.

Tina
If it doesn't get played at all you've nothing to lose by trying the blu-tac tweak. It may make a surprising amount of difference...

I've been thinking about trying to tweek it. I just haven't figured out what method to use.

norseman · Post by **norseman** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:39 pm

I've ordered one of the Feadog Pro whistles, but a few days ago I got out my Mark III brass Feadog again. This was the first whistle I bought when I started a little less than a year ago, and I basically thought it was unplayable in the 2nd octave at the time. I was brand new to whistle, and I just couldn't make it sound good in the upper register. I did the tweak of filling in the cavity with poster putty, and that did help some, but I didn't have the breath control to play it well.

I've been playing whistle and flute for nearly a year now, and my breath control is much better. Magically, I'm able to make the Feadog sound quite good! It seems like a more steady breath pressure in the upper register smooths out most of the extra edginess that I didn't like before.

I can't wait to get the Pro and compare with the original.

Post by **Dale** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:40 pm

Dear Dale,

....... The three whistles that you have pictured do look like Feadóg mouthpieces. However the one in the middle was only made in very small quantities and was made as an experiment. Let me explain:

There have been three mouthpieces for the Feadóg. The Mark I went from the beginning until the early nineties. The mould at that stage was beginning to wear out so it was redesigned and we produced the Mark II. In 2001 this was once more redesigned in conjunction with several highly respected Irish Whistle players and the Mark III was born. However, and this is where it gets a bit confusing, there was a slight amendment to the Mark II mouthpiece near the end of its life. That is the "bubble" that you see on the middle whistle at the top of the ramp. The usual Mark II did not have this "bubble".

Therefore there are three Feadóg mouthpieces in existence but a small number of the Mark II's have the experimental mouth pieces. The whistles that I sent you do indeed have the Mark III mouthpiece on it. I hope this helps in clearing up the debate.

If there is anything else I can help you with, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards
Paul McCarron
Feadóg "Original Irish Whistle"

Impempe · Post by **Impempe** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:04 am

Okay - I have now treated myself to one too. while I was about it I spotted a Freeman tweaked sweetone to add to the purchase. May as well get with the programme.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:57 am

Here you go ...

Left to right: Mark I, Mark II, Mark II.5, Mark III

Best wishes,
Jerry

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:11 pm

Dale: thanks for posting the message from Paul. It's nice to have the history straight from the source.

Jerry: ah, the definitive line-up pic! Thanks for that too