I’m a fiddler who has been playing whistle for only a short time. The first thing I did was design a mute for my whistle which covers part of the width of the ramp. I did this because, with out going into great detail, I have Tourette’s Disorder severe enough to lose control of my body in response to sounds that are some combination of sudden, loud, high in pitch, or very very low in pitch.
Anyway, I would dearly love to try a whistle that is quiet without obstructing the ramp. I’ve heard Mack Hoover makes such a whistle and wonder if someone would part with one in sop D. I have also gathered that laughing whistles are quiet, and would like an opinion of their volume relative to the Hoover. Finally, I just want some general input about any quiet whistles I may not have heard about.
I wouldn’t call dixons very quiet. My laughing is quieter than my hoovers. John I can lend you a Dixon tunable D if you like but I’m afraid I can’t send away the hoovers and laughing. However, I can send you a sound clip if you like.
I suggest you contact Mack Hoover and explain your situation, and see if he can suggest anything. As far as I know he is not currently selling whistles, but since he deals with quiet whistles he may have some suggestions for you, and he is a very nice man.
BTW I took some pics of your mute last night and I will put them on the computer today and see what came out.
Hey Mr. Hoover. I’d like some input on this thread if you would be so kind. If you would be willing to exchange emails, I’m at hellandscissors@hotmail.com
I simply can’t imagine anything quieter than the good ol’ Hoover Narrow Bore Brass D. Half the time I can barely hear it even when playing it and it certainy can’t be heard in the next room under normal conditions.
Well, I’ve got the opportunity to buy a used Hoover narrow brass sop D, so that aspect of this thread need go no further. I hope it’s quiet. Whistles for Tourettics. Wheeee! I think I’ll do a search on laughing whistles and see what the skinny is on those.
One thing I will say about Hoovers - and I love mine, so this isn’t really a criticism - is that if you overblow them or squeak them they can be quite as loud as any other whistle, which is the more dramatic for the contrast. For most of us, this is just feedback to get us to play the thing right, but with sensitivity to sudden, high pitch noises… basically, I’m just saying, err on the side of softness of breath (which is still probably going to be too hard, these things really take virtually no air: to the point that I need to let breath -out-, not take it in, when I ‘need a breath’ in midtune…)
If you underblow, it’ll just be a little scratchy and out of tune or not make a tone at all, which is far less troublesome. Of course, underblowing a hoover is hard to do.
