Don’t ask me how it works.
I hate the small beak on Susatos. Keeps slipping out of my wet lips. So I brought it to the hardware store and bought a foot of clear plastic hose, big enough to fit tightly over the whistle. I cut a piece about 1.5" long and slipped it over the mouthpiece. It was a nice tight fit. I pushed it past the window, making the whistle unplayable, then cut an oval to expose the window. But the new beak was too wide and I looked goofy playing. So I went back to the store with my tweaked whistle and found a piece of clear plastic tube that was able to fit snugly inside the new plastic hose beak that I’d created. This was a little narrow…still a bit wide, but I’m no longer embarassed to stik it in my mouth in public. I pushed the new piece into the existing one (nice and tight) but not all the way because that could push up against the opening to the windway and block it. I left it about 1/16" (2 or 3 mm) from the opening to the windway.
This is now my second favorite whistle. Not quite as loud as before, but plenty loud. The buzz is gone. I have to admit that this was a “good” Susato to begin with, with not too much recordery buzz, but it’s gone 100% now.
I’ve made reference to this idea before, but I’m excited about it and wanted to share it. I suspect that the improvement comes from either the volume of air being different (more?) or the angle that it hits the windway.
I’d be interested to know if others have the same results.
A lot of the older models had an air chamber (often containing a sponge to catch condensation) that sounds very similar to your modified mouthpiece.
Except that it’s a little loud to play alone indoors, I like Susatos, but I may just give your mod a try - I can always pull the tubing off if I don’t like it.
The same effect is existant in Native American Flutes. A chamber before the windway is referred to as the SAC (Slow Air Chamber). It allows relaxation of the air by having an chamber to expand in. Expansion = air velocity reduction. Thus reducing air noise.
Thanks for sharing your findings. When you were only using the one piece of tubing and were not willing to play in public, how did the whistle sound? Did the change for the better happen mainly when you put on the first tube or the second?
It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but could you or anyone else tell us exactly how do recorders (or Susatos) buzz? Based on what I have read here I thought the majority here considers recorder sound as too clean or too pure, not buzzy.
I have never heard a recorder buzz so could somebody with access to buzzy recorder (or Susato) post a clip?
I wouldn’t call it a buzz either. There is just something about the sound of a plastic r3c0rd3r or whistle that gets on my nerves. Maybe the buzz is the sound of my nerves jangling . . .
The idea of an expansion chamber before the window is an interesting one. Perhaps some of our makers can give some opinions on this?
You control your air with the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, chest muscles, throat, mouth, tongue, and lips. You have that air for two feet or more before the whistle ever gets it, and when the whistle does finally have its chance, it only has the air for an inch or less before it hits the blade.
Learn to control your air and you’ll learn to control your whistle.
Carey, good question. The single piece did cause improvement. More round sound and slightly less volume. The second piece made a bigger difference, much rounder sound and slightly less volume again. At one point I had a third piece inside the second. That piece was quite narrow and easy to hold in the mouth (about 1/4" across, or 6mm). It reduce the volume slightly more again. At this point the whistle didn’t sound remotely like a Susato. It was OK, but seemed to make breath control more difficult. and the sound had lost all its “bite”, however, keep in mind that I started with a “good” Susato that didn’t have a lot of buzz to start with.
Tom.
Hi Fearfaoin, I suspect that this tweak “artificially” does what good players do naturally with their mouths, diaphragm, or whatever.
I’ll try to post a photo next week with Wanderer’s help. (I’m not good at that).
