Greetings fellow whistle players:
I’m a newbie to the world of whistling coming over from scottish bagpiping. I was working on my generation D the other night, putting some poster putty inside the mouthpiece cavity and didn’t realize the sound blade was as fragile and thin as it is. I put a dent into the edge of the sound blade. My question is, the whistle was already quiet in the first place, so should I now sand the sound blade and make it more blunt to increase it’s volume or should I just leave it quiet and get another whistle? I have plans to get a clarke original and feadog in the near future. I don’t know if the generation is really worth all the trouble or if I should just use it as a practice whistle. Are generations just quiet?
Thanks for the help.
Generation whistles that I’ve had, I wouldn’t describe as quiet - maybe moderate. I love the Gen Bb, have had mixed feelings about others. My dog reaaaalllly hates the Gen G. So do the human inhabitants here.
As cheap as Gens are, you don’t have much to lose by trying to fix the blade. Worst case scenario, if you ruin the head, order one of Mack Hoover’s White Caps or BlackTops, and put it on the Gen body. I have a Whitecap on a nickel Gen Eb. The original whistle was not-so-good. With Mack’s White Cap, now I’m actually happy when the band decides to do a song in Eb!
…and, NOBODY is an idiot for tampering with a whistle. It’s all part of the fun. No risk, no reward! Or maybe we’re all idiots. Anyway, welcome!
Mark
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There’s certainly no harm in getting another whistle. That’s a good option.
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Depending on how much you dented the edge of the blade, it may not be an issue. I’ve payed a few whistles for years with a “customized” blade. You can just carry on with the same whistle if it still plays. Sometimes it gives the whistle character.
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Sanding the blade may effect the voicing of the whistle. Small amounts matter in that regard. So you can try to soften the dent in the blade but keep testing as you go. You’ll know when you have gone too far.
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If the whistle is damaged to the point that it doesn’t play any more you have two reasonable options.
A) perform a bladectomy and replacement https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/bloomfields-tweak-windcutter-replacement-advice/22382/1 or
B) buy a replacement head from someone like Mack Hoover. http://www.mackhooverwhistles.com/ (Cross-posted with markbell)
Are generations just quiet?
It’s all relative. Compared to what- pipes?
Feadoggie
I would suggest getting a whistle that comes already how you want it to sound… Be happy to make one for you when you decide to upgrade!
I got a generation a while ago which has a customised quiet head which is very very quiet. I can’t remember who made them. Try google
Google make whistles now?
Maybe the Big Whistle “Shush”?
http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk/shop_results.asp?search=1&subcat=*&keyword=shush&GO=GO+�