A question about head transplants: does the Walton’s Mello-D head fit on a Sweetone D tube?
And what do some see as the benefit of putting a Sweetone C head on a Generation B-flat tube?
Off to the laboratory (figuratively speaking),
Micah
Head transplants: I’m for 'em!
Or is it really a body transplant?
There’s only one way to find out.
Where did I hide my guillotine?
Sorry, it’s been tough lately.
well, my head is alright, but can I get a new brain?
One way to find out…give it a try.
Oh, and don’t forget to let us know how it works out.
[ This Message was edited by: E = Fb on 2002-09-21 17:03 ]
I’m all up for trying it, but I don’t have a Sweetone and don’t want to order one if the Walton’s head won’t fit (I’m not a huge fan of the Sweetone sound). The reason I’d like to try this is that the Walton’s Mello-D has a nice sound, but it’s quite out of tune (my cheapie pet peeve), and whereas I’m not a huge Sweetone sound fan, it’s a pretty decently in-tune whistle. Can I have the best of both worlds?
Micah
I tried putting an Acorn head on a Sweetone tube. The head won’t fit on the tube, but it will fit inside. The tone is okay, but the second octave is out of tune, both with itself and with the first octave.
Well, nevermind.
Here’s what happened: This post could be renamed Don’t eat glue, or how a Walton’s head won’t fit on a Clarke tube.
I fished out a Clarke original yesterday which I had tweaked (flattened the windway, put a nail through the fipple block–nice whistle), but I was annoyed by a bit of air coming out at me (space between tin and wood, due to windway flattening). So I sealed up the area with superglue (some nice toxic variety). Today, after the glue was good and dry, I played the whistle, only to experience a weird and unpleasant sensation in my throat, no doubt attributable to the toxicity of the glue. I drank a glass of water and ate a Greek salad, which got rid of the sensation. However, this freaked me out, so I chopped off the top of the whistle with the intention of putting the Walton’s head on. It fit neither over nor into the tube, so I taped it on. The whistle played, but the scale was not one known in Western musical circles, for sure. In sum, the answer to my original question is no. Still, I’m curious about opinions on the Sweetone C/Gen B-flat hybrid.
Micah
On 2002-09-22 02:38, Micah wrote:
…curious about opinions on the Sweetone C/Gen B-flat hybrid…
Micah
did that - it was ok, played well, but it made the Gen Bb whistle sound exactly like a Sweetone, which I really don’t like. Have since reverted to the originally horrible Gen head, but have substantially improved it with extensive surgery:
Scraped off the bump on the blade, flattened that whole area, and stuck a piece of hard thin plastic over the blade to become the new cutting edge of the blade.
It’s still not my favourite Bb. My Dixon is.
The Walton’s mouthpiece will NOT fit on the Sweetone body.
Yesterday I did the Sweetone C head on the Gen Bb body (PC7 epoxy to fill in the gap, duct tape to make the tube slightly bigger at the top, and teflon tape for a tight fit), and it is magnificent, definitely the best cheap whistle I’ve ever played, and better than many high end whistles. I am amazed.
Jessie
Micah, you MUST post regularly. That must have been the best tweaking story I’ve read yet. You’re lucky to be alive, but it was danged funny. And people wonder why we buy cheap whistles.
On 2002-09-21 15:02, Micah wrote:
And what do some see as the benefit of putting a Sweetone C head on a Generation B-flat tube?
Off to the laboratory (figuratively speaking),
Micah
None,whatsoever.
Mike
Micah,a Generation C fipple sounds great on a Waltons mellow D body.Removing the varnish improves the tone a lot.Mellow D´s are not the most in-tune cheapy but the gen fipple voicing realy is an improvement. Mike
Best tweaked whistle I have found so far is a clare head on a gen body
As if there weren’t enough whistles out there already…now we’ve got recombinations. What a good excuse for WhOA.
By the way, I accidentally ingested superglue again yesterday, and there was no Greek salad handy (this is the medically accepted standard antidote). I tweaked my Mellow-D using the guitar pick new ramp technique. Sounds nice and plays smoothly.
However, as Mike mentions, intonation isn’t too stellar. In fact (I posted about this a couple months ago), most cheapies I’ve encountered (except Clarke Originals, may mine RIP) aren’t very well in tune. It’s really the second octave A and B that bug me…are there any plastic head/metal body whistles that are reasonably in tune (that don’t play sharp B-flats instead of Bs)?
By the way, re: the superglue–when it says to let dry for 24 hours, it’s not a joke. It’s just that after tweaking, I wanted to play…
Micah
On 2002-09-23 17:10, Micah wrote:
…are there any plastic head/metal body whistles that are reasonably in tune (that don’t play sharp B-flats instead of Bs)?
…
Micah
Surprisingly,the Waltons mellow C is pretty good and the one I own required only minimal tuning and also sounds great with its own or a gen C fipple.The Mellow D can be tuned but its a lot of work, and an extension is needed to correct the bell note.Mine has gigantic holes now and is a good player.Im happy to offer tips on how to do this. :smile:Mike PS Im pleased you like the guitar pick tweak.
On 2002-09-23 17:10, Micah wrote:
By the way, I accidentally ingested superglue again yesterday, and there was no Greek salad handy (this is the medically accepted standard antidote).
I never knew that. What is it about the greek salad that is an antidote? Does feta cheese have some powers of which I was not previously aware?
Seriously, though, this is the kind of random and sometimes useful trivia I love. Send me info please! Email is fine if you prefer.