Hello everyone. Sorry if you’ve already discussed this, but I was wondering…
I bought a Clarke original in June 2002. I bought another one for a friend last December and noticed that not only has the logo changed (no big whoop), but the design has changed slightly as well. It sounded a lot breathier, even when I played it, particularly in the upper octave, so I compared whistles and observed that, when looking into the mouth end, the space between the wooden piece and the tin casing is noticably bigger. It’s also rounder, whereas mine is somewhat flat.
To all you seasoned players out there: Would that account for the breathiness? Or does it need to be broken in? Or did I buy my friend a poor whistle?
Yes, the larger windway would account for the more breathy sound. You could try tweaking it by flattening the top of the windway, but this is a touchy area and if you flatten it too much it could render the whistle unplayable. Clarks are cheap though so if it were mine, I would probably try it…
I did try flattening it…it wasn’t good. There was a distinct cracking noise that made all who were present wince. A funny trick to do at a whistle party maybe, but…
I’m digging this place. I post a topic and ten minutes later…responses. How lovely. Thank you.
You might try searching for posts about using a flat piece of plastic to tweak whistles. Changing the blade height by adding a piece of plastic could help, or perhaps adding a layer in the windway to narrow it?..
the cracking you hear is the glue, this can easily be fixed w/ a couple of small screws or nails. if you flatten it too much you can always make it wider w/ a screwdriver. it takes some work to make a clarke orig. permanently unplayable.
I decided to go for broke and just flatten it a little. The glue didn’t crack too badly and I was able to do it without dislodging the wood. However, there is no change in the whistle sound. CRUMB!
Thanks for the suggestions (and confidence to tweak )
)