"Every" whistle tour

Whistle
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This is the first review I have written. So for what it is worth:

I have had the Every whistle for 1 week now. I will send it off to the next person on the list Peri Holguin.

The whistle is nicely made. All the edges are champhered, and smooth. The tone holes are clean with no bits of plastic hanging in the bore.
The body has had the cvpvc markings removed. The tuning slide is quite stiff, so it stays put but it adjusts when you want it to.
It is a fun whistle to play, responsive, in tune and the Hi C is not shrill. It’s tone is clear.
The window adjusting ring works very well, you can cut the volume of the whistle from full volume to almost nothing by rotating the ring so it changes the width of the window. The tone gets slightly more airy, as the window is reduced in size, and the tuning stays true. I really like the adjusting ring. It is a great idea.
A very nice well made whistle, that sounds great, with a slick innovation (the adjusting ring), at a very reasonable price.

22

I have also shipped the tour whistle to the next on my list (I forgot who) and agree with the above post.

My favorite sound was approx 1/4 mabe a little less windway exopsed. It sounds like my beloved Clarke Original design but with a little bit louder sound, esp in the 2nd octave. The bottom D was nice and chiffy.

The whistle tends to go flatter as windway is reduced and the tuning slide was pretty tight, especially for these weak, old hands, but it sharpened to pitch with some effort. I resisted my urge to take a bit of 1000 grit sandpaper to it! :smiling_imp:

I wanted to check it against my drones on my pipes but a spell of bad health (I lost 2 days playing on it) and the tempus fugit. I like my whistles tuned just intonation, but I think the whistle can be blown into tune with some practice. Each whistle has it’s character.

I didn’t get an opportunity to play it with anyone else while I had it which I regret. I would have loved to known how it cut through in a jam with my tuning.

My top hand thumb wanted to rest right in the crease of the tuning slide, I would have to learn a different hand position.

I have another whistle under consideration (to replace one that I lost this spring) and I can’t make up my mind. :boggle:

23

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Sorry to hear about your health fancypiper. That would qualify as a reason to hang on to it a bit if desired. Future tour members please take note. El Grippe counts as an official time out.

I prefer to leave the tuning slide tight so it can by loosened up to suit the owners preference with your suggested 1000 grit sandpaper. Steel wool works as well. I like mine tight, as I don’t change it very often. Also, with age and use they loosen up some.

The tuning of your personal whistle can likewise be adjusted with a bit of scraping inside the holes with an Exacto knife or similar. Or sanding with a rolled up bit of sandpaper. (See Guido’s Low Tech Whistle instructions.) Work on the underside of the holes first. I have done this to the whistles I play but in order to keep the price down I don’t give the production whistles the fine-tune treatment. Variation in manufacture of the whistle and/or the varying diameter of the original pipe makes each whistle unique. On the Every whistle page of the web site are tips for fine tuning.

Oh, just a couple hours ago I hit upon an idea to remove some of the variation in the placement and sizing of the finger holes. It’s pretty minimal as it is now, but I should get zero drift if this idea works out.

Keep the cards and letters coming folks! I love hearing your thoughts.

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Carey, What PVC piping do you use?

I have some tubing but it is much thicker than what the Every Whistle uses.

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The Every whistle is 1/2 inch CPVC, a type of PVC that softens at a temperature higher than PVC. I find it at the big box home stores. Oh, it is schedule 40. A schedule 40 PVC would be thicker. And for some strange reason, 1/2 inch PVC is also a lot bigger in ID and OD than 1/2 inch CPVC. I’m sure there’s a reason both are called 1/2 inch. Anyone?

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REVIEW - the EveryWhistle from Parks Whistles
http://www.parkswhistles.com/
CPVC - tunable
Key of D
$29.95

This nice looking little chunk of plumbing may be called the ‘EveryWhistle’, but this is definitely not your average whistle!

The tone and construction are nice enough, certainly, with smooth sound holes and edges (though there is a tiny bit of roughness on this particular one at the top of the fipple plug, which a moment with fine sandpaper would easily fix, and is not enough for me to actually complain about). The logo and key letter are cleanly burned on the front - nice touch. The two pieces of the body are both numbered on the back. The tuning is very good, with a slide that is quite snug yet adjustable. When in tune, the spacing is a wide 7/16ths of an inch.

The thing that sets this little gem apart is in a little ring of material that sits just below the fipple. Wow! What an extraordinary idea! Just a short bit of the same pipe the fipple is made from, cut to the same width and depth as the windway. It lets you mute the whistle effortlessly, by simply twisting it to narrow the windway, a little or a lot, and if you take the time to experiment, you can adjust the tone by sliding it down off the windway, or keep it in place. (I preferred it in place) Simple as can be, yet incredibly flexible in use, it allows you to go from nicely loud (though not shrill) to quiet as a mouse, yet still hold tuning (does require sharping a bit if you are playing with others) and play in the same manner you normally would, facilitating practice that isn’t compromised by trying to keep from irritating the neighbors into a lawsuit, or for keeping out of the way at a session.

My favorite whistle for practicing at home is my non-tunable WaterWeasel, which I would only wish different in one way – that it were tunable. It is slightly sharp, and that makes it impossible to play out with others, though it works well with most recordings.

The Parks EveryWhistle is quite similar in appearance - the body is nearly identical, but the windway blade is cut shallower. The fipple is wider than the whistle body on the EveryWhistle, and made from white pipe, contrasting with the ivory of the body. The tone holes are spaced a tad more widely, and the fipple opening is very slightly deeper, yet narrower on the EW.

With the tone ring set at the top of the whistle body, and the windway fully open, the tone is very similar to the WaterWeasel, though the upper octave is a tiny bit airy-er, and the bell note is not quite as strong.

Given the tune-ability, and the mute function, I would say this is one excellent whistle for the price.

I like this whistle very much!! I look forward to trying it at session next week. I will update this review then.

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:smiley: :smiley: :smiley: Thanks Annie!

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UPDATE:
I took the Parks EveryWhistle to our session last night and let a couple of other whistlers give it a go. One loved it as much as I do, and the other one didn’t think it was what she wanted, as she had trouble hearing herself with it. (no, I don’t think she had the mute ring in operation). So, counting my neighbor, who has tried to make off with this one, of the four people here at my end that have tried it, that’s three thumbs, way, way up!

I must reiterate that this mute ring is the best thing since whole wheat toast! My daughter hasn’t whined or thrown anything at me while I’m practicing since this whistle got here!!! I’m going to have a very hard time passing it on!!

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Annie just told me she will get her whistle in the mail very soon.

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Only because Carey has promised that I can buy one of the next batch. I really hate letting this thing out of my hands. It is seriously the most I’ve been able to practice without my daughter cringing and whining. And i can play it in the car without threats of violence.

31

The whistle went out today. I washed it well before packaging, but since I am now down sick with the icky flu-cold-yuck, I suggest an alcohol rinse before using it.

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Just a reminder to our viewers who may have just joined us: (This has been covered in another thread) Please be aware of the damage a whistle would do to your body should your car be struck by another vehicle while you are playing. I assume your car would be stopped when you are playing, but be sure you are at no significant risk of collision from other traffic. Choose your times and places carefully, then have some tunes!

Carey

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Not playing it while I’m driving, BTW, but I get your drift… yes, if we were involved in an accident, I would likely really regret that little practice session… I tend to pay a lot of attention to traffic, driving or passenger, and I definitely don’t play when there is heavy traffic… I’ll try to give more thought to what the risk is…

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I used to assume I was safe at long lights or train crossings, but then thought about what if one of the other cars did something (like answer their cell phone) and not get stopped in time. Pop goes the air bag. So I tend to only play when parked in a lop, but even then sit I sideways a little to avoid the air bag and I watch traffic and stop when someone is aimed at me. But life is full of risk/reward tradeoffs. Each must decide the balance for themselves. There’s probably a low risk of anything happening, but the result makes me wince. And I was happily rock climbing hundreds of feet in the air until I moved to Florida. Go figure.

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Ah, but rock climbing is all about control. Placing proper protection, anchors, choosing a reliable belayer. You decide when you want to run it out. And there’s not much other people can do to hurt you except to drop a rock on you.

I have had many more close calls in traffic than when climbing. :slight_smile:

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Hate to get this thread back “on topic” but what happened to the ‘whistle 1’ tour? Does Peri have the whistle? Is it lost in the mail?

Translation … I’m waiting not so patiently for my turn at this whistle! Annie’s reviews are about to drive me nuts … :wink:

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My work here is done. :smiley:

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I mailed the Whistle tour #1 whistle off on the 9th or 10 of this month. So hopefully Peri has it now.

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I feel that even as passenger, playing in the car is risky. But here’s a trick. I use about 9" to 12" of soft clear plastic hose, available in various diameters at the hardware store. I stick the whistle into it and play. Because the whistle is now down lower, if the bag deploys the worst that will be some lost teeth or bruising to the chin due to the hose in my mouth. It also means that people going by don’t see the whistle.

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I got an e-mail from Peri on 13-Nov reporting she recieved the whistle. But I’ve heard nothing since. Do you suppose she could have taken the whistle and gone to Mexico? :astonished: