Fipple vs body

Whistle
1

Sorry if this has been discussed before (I now live in fear of posting something on the next Most Frequently Asked List) but I didn’t find anything in the archives.

My question is, how much of a whistle’s sound & character comes from the fipple as opposed to the body? I have a Hoover whitecap that came to me on a Frankenwhistle that I never liked, but after trying the fipple on a slightly better body, it improved a lot. If I can just find a good body, will I have a fair approximation of a real Hoover?

In other words, what makes a good whistle? A good fipple, a good body, or both equally?

2

Probably the main effect of the fipple upon the whistle’s sound is how absorbent the material is, and its distance from the top of the windway.

This second issue, is nothing more than a windway dimension issue. There are different schools of thought on fipple material. Some prefer an absorbent wood, that will thus, hopefully, go a little longer without the windway clogging. Others take quite the opposite approach, using non-absorbent materials for the fipple, feeling that absorbent materials will swell and cause problems.

Poststructurally
Reasonable Person
Walden

[ This Message was edited by: Walden on 2003-01-31 12:14 ]

3

On 2003-01-30 14:09, Kar wrote:
…My question is, how much of a whistle’s sound & character comes from the fipple as opposed to the body? I have a Hoover whitecap that came to me on a Frankenwhistle that I never liked, but after trying the fipple on a slightly better body, it improved a lot. If I can just find a good body, will I have a fair approximation of a real Hoover?
In other words, what makes a good whistle? A good fipple, a good body, or both equally?

I’ve always believed that the mouthpc influences the sound and tonal qualities much more than the body. I think though that the barrel thickness and bore diameter affects the whistle’s speed of response to fingering and ornamentation, though I could be wrong.

I asked Mack Hoover to make me whitecap mouthpcs to fit my Gen nickel C and Bb because the original mouthpcs were either cracked or horrible despite tweaking.(I didn’t know he was making whitecaps to fit Gen-type D barrels only, so he had to do some experimentation to come up with my mouthpcs)

The difference between having whitecap mouthpcs on the barrels and having the original Gen blue mouthpcs on is amazing. With the whitecap, you get a completely pure clean sound. No chiff. Don’t know if you remember the sound analysis readings someone posted some time back for diff whistle makes, but now I understand why the Hoover’s readings showed it to be one of the most pure, with hardly any extraneous sound for each note.

Response is still fast, but when you ornament you don’t get the pops and “glug” sounds you do with a Gen mouthpc (which I like for trad stuff).

I’ve always thought Gen barrels were pretty good, esp the nickel ones, so they’re a good choice for your whitecap.

Note however that because each whitecap is handmade, there was some variation in the 3 Mack made for me.

2 were louder and easier playing, with more “push” possible. 1 was a bit soft and I felt the blade/labium was a bit uneven which affected the airflow and made the whistle soft and oversensitive to blowing. I tweaked that soft mouthpc by scraping a bit of material off from one side of the blade/labium and it’s louder and less sensitive now.

So now I have a very pure Bb, and a choice of pure, loud C or pure/softer C.

4

Well, this is EXACTLY the info I wanted! So, if I have a Hoover D whitecap (which I think I must because it seems to fit other D bodies), I can get a Gen D, and it will fit and give me a nice whistle? I’m so excited!

Thanks for the information!

5

tuaz

Who did you have make those fipples for you? And how do I get in contact with them? I have a similar problem with my nickel Generation B flat despite the constant tweaking.

6

On 2003-02-03 13:41, Kar wrote:
…So, if I have a Hoover D whitecap (which I think I must because it seems to fit other D bodies), I can get a Gen D, and it will fit and give me a nice whistle?..

If you were happy with the type of tone/sound and volume you were getting with your whitecap previously. Like I said, they are very pure. If you like the Gen sound, you may not like the lack of chiff. Secondly, there were variations in each mouthpc, and I had to tweak one of the 3 I got. Thirdly, they may be slightly softer than what you’re used to, though the purity does help focus the note.

That said, I like the mouthpcs I got - they give me a diff option from my DIxons and the Gens.

Michael, the maker is Mack Hoover. Note that his Bb Gen mouthpc replacement is still experimental (I was his first guinea pig) and he’s still working on the process, so what you get may still be handmade looking, and volume, tonal and sound quality may vary from mine.
He accepts only a fixed no. of orders every month (to avoid backlog), and if you miss the cut, you have to re-order the next month.

http://home.attbi.com/~mackhoover/

[ This Message was edited by: tuaz on 2003-02-03 19:06 ]

7

I use both wood and metal fipples in my whistles, including solid brass. The determining factor, as far as I can determine, has little or nothing to do with the actual material of the fipple, and much to do with the openings (width, length), blade, angles, and smoothness.

The fipple is nothing but a plug with an airway cut to direct the breath at the blade across the window. Hollowing or otherwise shaping the fipple can have an effect on tuning, but little, if anything, else.

There is apparently some mystique to whistle making, possibly unwittingly propagated by some of us whistlesmiths, but really, gang, it all boils down to fairly elementary physics, and irregularities of material and finish. The final determinant in whether a (playable) whistle is any good or not, is you, the player. I own a Gen B-flat which sounds utterly horrid when I play it, but sings like an angel when my lovely lady does. Same instrument, totally different sounds.
Capiche?
serpent
~*~ :wink: Serpie-Pie

8

I assumed by “fipple” that Kar the original poster meant “mouthpiece”.

And a playable whistle obviously sounds better in the hands of a better player. But there are diff levels of “playable”. I have a great Gen C and a horrible Gen C. I know the difference firsthand. I wouldn’t trade my great Gen C away for anything. But hey, if I can get a better mouthpc for the horrible one, why not?

9

I thought that “fipple” and “mouthpiece” were the same thing. Am I just horribly ignorant? Can someone enlighten me?

Gee, I hope I know what chiff is!

10

My understanding is that the fipple is the block inside the mouthpiece under the windway.

If I’m mistaken, someone please correct me.

Best wishes,
Jerry

P.S. As previously discussed, chiff is any of a variety of items that might be stored in a chifforobe or chiffonier.

11

I’ve interchanged fipples/heads/mouthpieces w/ different tubes/bodies and found that the tone (hollowness, whistle vs recorder tone) is affected by the tube, and breathiness/purity is the mouthpiece.

The O’Riordan high d mouthpiece fits on a wood and aluminum tube and on a Generation D tube. The breathiness (total lack) obviously stays the same, but the tone changes a lot. On the wood tube, it’s more of a recorderish tone, less so on the aluminum, then more Generation sounding on the Gen tube.
Tony

12

On 2003-02-04 14:52, Jerry Freeman wrote:
My understanding is that the fipple is the block inside the mouthpiece under the windway.

If I’m mistaken, someone please correct me.

You are absolutely correct.

13

On 2003-02-04 14:52, Jerry Freeman wrote:
My understanding is that the fipple is the block inside the mouthpiece under the windway.

That’s what I thought. I tried to start a thread entitled “What is a fipple?” but it wasn’t taken very seriously, since at that time there were whimsical “What is _____?” posts all over the place.

[ This Message was edited by: Ridseard on 2003-02-04 16:10 ]

14

I was able to find “fipple” in my Webster’s unabridged dictionary. “Chiff” isn’t in there.

Best wishes,
Jerry

I guess that would mean that my dictionary has more of a pure musical sound, without much breathiness, pop or squeak.