Hi all,
Been playing tin whistle for about 2 months now; my first was a Clarke Original in C, followed by Clarke Meg (D) and Generation (D). (The Generation is on the "epic let-down" end of the quality spectrum).
Last week I bought a Clarke D, and was similarly disappointed. Having had excellent experiences with the C, I couldn't understand why I couldn't control pitch and tone, sometimes ending up with harsh whistling halfway through play, or if the fipple got a tiny bit mungy from saliva.
So I decided to fix it myself.
I dipped the left, right, and bottom edges of the mouthpiece in melted wax, and rubbed-down the wax with a cloth, removing the excess wax. Repeated this 2-3 times, until I was sure that the gaps between the wood and tin were sealed.
The whistle sounds fantastic now, and exactly how I'd expected it to sound!
I encourage anyone with a poorly performing Clarke and a candle to give it a go.
[Edited by moderator. - Mod.]
DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
It's kinda mystery to me: why they don't seal it properly in the factory?
- hoopy mike
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
Rustic charm?Dain wrote:It's kinda mystery to me: why they don't seal it properly in the factory?
Blue tac / White tac / poster putty works too.
- Scott McCallister
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
hoopy mike wrote:
Blue tac / White tac / poster putty works too.
I wouldn't want that in or near my mouth though. The wax is better here I think.
Glad you got your whistle to work!
There's and old Irish saying that says pretty much anything you want it to.
- hoopy mike
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
Ok - chewing gum it is.Scott McCallister wrote:hoopy mike wrote:
Blue tac / White tac / poster putty works too.
I wouldn't want that in or near my mouth though. The wax is better here I think.
Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
What, like Chupa Chups?
First you lick it, than you chew it. Eh?
First you lick it, than you chew it. Eh?
- cavefish
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
i just soak the wood in oil and it swells up , plays fine for me
Last edited by cavefish on Tue Nov 02, 2010 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- Steve Bliven
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
I thought the approved soaking agent was Guinness...
Best wishes.
Steve
Best wishes.
Steve
Live your life so that, if it was a book, Florida would ban it.
- crookedtune
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Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
So, the message is clear. Go soak your head.
Charlie Gravel
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”
― Oscar Wilde
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”
― Oscar Wilde
Re: DIY - Clarke Original Tin Whistle - wax fix
In wax.....crookedtune wrote:So, the message is clear. Go soak your head.