I have a Burke dbsbt and it’s 4 months old. When I got it something didn’t seem right with it but I couldn’t figure it out, it just seemed off tuning wise even when I just played it with nothing else. I do sound for my church and I usually play along from behind the soundboard where no one can hear me. Every time I play along with this whistle it just sounds out of tune with the music. My Susato and Dixon trad always sound fine though. On the tuning slide there is a mark, which I assumed is where it’s suppose to be to be right in tune. Well I finally started fooling around with it and found that when it’s pushed all the way in it’s plays great and in tune. I haven’t checked it with a tuner yet but with the tuning slide pushed all the way in it sounds right on with the keyboard. I guess I’m wondering if something may be wrong with the whistle because if it’s in tune with the slide pushed all the way in then I can’t make it any sharper if I need to and there’s no point in having a tuning slide. Sorry to be so long winded. I was going to contact Mike Burke but I thought I’d see what you folks had to say first and to make sure I’m not crazy.
Also make sure that there are no obstructions in the fipple window, windway, head or bore to flatten the pitch. The reference line is only approximate, but should be about right when the whistle is at room temperature.
I have a DBSBT dated 1/2008. It has the longer slide and mouth piece. When it is at body temperature (96. it is in tune when the slide is about 1/32" below the reference mark. That is according to my digital tuner.
As John mentoned, check it out on your tuner. BTW, what “keyboards” do you have? Is the keyboard in tune with your tuner.
Have you checked to see if the lower joint is pushed in all the way into the tuning slide? Good luck and let us know. Cyril.
When my Burke was in tune, it didn’t match the mark. IIRC, I could see the mark when it was in tune. A friend of mine had an earlier model than I did and you couldn’t see the mark when it was in tune.
Whistles, as are pipes and flutes, seem to be individual beasts, sometimes with just slight diffenences. Also, diferrent folks blow differently and some notes usually have some “give” in them.
I have one of those intellitouch tuners, the kind that clip on to the headstock of a guitar so it won’t work with the whistle (I tried). I’m going to borrow one from a friend tomorrow. The keyboard is an old Yamaha I’ve used it on a few recordings and it sounded fine. The windway is clear.
I have, now, six Burkes in various keys, and only the low D tunes in at the line. The others all need to be pushed in a bit past the line to tune in to 440 (they are all checked against an electronic tuner on a regular basis).
Why should this be? I don’t know.
Wait, let me look at them again to check…ooooohhh they are so beautiful and shiny and silvery…my preciousssss…
Hi Everyone,
Just saw this thread and thought I would give some insight. I make my whistles to tune approximately ±50 cents from concert pitch and aim to have the tuning mark be accurate at between 70 and 75 degrees. When the room is colder than that, say 65 degrees, you will always have to push in the slide so that it will be in pitch and when it is 90 degrees outside in the Summer, the tuning mark will hover sometime an eigth of an inch outside. I know this because it is often 95 degrees in Dublin Ohio during Dublin Fest in the first week of August. The whole point of a tuning slide is to accomodate to these shifts in temperature, so that people who are playing outside in March for a St. Patricks day gig and it is 45 degrees may have to push the slide in pretty far and in the dog days of August pull it out pretty far.
The original person who asked the question probably is having a problem because he is using the breakdown joint on his whistle for a tuning slide. That happens because directions are boring to read and people find that it pulls apart at the bottom of the slide on the new whistles and try to make it work. That practice also ruins the intonation and the tuning range is very very limited, but it does happen. The tuning joint is above the slide unit, though and has a great deal of range. Push the bottom joint all the way into the socket to lock it into place and twist the head and adjust the pitch from above. You can get as sharp or as flat as you please.
Happy St. Patricks Day and eat lots of stew and keep warm if it is as cold where you are as it normally is here.
All the best
Mike
“When you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains, no matter how improbable is the truth” Sherlock Holmes
Hmmm … I use a clip-on Intelli tuner (which is different from your Intellitouch) on my whistle all the time. Just attach it to the bottom of the tube near the bell, or at the tuning slide collar. If necessary, hold it loosely in place with one hand and play a G or A with the other hand. Don’t hold the whistle or tuner too tight, or you’ll damp the tube vibrations. If the felt on the clip is damping too much, try sliding a hard plastic credit card between the felt and the whistle.
Maybe a bit awkward, but all you need is a good reading on one reference pitch.
FWIW, on my older DASBT when the reference line just barely disappears inside the collar, the whistle is dead-on in tune at A440 at room temp.
I definitely read the directions and I am not using the breakdown joint as a tuning slide. It was about 72 degrees here today and I was playing for about 5 minutes so the whistle was definitely warmed up. I was playing along with some cds and I’m telling you that the slide had to be pushed all the way in before it sounded in tune with the music. I will check it with a tuner tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong I love the whistle, I’m just trying to figure what’s going on here.
Judging a whistle’s tuning by whether it is in tune with CD’s is risky. My Water Weasel D non-tunable is slightly sharp, but it is right in tune with nearly every CD I try. My Burke DBSBT is right in tune at the line, but is not right for playing with CDs.
Must get that tuner so you all don’t think i’m crazy. I did try the intellitouch tuner again and I did get it to pick up the b note which was right on the money with the slide pushed all the way in. I will try it with a different tuner (one with a mic) tomorrow. Some of the cds that I played along with are ones that I recorded with a digital recorder, so I know that the other instruments were in tune and when I play other instruments along with the cds everything sounds fine. The Burke was in tune also but the slide had to be pushed all the way in, so my concern is that if I do need to make adjustments (for colder temps etc.) I wont be able to.
Well you do play whistle, so that’s one strike against your sanity right there.
No, it definitely sounds like something is wrong, but it’s hard to guess what, since Michael’s whistles are so consistent. Is the breakdown joint pushed in all the way and locked tight? Spiders nesting in your fipple? Lingering effects of radiation in Alamogordo?
Well it’s official, I’m crazy. I checked the dbsbt with a good tuner and it was right on. The temp inside the room was 78 degrees so I had the slide pulled out just slightly past the line and it was right on. I remember Mike Burke telling me (not a direct quote) that a persons ear can get trained to hear bad tuning/intonation as good tuning/intonation (years of using cheap whistles sort of thing) I guess I’m all screwed up then. When I checked my other whistles with the tuner, wow they were really off. My Susato c was the only one that was close. So sorry about all the fuss everything is fine now. I must now use my Burke to get my ear back into shape and invest in a different tuner. Thanks for all the input.
My Burke DCS 09/2007 came with printed instructions that say Do Not twist or pull on Head!" It illustrates where to grasp the tube (on the bulging slide housing and on the tune holes) and “twist gently, then push in or out to move tuning slide.” It also shows an arrow pointing at the lower end of the bulging slide housing with a caption that says, “Movement is at this joint”.
Further down it give “Important Notes Regarding Your O’ring tuning slide …” This seems to identify the bulging slide housing as where the tuning slide is. Doesn’t it?
I’ve been greasing this brass slide as per instructions ever since I got it, too. Now Michael seems to be saying to leave it alone.
Did I get out of date printed instructions?
I’ve very tentatively checked twisting and pulling the whistle head as per what Michael now appears to be telling us. This moves and definitely tunes, quite emphatically in fact. But I’ve put it back where it was and would appreciate clarification before I do anything that might harm my preshusssssssssss …
My Burkes in high D and C, and mid A, G, and F seem to be fixed (not moveable) where the barrel joint meets the body (part with the fingerholes). The only adjustable place is at the top of the barrel joint, where the barrel meets the headjoint.
My Burke low D is different, as the body is removable from the barrel.
The O-rings at the body-to-barrel joining have a stiffer fit than the O-rings at the head-to-barrel joining, so that the headjoint can be smoothly moved up and down to tune without disturbing the body fit.
[quote=“pancelticpiper”]My Burkes in high D and C, and mid A, G, and F seem to be fixed (not moveable) where the barrel joint meets the body (part with the fingerholes). The only adjustable place is at the top of the barrel joint, where the barrel meets the headjoint.
Presumably yours are older models? Mine’s an 09/2007.
A friend of mine got a similar Burke to mine this week. He reports this morning that unlike mine, his whistle head wont move at all. Mine turns and moves out. Also, like mine, and unlike yours, the brass slide on his is below the barrel.
Hopefully Mike will clarify what he means about how to tune a High D Burke.
it is in tune when the slide is about 1/32" below the reference mark. That is according to my digital tuner.
