Hoping you tweaky people out there can help. I’ve got a Susato low D that I got a couple of years ago. I never play the thing because it’s a major struggle to get back down out of the higher octave. The pitch gets stuck in the awful netherworld between octaves, the instrument goes “erp,” and it just sounds godawful. Does anybody have any ideas for dealing with this? I figure I can probably make it better by making the end of the blade thinner, right? But it looks pretty sharp already. Shrug?
Dont do anything to it yet. Try to play each note alone first, and see if it is just touchey. Susatos take more air than other whistles. Whistles are about breath control and they are all differant. I had a low d Susato once and it was real touchy about the bottom D.
Seems to me that each note on a Susato must be played with the exat pressure right away for it to sound. Can’t ease into a note or taper off.
try this:
The other Susato low D’s I’ve played haven’t had this problem. It’s a lemon. I figure I can’t possibly make the thing any worse since it’s not workable now. Worst case scenario is I’ll suck up and buy another one. I’ve sharpened the blade a little with sandpaper, and it seems to help, I guess. I’m wondering about rounding off the edge of the block at the bottom end of the flue.
My suggestion is: Buy a guitar pic, cut out the Susato blade, replace it with a straight blade made from the guitar pic, bevelled. used blu tac at first until you’ve found the right blade position than glue into place with superglue or epoxy. Works like a charm an improves the tone of the Susatos miraculously.
I’ve written about this before, you can run a search or let me know if you need help.
The problem btw is probably the distance between the windway and the edge of the blade.
Thanks, B., I’ll give it a go.
Bloom is correct. Changing the position of the blade will improve tone. And it only takes a new angstroms to make a big difference. I’ve noticed (or imagined) that doing this can also change the pitch of the notes. Any of my tweaks that have sweetened the tone have also seemed to lower the volume and sharpen the pitch.