I have long wondered about the art of “tweaking” fipples - especiall after applying the final solution to a number of whistles - (luckily only cheap ones). Is there any “definitive” and extensive theory of fipple tweaking out there??
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/tweak.html
Hi Tony–This article might help although I’ve never tried tweaking myself. On the page of this website before you click on “Message board” there are a bunch of articles which you would never know existed since it would never occur to a person (or at least to me) to look there----this one is way at the bottom.
Just got to do it enough till you find a good formula.
Thanks for the suggestions guys!!! I have come accross quite a bit of stuff written about adjusting fipples but most of it leaves more questions than answers.
It might be a work for some future college graduate to undertake and research exactly how things like blade angle, shape, sharpness - fipple hole shape etc. etc. individually and collectively affect the sound produced - and or the stability of the sound etc.
We have science advancing technology at a rate faster than most of us can comprehend - yet something so darn simple as a tin whistle has not (to my knowledge) been fully scientifically defined.
Suppose I just need to play more and forget the addiction to getting a better whistle. I remember some 30 years ago when I was mad keen on Hi Fi I got so caught up with the technology and refining the sound I lost contact with what the purpose of Hi Fi really was!!!
The magic of air vibrating in a tube!!!
Slán Leat go leir.
I agree with the “do enough of it till you get the hange of it” theory because even though they’re mass produced, inexpensive whistles do vary a lot from one to another, especially Generations. Whole batches of whistles made at the same time vary, but so do individual whistles. Tweaking is more of an art than a science, I think, although some folks (like Jerry Freeman) can be rather scientific about it. 