Just want to say firstly, what a great resource this site is. I’m new to the whole game, though I’ve been into folk and Irish music for sometime, come from a guitar/ percussion background. Something about the tin whistle though. There’s magic in it.
I ordered a Freeman tweaked Mellow Dog in D from the Whistle Shop, and couldn’t wait so I went to a local folk shop to pick up something else so I could get going. Lo and behold, they sold Freeman’s there, but literally every whistle they had had a cracked Fipple, some worse than others. I didn’t realize till I got home, returned it, and bought an Oak in D. They took them all off the shelf. I thought it might have been something with the store’s selection, but mine arrived by mail today, and same thing. The crack hasn’t gone all the way down from the sound hole, but it’s on its way.
Is this a normal side-effect of “tweaking” on all the Freeman whistles? I noticed some of them have thread wrapping… Or is this a defect, a returnable one, a (worthwhile) quick fix? And if so, what’s the best way?
Does this adversely affect the sound? I’m such newbie, I can’t tell, but I’m not approaching the whistle with a gear-head mentality. I’m after the challenge, the simplicity, and never-ending complexity. I’m not above electrical tape, I just want to know I’m learning on a decent, reliable instrument.
I have blackbirds in C, D, and Eb, and I have a bluebird in D. None of them are cracked. I did get them quite some time ago, though. Maybe around 2 years ago, I’m not sure. Unless something has changed, no, it isn’t such a common thing that they should all be that way.
However, I have noticed plastic-headed whistles have a tendency towards cracking in general. I see a lot of pictures people took of their old generations with something wrapped around where the head connects to the body.
I am not sure exactly what you are describing, but that area where the body plugs into the head often cracks on plastic whistles, I believe. However, I have all keys of generations, 2 of the Bb gens, a feadog, and those 4 freemans. The only one of any of those whistles that developed a crack was the brass generation Bb (non-tweaked), and that whistle was left in my car during blizzards, heat waves, etc. It has stayed in my car for at least a year without ever leaving, probably had stuff put on top of it frequently, fell on the floor lots when coming to abrupt stops, etc. That likely contributed. I fixed it with electrical tape wrapped around that area, and it works fine!
So, I think perhaps it might be more of an issue with plastic headed whistles in general, rather than specifically freemans. However, at least in my experience, it isn’t so common that they should all be that way. That seems rather strange. Has the weather there been extreme lately? Maybe that caused it. Maybe the store possibly had tons of freemans, and the cracked ones simply weren’t bought, so that was all that was remaining.
Hey Adam,
Both the Whistle Shop and Jerry Freeman are good folks to deal with.
I believe that if you’re not happy and contact them, they will make it right.
Haven’t experienced anything like that on any of my Freeman-tweaked whistles and from all of his whistles I’ve seen, Jerry’s certainly fit the “decent, reliable instrument” category. I often recommend them to beginners just because they have been individually examined and tweaked rather than coming out of a factory production run.
Jerry should be along soon and can speak to the issue himself and, as Maki says, always stands behind his product and is easy to work with.
Might be helpful to have a better description as to the location and orientation of the crack.
Some come with string wrapped around the bottom of the head for reinforcement. This does not affect how the whistle works. A cracked head should be wrapped to reinforce it. Cracks occur with that design of head. Jerry will make it right. I have two of his whistles with string wraps. They are fine with me. I have a 40 year old Generation with a wrapped head too. The whistle shop should return the whistles to be wrapped if the cracks happened after delivery.
I recently got a tweaked C from Jerry and asked him about the wrapping. He told me he cracks them on purpose (I think he said he does it with acetone) and then wraps and epoxies the threads. This allows tuning. Not sure about “unwrapped” ones, though. He’s a regular here so maybe you’ll get a definitive answer.
I have about 30 plastic head whistles, including 3 Freemans and have gifted another 2 Freemans and not a crack in the bunch. I’m funny about cracks; when I get a whistle that’s new (to me) I do mind taping it or whatever and like it to be in sound (no pun intended) condition, period.
Hi Adam.
Can you tell us what styles and keys of whistles you have? As mentioned by others, Jerry does purposefully crack some of his whistle heads in order to get them off. Those ones get the wrapping, which makes it just as strong as ever and are supposed to be that way. I know for sure the tweaked Generation C is one of those and I believe there is one other key of tweaked Generation that also gets the treatment, if not more. Whistle heads without the wrapping should have no cracks in them.
It would also help if you could post some pictures of the cracks so we can see if they’re the type you’d expect (which are perfectly stable) or something that may have happened somewhere between Jerry and you. Either way, I’m sure you’ll get this figured out and end up with something you’re happy with. Every whistle maker (and tweaker) I’ve met has been a wonder person who will stand behind their work and go out of the way to set things right.
Welcome to the forum and enjoy the instrument.
Edit: For reference, here’s my tweaked Generation C with the crack and wrapping visible. This is how it’s supposed to be and I’ve had no problems in the few years I’ve owned it. I don’t play it as often as my tweaked D but it gets a fair share of playing and holds up well. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/824/99z0.jpg/
I recently purchased a Bluebird from The Whistle Shop and the fipple was cracked in the front. I sent it back and received another one. There was a smaller crack in the front but not too significant, so I kept the whistle and used electrical tape in hopes of preventing the crack from getting bigger.
Hello Adam,
Welcome to the forum, good bunch here. As many have stated Jerry Freeman is a great guy and stands firm behind his products. I own several of his tweaked whistles and none have developed cracks in the plastic fipple heads. I do own a Feadog (my first whistle that I bought whilenin Ireland) and that developed a crack. I don’t live very far from Jerry and while Inwas visiting him to purchase some of his tweaked whistles, he was kind enough to repair my Feadog for me (better than when new).
I would not hesitate to purchase nor recommend any of Jerry Freeman’s fine tweaks. I often advise those seeking a reasonable priced introductory whistle for those seeking to give it a whirl, to seriously consider Freeman Whistles as a good choice.
I will need to know what store you’re talking about.
Also, it’s odd that someone would find cracks on EVERY whistle. I would need to see all those whistles to determine if the joining line that’s present along the top of every whistlehead (where the molten plastic meets at the opposite side from where it enters the mold and flows together during the molding process) is being misinterpreted as a crack. I’m a little concerned to know what’s really going on here.
Generation whistleheads are prone to cracking. This is not a fault of the tweaking process, it’s just a fact of life. Whenever anyone reports a cracked tweaked Generation whistlehead, I will repair it, rather than replace it, because a new, replacement Generation whistlehead is still just as prone to cracking. One that I’ve properly reinforced will be stronger than any new whistlehead.
Sadly, many legendary Irish musicians have discarded their old, cherished Generation whistles after they eventually cracked. A Freeman tweaked whistlehead that I’ve reinforced will not crack in a hundred years.
In the last few months, I’ve encountered a few cracked Blackbird and Mellow Dog whistleheads. These are Feadog whistleheads that I’ve reconfigured for the Blackbird and Mellow Dog voicings. It’s been my experience that Feadog whistleheads almost never crack. That suggests that a batch of them was run at the factory with the mold temperature slightly too cool, and the joining line was not as strong as it should have been.
In any case, I will always service any whistle of mine, no matter how old or where it was purchased. If anyone has cracked Freeman whistleheads that need taking care of, please let me know.
Well, I’m another who has dealt with Jerry for years and can state without reservation that he stands behind his instruments.
If you want to take a crack (pun intended) at a solid self-repair, you might take the preventative steps I do with all plastic headed instruments as soon as I get them home.
I take either filament packaging tape or nylon/fluorocarbon fishing line (whip finish the fishing line) and wrap a single layer about 1/4" - 3/8" wide around the head where it slips over the tube, then I use two applications of clear fingernail polish over the top of that to seal it. I think Jerry does something similar with the Gen C right from the start if you want an example. I’ve never had a problem with cracking.
If you’d like a visual of this - pm me. It’s pretty easy, unobtrusive and permanent.
I use method 2 in the instructions linked to above, then I lacquer the binding with clear fingernail polish. I’ve found that some thread will fuzz when you lacquer it. At WalMart, you can buy Coats & Clark 100% polyester “outdoor UV protected” thread, which will not fuzz. This comes on 200 yd. cones, not spools.
I’ve found that many plastic heads will develop cracks as they’re twisted to be made tunable, that goes for stock whistles and tweaked whistles. I just tape it up and forget about it. I think the tape adds character.
Wow, thanks for all the excellent and timely responses, I truly appreciate it. Hopefully I’ll be able to help out one of these days…
Jerry, the shop was Appalachian Bluegrass in Catonsville, MD (near Baltimore). I dealt with Tim, and he is a real stand-up guy as well. I’d send you a picture of the crack, but it is in the same place as this one: http://forums.chiffandfipple.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29823&start=0
Mine has not fractured the entire way, about half. It looks like there is a quality control issue on the Feadog end, as most of their whistles at App. Bluegrass had the same problem.
Maybe it does have something to do with the crazy weather we had this year in the Northeast, cold and dry, mild and rainy, and the expansion/ contraction of the brass. Who knows?
I absolutely love the whistle though. Easy to play and sweet-sounding, makes me want to pick it up and play, which is the whole point. I’ll try the fix and get back to you. I’m all for using some glue, tape, thread. It can double as a bludgeon.
I haven’t tried to tune or move the head. Right now I have the Mellow Dog-D, Oak-D, and a Generation-G. My playing is too rough right now to tell much of a difference one way or the other, and I’m more focused on technique right now.
Thanks again all. Really wonderful forum. Take care and I’ll let you know how it goes.
I bought a bluebird last week and it has a crack down the back. I’ve been playing my 30-year old generation and thought it was time for a new whistle. I know nothing about tweaked whistles but on a whim ordered one of Jerry’s. I googled “cracked fipples on tweaked whistles” and it brought me here.
I’ve already contacted the vendor and am waiting to hear back. I find the crack disconcerting, especially because it seems to be lengthening.
However I am very happy with the tone of the whistle which is lovely.
PS, this whistle has a brass band around the base of the fipple.
I’ve a black bird with a crack … but it’s my fault!!! I always tuck it in my inside coat pocket. On occasion it has managed to slip out and fall on the ground. I cracked it at a hockey arena … bent over to tie a shoe and whoosh, out it slides, takes a bounce, pings off a steel railing and down a flight of concrete stairs!! No problem … a bit of tape over the crack and the use of a rod to get the dings out of the end … good as new! If you ding the end of a whistle just stick a rod or a screw driver down the tube and swirl it around and pull out the dings.
Still sounds awesome and has some character. Whistles are tough … don’t sweat it.
Took a look at my Bluebird whistle and sure enough it has a crack right up the side of the fipple almost to the window. It’s a pretty good whistle and presently one of my main players. One thing I’d noticed right off was that the head was extremely tight on the body. Guess I’ll just put a nylon thread wrap on it. I’ve put wraps on a couple of old plastic fipples that I inadvertantly cracked, and also on the barrel of one of my flutes.
I used to build flyrods many years ago and I use the same thread wrap technique on the whistles & flute as I used to wrap the guides on a flyrod.
