Being between jobs right now, I have to be a little more frugal that I like to be, which brings up this question.
Having whistles in the $25 or less price range, and just now finding a crack on the bottom of one and having just a bad fipple on another whistle ive really started to wonder which way to go on this. My cracked one, I just applied some gorilla glue along the crack to keep it from possibly getting worse. So thats not an issue right now. But now I have to wonder with a bad fipple on my Feadog and a cracked fipple on my Acorn, should I just cut my losses?
Unfortunately, its just about impossible to find fipples alone for $25 and under whistles. I know Mack Hoover sells the whitecap whistle, but unfortunately its $30 + S&H just for one fipple. You would think you could just buy a fipple from any place that sells whistles for say $3 and shipping, but apparently you cant. True, I can just go out and buy a new Acorn and Feadog, but then what do I do with the old ones?
I really like my budget whistles, they all play great and id hate to just toss out nice whsitles (bodies) just because of a bad fipple. Is there someplace that im not aware of where I can get a basic fipple for just a few bucks to replace the bad fipples and bring those whistles back to life?
The whsitles are not damaged. I keep my whistles in excellent condition. The Feadog fipple was just bad from the start, even with basic tweaking. As for the Acorn one, fipples are plastic, so its not uncommon for them to potentially start to crack after so many years.
While I’d also like to know where you could buy them in Europe, something like $20 shipping for a $4 mouthpiece of a $8 whistle would be a bit, um, unreasonable. I’ve tweaked quite a few whistles to death, and now I’ve got a bunch of tubes without mouthpieces…
I forgot about The Whistle Shop. The Waltons mouthpiece would be the one id need. With the exception of my Clarke/Sweetones and Dixon Trad, all my whistles are the standard 1/2" diameter bore. Sadly though, while $3.99 is a great price, Shipping is $7.25.
Oh yes, that doesn’t make much sense. Maybe you could contact them and ask for another shipping option than the auto-generated one, especially regarding super small items…? For example, my favourite whistle shop just puts whistles that fit (i.e. key of <= C) in a jiffy bag to reduce postage.
Additionally they can declare it as “merchandise shipping”, so that it it much cheaper, but not being tracked and slightly slower - don’t know if there’s an equivalent option in the US over there?
Many cracks in whistle heads can be repaired. If the crack is at the tube socket you can usually let some CA glue soak into the crack after removing the head. Then wrap the outside with a strip of good packing tape or lash some thread around it to keep it from spreading again.
Gorilla Glue is now a brand name for a line of adhesive products so that does little to describe the type of glue you used. The original Gorilla Glue was a polyurethane glue. That particular glue is not a good type of glue to use in my experience. It has a property where it foams up and chases after moisture where it is applied. That can be really disastrous when working on a whistle head if it has any moisture left in it from playing. I should know. I found that out the hard way when once fixing a loose plug. There was no windway left after a short time. So work smart.
What’s the issue with the Feadog? You can always do a blade replacement on it and re-voice it for an investment of next to nothing.
And you can always make your own replacement heads. All it takes is some CPVC pipe, a dowel, some sand paper, maybe a needle file, some time and a fair amount of patience.
Another option would be to check with Mack Hoover. He makes heads for whistles and might have/make some for yours. Don’t know the prices off-hand but you could check his web site if this option interests you.
Skyclad has a point, though. It would be nice to be able to purchase 1/2 inch heads (and tubes) separately as easily as the whistles themselves. And the head price should be far less than the complete whistle. It’s a bit of plastic, and I’m sure the design and molding costs were amortized a long, long time ago.
A Gen-type head weighs around 1/5 ounce (~6 grams). So, according to the USPS online calculator, the First class postage for 2~3 whistle heads in a jiffy envelope should cost a grand total of $0.66.
Keep in mind my rule of thumb that the head contributes roughly 2/3 of the overall timbre. So if you use a Waltons replacement head, the result will sound mostly like a Waltons whistle. Which may or may not be what you want. Personally, I find the Waltons heads OK but rather lifeless.
It was part of a starter pack (book, CD, whsitle) and It just came bad that way. Could only play about half the notes without either breaking up notes while playing them, or just not playing them at all - regardless of breath control. At first I figured adjusting the mouthpiece and very light sanding of the blade would help to keep the notes in balance. Sadly that didn’t happen at all.
I don’t understand why this option isn’t available with most whistle shops
Unfortunately with whistle shops that do sell the mouthpieces don’t ship that way.
I agree. I have the Waltons Little Black Whistle, and it is a nice budget whistle. But I don’t know if its the mouthpiece or the material of the body that makes it sound dry and lifeless. I’m assuming its a combination of the both. I do agree though, I believe it would sound like a Waltons. An Oak, Acorn or Generation head would be nice for it I think.
Three out of my four red-top Generations developed cracks in the head, always at the body end, and since they sounded fine, I just taped them up, without bothering with gluing, to stop the cracks widening. More than a decade later, they still sound the same - actually, they sound better, but that’s probably because I’m a better player (not that that’s saying much).
The crack you’ve encountered is the common failure of this type of whistlehead. When it happens, I prefer to repair, rather than replace them. I use method two in these instructions to bind the socket with polyester thread:
Then I lacquer the binding with clear fingernail polish. The thread I use comes from Wal-Mart. It’s Coats and Clark “outdoor UV resistant 100% polyester” thread on a 200 yard cone (not spool). I’ve tried many different threads for this, but most of them fuzz when you apply the lacquer. This thread works perfectly, doesn’t fuzz, makes a repair much stronger than new.
Coats and Clark “outdoor UV resistant 100% polyester” thread on a 200 yard cone (not spool). I’ve tried many different threads for this, but most of them fuzz when you apply the lacquer. This thread works perfectly,
… as does dacron fishing line (braid), if you happen to have some to hand. I’ve whipped and repaired both plastic and wooden instruments with a length of line straight off the fishing reel (give it a rinse to wash out the salt). Once it’s laquered (probably not necessary, but it looks “nice”) the repair is virtually bomb-proof
So work smart.
