I was just looking closely at my new (maybe two weeks old) Clarke Sweet Tone Celtic (Jerry Freeman tweaked) and I noticed a lengthwise crack in the fipple, maybe an inch or so long vertically, running at a slight angle from a point on the bottom near the seam. It does not seem to affect the sound, in fact, playing this whistle for an hour or more a day seems to have done wonders for my playing. I can hit all the notes I’ve learned so far in my Ochs book, and the songs I’m playing sound pretty good, to my amateur ear. I can even switch over to my Feadog Pro and get a decent sound all the way up, and I owe it all to this little Celtic whistle with the crack in the fipple.
Question is, do I tape the fipple and forget the crack, or should I send it back? I will miss it while it’s gone, that’s for sure. I really love that little whistle.
There are very real disadvantages to reading this forum daily. I wouldn’t have known about Jerry Freeman tweaks, or the Feadog (which I love) or so many more things if it weren’t for you folks. Of course, I also wouldn’t have a five-whistle collection, which is threatening to grow larger. I also wouldn’t have knitted a bag to hold the whistles…sort of a sweater to keep the whistles snug.
Thanks, folks. Don’t know who I’d go to for questions if not for you.
Abby, lost in the wilds of Arkansas, longing for the hills of Virginia and Ireland
Abby,
Send Jerry a PM and see what he suggests. Jerry is a great guy and stands completely behind each whistle he tweaks / makes. 5 whistles? Yer just getting started Lass? Enjoy the ride!
Longing for Ireland? Who could fault a girl for that?
I’ve seen at least six messages about cracked fipples on Clarkes’ Sweeton/Meg/Celtic whistles on our local messageboard within last 2-3 months. It seems it is the fipple material issue - people say it cracks with no reason.
Interesting. I wonder if the problem is relatively new. I’ve moved, removed and replaced the heads of my 10-year old Sweetones a number of times, even with the tricky back seam. And no sign of a crack. Maybe the material has changed?
My Freeman-tweaked Bb gen has cracked on the top of the fipple where it fits over the tube and up to the blade. I’ve now glued the fipple onto the tube to stop it getting worse, the tone is unaffected and it’s in tune. I didn’t want to trouble Jerry with it - it’d probably cost me more in import duty to the uk.
I hope it’s not permanent glue. There’s no need to make your whistle untuneable. A few tight windings of electrician’s tape around the collar of the head may be enough to stabilize it. Or for a fancier job, the wound thread reinforcement. I think Jerry himself has posted a fairly detailed description of the thread fix somewhere on the board.
Yes, it seems to be the case. Sweetons are the most widespread beginners whistles here but I never heard about their fipple crack before. But cracking with no reason suddenly became suspiciously frequent. I thought at first it was due to seasonal temperature change - some plastics tend to crack or become fragile in the frost. But people report they hadn’t taken their whistles out. So it seems to be fipple plastic which is not flexible enough.
Big thanks to Jim Freeman and to The Whistle Shop. I heard from both of them very quickly, and the cracked part is being replaced. Can’t wait for pay day so I can order from them again. My collection is growing rapidly.
It’s good you got it sorted I know I felt bad (at the time I had no spare) when I cracked the fipple on my Clarke Sweetone within the first few weeks. It happened when I inadvertently applied too much pressure to the fipple window while holding the whistle to flick a drool blockage clear. Some amalgamating tape fixed it and I’ve had no issues since. The Clarke Sweetone is still the first whistle I lift when I practice as it’s the quietest of my whistles and it’s great for initial practice or starting to learn a new tune.
Now we’ve got that sorted, I’ll point out that “Crack in the Fipple” would make a great name for an Irish tune or an Irish Band. “Craic in the Fipple” might be a better name for the band, however.
I know I felt bad (at the time I had no spare) when I cracked the fipple on my Clarke Sweetone within the first few weeks. It happened when I inadvertently applied too much pressure to the fipple window while holding the whistle to flick a drool blockage clear. Some amalgamating tape fixed it and I’ve had no issues since. The Clarke Sweetone is still the first whistle I lift when I practice as it’s the quietest of my whistles and it’s great for initial practice or starting to learn a new tune.