The need to resolve a nagging curiosity concerning how a PVC pipe massaged into a whistle would sound;
The need for an indestructible whistle to leave in my car so I will have something to play at red lights.
Well, I’m really impressed with this whistle’s playability, and easy fingering, and it doesn’t slip out of my hands like my shiny aluminum Burkes might on quick transitions from driving to red light whistling.
And so very cool! I have no fear of it being warped by baking in the hot car, I can use it to bang a beat on my steering wheel without fear of damaging it when I actually need one hand to drive.
The down side? It’s loud. Not in an obnoxious way mind you - it’s just got a robust voice. I’m glad the interior on my XC70 soaks up some of the decibels.
So, what’s your favorite whistle to leave in the car, take on a camping trip, toss in a backpack on a hike, or drop kick - the one to abuse and use?
Oh yeah, one more question. Does anyone know what whistle Joanie Madden uses in A Whistle on the Wind for Marcus Hernon’s Air?
Susatos are good for leaving in the car. The plastic is so thick and hard, it’s almost impossible to melt. They’re also good for traveling with, too, since they’re so solidly made. But they sound like recorders.
Unless you’re planning on leaving it on the dashboard instead of the glovebox, any of the cheapies work quite well.
I usually carry a self-tweeked Generation and a Feadog in in my car’s glovebox, and a Cooperman plastic fife under the seat (that doesn’t get played in the car, though!).
I don’t leave my more expensive whistles out there, though. And I never leave ANYTHING on the dash; I remember leaving a plastic slide rule on the dash back when I was in High School and coming back to find and object that belonged in a Dali painting.
An aluminum Syn would work quite well. Heavy duty aluminum tube and everything else is delrin. No melting going on with this whistle. Besides, it sounds good too.
Serpent Village Smithy – one-piece chrome-molybdnum steel, hard white-plastic fipple plug
In an emergency, you can use it to pry open the trunk or kill a rattlesnake in the passenger seat.
Regarding Delrin mouthpieces, the note that came with the Humphrey Stealth says not to leave the whistle in direct sunlight, like on the dashboard, because the Delrin can warp.
2-piece Clare with a Hoover whitecap. I keep it in an eyeglass case in the center console. It can be played quietly enough to not make you deaf.
Angelo
The manufacturer of the acetal I use for my mouthpieces claims a melting point of 160 - 172 C. / 320 - 342 F.
I’m not sure a dashboard would ever get quite that hot, but it’s a pretty safe bet that thin pieces of acetal would soften and warp at a lower temperature than the melting point… and I say ‘better safe than sorry’!
I hardly ever get to finish a song anyway. If it falls out the car door and gets run over, I’m only out $3. If I get frustrated with a song that I did finish, and fling it out the window, I’m only out $3.
I have just started driving an old pickup truck with an automatic transmission. It gives me another second or two than when I had to put the car into gear when the light changed. Also, I use the hole where the radio used to be in the dashboard for my sunglasses and a whistle.
I left a Generation Brass D on the dashboard once while I dashed into the grocery store for a quick milk and bread run. It was a hot Kansas August day, but I was only gone a couple of minutes, and I left the window down. When I got back and checked the dashboard, there were two more Generation Ds and a Walton’s LBW. Now I lock the car.
