I am a couple-weeks-new whistler. Even though I’m new, I’m serious – expect to see me conquering American Idol next season with my towering whistle prowess. Please consider voting for me.
I’ve gotten a Clare Brass D, a Clarke Original D, and a Sweetone D from the Whistle Shop. The Sweetone is quite easy to play and I like the feel of the mouthpiece, but the sound is rather plain to my tastes – I think the Clare & the Clarke Original are much more interesting sounding. Is it possible to put the Sweetone mouthpiece on another whistle barrel (like a Clare, for instance) with satisfactory results? Is it likely that the sound will tend more toward the Sweetone? Sorry if this is a faq … I’ve already seen the stuff on removing a glued-on mouthpiece.
Another question – on the pages where people have uploaded soundfiles of themselves playing (I can’t remember the url right now – a mind’s a terrible thing …) there are very few (I remember maybe one) examples of Clarke Originals. Is that because people don’t think it’s a good sounding whistle or what?
Regards,
Brian Minsk
Dangerous hornpipe
American Idol star
Must follow your dream
The Sweetone mouthpiece is larger than other whistles so you’d have to have some kind of connector. I’ve managed to make sounds with the Sweetone on a Walton’s Mellow D body, but you have to hold it just right to get it that way. Anytime I switch heads, I think the whistle sounds more like the whistle who donated the head part, but that may just be me.
I think Cranberry’s right on this one. The head, even if interchangeable, is the deciding factor. Witness two facts.
It’s possible to put a Sweetone C head on a Generation Bb tube. Although the end result is a Bb whistle, IMO the tonal qualities are those of a Sweetone rather than a Gen.
Mack Hoover sells the Whitehead headpieces for 1/2" tubes such as the Generation. I don’t yet have one, but it seems to me that the end result must sound more like a Hoover than a Gen, or else few of us would be willing to pay the extra baggage for the Hoover head.
Hey Brian your right. I hadnt noticed befor but there is a lack of Clarke originals on the clips and snips site. Cant think of a good reason for it. They are great sounding whistles. The only complaints I have ever heard about them is the amount of air they take to play, but I haven`t found that to be a problem. On your mouthpiece question; check out the chiffandfipple home page. There is a link to the bloody hand whistle. The plans for this whistle require the mouthpiece from a sweetone. Copper whistles sound great. Oh and welcome to this place of bliss. Hope you enjoy your time here.
No, I didn’t see that – thanks. I liked the comparison.
Though they sound different I enjoyed the Clarke upainted (untweaked?) & Feadog’s the best. I think the others, especially the Sweetone & Meg, have a ‘purer’ sound with perhaps less overtones (or less interesting overtone pattern) and, for me, this makes the sound less characterful. The attacks are cleaner, too. I think the breathiness, somewhat weird overtones, the odd artifacts in the attacks makes the sound more interesting and, for me, more appealing. The Feadog’s intonation seems somewhat less centered (it tends to drift a little more from the attack to the release) and this also makes the sound a bit more interesting. Of course any of these ‘odd’ qualities taken in greater degree would probably be not quite so tasteful.
Thanks to all for your kind replies.
Brian
–
Pure drop nirvana
Whistle flies free to clear skies
Spittle in my eye
