Simple Feadog modification

[GordonH]

Hello,

My first post here after returning to whistle playing after a lay off of ten years or so.
In the interim my collection of good whistles has gone missing so I had to get a D to start me off again.
The easiest to get would have been generation, but i had had a bad expeience replacing my 70's style one with an 80's style one and finding the new type did not sound as good.
So I got hold of a feadog, and to cut a long story short, I found if I filled in the cavity at the back of the mouthpiece, under the air way the sound improved and so did the tuning, especially on the second octave G.
Took me five minutes and its easily reversible.
Just push some of the blu tac in using a small screwdriver and smooth it down.
Keep adding until the cavity is filled level with the end of the airway.
If I took it apart I could probably fill it with that repair resin thats used for cars, but the simple method works.

Interestingly even after ten years nott ouching a whistle I can still get a tune out of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3sTTdekWO4
(thats before the modification and maybe someone knows what tune that is?)

I am in Scotland by the way.

[mcurtiss]

yeah, my Feadog Pro D with the poster putty mod is a sweet piece of machinery.

i think my only whistle that the mod didn't improve was my brass Generation D

[GordonH]

Thanks

I had a brass Generation D that I played for years until it wore thin and the mouthpiece started to come apart so I bought a nice shiny new one and it was totally different.

I also had a nice bamboo C.
Maybe I will find it again some time!
I used to get them from charity shops and retune them by modifying the holes.
You could pick them up for 25p and make a decent instrument.

[GordonH]

I have quite a few years experience of building and modifying trumpets. Adding mass to certain points in a trumpet affects the production of overtones so I thought the same might apply to whistles.
This was worked out years ago in the acoustic experiments of Arthur Benade who did a lot of research into wind instrument design.

In my desk drawer I had one of those folding paper clip things so I put it on the whistle and it did change the sound substantially.
Might be worth experimenting.

Photos:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gordonhud ... 8041350962
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gordonhud ... 8971881474

Putting it next to the mouthpiece had the best effect.
The risk is that the clamp might compress the tubing so if you decide to try it be careful.

I could maybe make some cylindrical weights that would fit over either end of the tube.
Just an idea at this stage, not difficult to do.
Maybe some plumbers solder wound round and taped might work.
Trombonists sometimes use this to adjust the physical balance of their instruments.
You also get lead tape.
Obviously lead is poisonous so be careful.

[GordonH]

Here is another idea:

How about making a whistle with an end that was flared like a clarinet or with a chamber like a cor anglais?
These different shapes are designed to change the way the air resonates inside the tubing and therefore affect the tone.
That would be the opposite of the clarke type conical bore whistle.

I am going to have an experiment myself over the next few weeks and see what happens.