I have a nickel Generation Bb whistle that I got over the summer. I like the way that it plays, but it sounds to me to be either slightly flat or unfocused on the middle G and A (open and one finger down). Is there something I can do to bring those notes back in tune?
Tweak it. There are directions back on the main page.
I was wondering if there was a tweak specific to that particular problem since the main page one seems to focus on the jump between octaves and that’s not an issue here.
If the notes mentioned are merely unfocused as opposed to being flat, putting some poster putty (sticky tac, blue tac, etc.) in the cavity under the windway might help. You’ll have to remove the whistle head to do that. I had a Generation D whistle once where the high G wouldn’t center, what brass instrument players refer to as a split octave. I put some sticky tack in the windway and that fixed it. Unfortunately, I kept messing around with it afterwords and that ruined it. If the notes are flat, that is something I’ve never tried to fix, although I believe you would have to bore some specific holes out to raise the pitch on the problematic notes. Try the sticky tack first if you try anything.
I’m not sure if this is applicable, but I got a Gen Bb a few years ago and
when I went to tweak it, running it under hot water in the sink to get the
top off, I discovered there was some strange plastic stuff sloughing off
the inside of the bore. It seemed to be sort of like melting plastic wrap. I
ended up scrubbing it for quite a while to get it all out.
Not sure if yours has that inside it, but maybe?
Lesl
Jerry would have a good response to this…but it seems odd that the middle G and A would be off as it seems its usually the higher or lower one goes on a whistle that you can tell what kind of work needs to be done. I echo Flywhistler, that tweak is a must for any whistle with a cavity and it really it helps with the Bb Gen. If you can get it to work, the Bb Gen is a very under appreciated whistle.
I have a completely untweaked Generaton Bb that is very nice. I have heard that a Sweetone or Meg head from a C whistle fits perfectly on a Gen Bb body.
Has anyone tried this? How does this work? (I think I’d get a new Gen Bb to mess with, as opposed to risk ruining the one I have.)
A sweetone d head fits on a Bb with just a little tape. Low air. But no more than some regular d whistles. Nice light focused chiffy tone.
Ps. You might want to grind off a quarter inch off the top of the tube befor putting the sweetone head on. It doesn’t fit down as far as the gen head does.
Well, OK.
I guess I’ve hesitated to try to answer because there’s a difference between notes that are flat and notes that are unfocused. By “flat” I assume you mean out of tune flat.
Do you have a way to check the tuning? If you can tell me for sure if those two notes are flat or if they’re on pitch but unfocused, I may be able to make some suggestions.
Best wishes,
Jerry
The A, no fingers down, is distinctly flat to my ear. I don’t have an electronic tuner but I can hear it out of tune with the scale and with the A on another instrument. The G is better in tune, just a bit unfocused.
I’ll definitely try playing with the mouthpiece when I have time but I’m not sure how much it’s going to help with the intonation problems.
EDIT:
I just fiddled with it some. The head came off beautifully. A Meg D head is slightly too large, but sounds absolutely gorgeous if you can keep it from flopping around. Beautifully in tune, too. Putting the entire Meg whistle down the Bb tube did not make for a playable combination.
The original head didn’t seem too have any extraneous plastic shards, so that’s not a problem. I added sticky tack to the windway, and it helped the tuning very small amount but made it so that it jumps up an octave waaaaay to easily for me. It did make it sound a little more focused, but the clear winner is the Meg head.
I’m wondering if this means that the body is a fraction of an inch too long since the shorter head brought it absolutely in tune with itself, and if I should just get myself a new Meg and duct tape the head onto this whistle.
I would wrap the top of the barrel with teflon plumber’s tape to build up the thickness, then slide the Meg head onto the barrel. This will look better than duct tape, and also provide a tuneable whistle.
You can get teflon plumber’s tape at Home Depot or the hardware store. It’s a very thin, non-adhesive tape that when wrapped around itself with a bit of tension will hold tight - kind of like cling wrap.
Mark
I used scotch tape, and used a razor to trim away the bottom quarter inch so it doesn’t show.