Hello to all!
I have a Feadog D whistle.
It is real easy to play.
But it sounds really bad!
It sounds real harsh & the notes squalk ( is that a word?)
Is there anything that I can do to help this whistle?
Thanks for your help!!!
I have bad news and good news.
The bad news is that its a Feadog.
The good news is that replacements are cheap.
Seriously, I have never been happy with the two I have. They’re next on my “get-rid-of-via-eBay” list.
Don’t listen to Chuck, that old frump. Feadogs are great, most of them anyway.
First, how old is the Feadog? If you bought it in the last year or so, that’s good. Look if the ramp (slope leading up from the blade) is flat or has a hump. If it’s flat it’s what nerds like me call a Feadog Mk III. You want a Mk III.
Now, here’s what you do. Take your Feadog. Then go read a Shakespeare sonnet. I’d recommend Sonnet LIV on a cool Thursday, but take your pick. After you’re done reading the sonnet, pull the whistle head off the whistle. Twist and tuck. If it’s not a Mk III, you may need to stick the whistle head into hot water for bit, but let’s assume it’s a Mk III for now: they aren’t glued on.
Look in there. Cool, eh. Take an exacto knife and clear any little bits of plastic you see away, burrs as we call them. If you want to, you can put blu tac in the cavity under the windway, but lets not worry about that for now.
But the head back on the whistle. Push it all the way back in. All the way. And then pull it out again about 1/4 inch.
Next take a bit of emory board cut narrow, or a bit of extra fine sandpaper and dull the fipple blade. get underneath it, and make is smooth. Don’t take too much off it, but don’t be shy either.
Next, if you are up for it, bevel the lower lip of the windway where it exits into the winday a bit. Just a bit. Use a sharp knife (exacto).
That should make things much better. Let us know how you liked the sonnet when you’re done.
If that doesn’t help much, get yourself a red Tortex Dunlap guitar pic. Cut a piece the width of the windway and 1/4 inch deep. Take a tiny (I mean tiny) amount of superglue, and balancing the bit of pic on the pointed tip or your exacto knife (or somesuch suitable instrument), glue the guitar pick just inside the windway, on the mouth end of it.
Then call up Chuck Clark and play him a tune.
And if you round the blade off too much, and end up making it worse, don’t panic. Instead, buy a Walton’s Little Black Whistle and take the mouthpiece off. Put the mouthpiece on the Feadog. Instant perfect cheap whistle…
True, true. Just be careful not to install the Walton LBW head without first reading a poem by John Donne. That’s vital. I usually recommend Love’s Exchange on these occasions.
LOVE, any devil else but you
Would for a given soul give something too.
…
If it plays good, don’t mess with it. Feadogs just naturally have that harsh, squawky, “traditional” sound. If you want it to sound better, go play it in the bathroom. Please don’t put an LBW head on it.
another option is to contact mack hoover and purchase one of his white caps. i love my white cap on a feadog body. the difference is quite dramatic.
Hi everybody!
I bought a Feadog whistle just yesterday, and as mentioned, its not that hard to play. However I am having difficulties reaching some of the higher notes. Anything above a high D or E sounds, quite frankly, like a steam train about to explode…any tips on how I can improve my technique?
Oh, and can anybody recommend a site where I can get (hopefully free) sheet music for a Feadog? I want to learn reels and thing, if I can ever get my timing right…
Welcome,
I have found a site that has sound files & sheet music for alot of tunes.
There is no charge.
Click on the name of the tune & sheet music for the tune appears.
Save the sheet music as a picture, then you can print it if you need to.
The site is: http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/
I hope that this helps!!!
I have two different model feadogs, and coincidentally one sucks and the other is terrific. And, BTW, I 'd strongly recommend Yeats…
PhilO
Thanks Tresach! I’ll look there in a minute.
I found some sheet music on the Chiff and Fipple site too, in the Tune of the Month…this site is too big to look at in one sitting 