The Oak D whistle that I’ve been playing for ten years suddenly took on a weird, accordion-like sound throughout the second register, after I did the “hot water trick” to break the glue seal and made it tuneable. I performed that task at the same time as with several other whistles, and don’t think that the water was exceptionally hot. This Oak was probably one of the last whistles that I did this to, yet none of the other whistles have the problem.
Does anyone know a solution to this, or know what’s going on that makes this whistle sound this way?
Well, Oaks, like Feadogs, are known for getting the little hairline fractures in the mouthpiece, and the hotter temperature could maybe have aggravated that? I’d check the mouthpiece and see if there’s any small cracks running parallel with the body of the whistle, especially through the windway. I’ve lost at least two Oaks like that.
If your windway is clear and free from scratches, cracks or debris, you may want to re-check the positioning of the whistle head. Oaks, in my experience, are very temperamental and being off by a milimeter will give it that dreadful buzzing noise on the bell note and sometimes in several notes of the upper register.
In regards to tweaking:
The Oak heads are stubborn and often quite difficult to get off of the body (most have a small raised edge around the top of the tube that grips the fipple and it’s a bear to get off). Many make the mistake of making the water hotter to try and get the head off and the fipple gets warped or splits. I have tweaked several Oaks and I’ve found the most effective way to get the head off without damaging the fipple is to put the whistle in the freezer for a few minutes, let it get a little frosty and then dip it into warm (not hot) water, pulling the head off with a rag or washcloth as soon as it comes out of the water. I’ve done this to three Oaks so far and it has not damaged any of them. I still have to pull a little harder than I would with most other whistles (because they are usually only glued on) but it does come off fairly easily using that method.
I think that I do see a crack in the soundblade. At first I thought it might just be a scratch, by it does seem to shift slightly, right where the angle gets steeper and I can imagine it going all the way to the tip (it’s very difficult to determine if it goes all the way).
So I guess it’s time for a new one. I’m glad that Oak is a well established brand. I just hope they haven’t changed the design since the epoch that this one was made.
