Making my first low tech whistle A lot of fun so far … not that I’m all that far. Have the tube cut, window cut, mouthpiece made. Trimmed to a decent D.
Here’s the question. Before I trimmed the length to D, the note was good, solid, flipped nicely to upper octave. As I trimmed, the lower note got weak, and it flipped to upper octave too easily. It seemed as I trimmed I could correct by moving the mouthpiece up/out. By the time I had the tube trimmed to D, though, I didn’t have enough room to move the mouthpiece any more.
So … I have enough materials to make 20 whistles lol but I’d really like my first to be playable Should I cut the window taller? It seems like that is what moving the mouthpiece up was doing (yes?) - making the window taller? Or would I be trashing it?
When you say “low tech whistle”, I’m guessing you mean you’re using Guido Gonzato’s plans, in which case you need to scroll down a bit to the trouble-shooting section :
3.2 Lower octave notes flip into the second octave too easily.
The fipple block is too close to the lip. Move the fipple block and the windway top a bit farther
away.
… it’s at this point the concept of making interchangeable heads, using a coupling, becomes attractive, allowing you to make many mistakes without using up too much of your raw material.
If it’s flipping too easily, take a peek through the windway and see how much light is shining through. There may not be enough space under the lip. Be careful when sanding the block, a small amount removed can make a big difference.
Good luck with your 1st Low Tech. Pretty soon you’ll be on your 5th or 6th and still wanting to make more.
Edit: Slow typing night. Kypfer already gave a good suggestion.
It wouldn’t hurt to double check that gap though, after Kypfer’s advice.
IN addition to moving the fipple block back a bit (which is reversible) you might try a SLIGHT bevel at the edge where the block exits the windway. I know Guido says not to do this, but if all else fails, it may help. You can always make another block.
Most whistles I know have some bevel or rounding at this place. On my own whistles, I start with a very small amount of rounding and when I voice the whistle it usually breaks too easily into that second octave. I pop the plug out, chuck it in the lathe, and while it’s spinning, just touch it with a flat file. Refit, test, repeat as necessary. This is a balancing act and a tiny bit of overdoing it can ruin the block. Take your time.
That’s what I did … I think, anyway. I found as I trimmed the tube that I needed to move the fipple block and windway top further up (“up” if you were holding the whistle to play). However, at some point you run out of room to keep moving them thus
I think for now I’ve made it better somehow by sanding the lip more. Getting a longer “chute” (for lack of a better term).
I’ve got the first hole made now … taking it very slow
(I should also add that I had made the window quite small, at least for a low whistle. I wanted something relatively quiet, for practicing in an apartment. )
If you’re making a low whistle, then you definitely want a bevel on the fipple block. Guido recommends this in the instructions for alto and low whistles (see the section titled “Rigging the Fipple”). It does make a big difference in strengthening the lower notes and preventing flipping to the higher octave. It doesn’t have to be a minimal bevel either, at that size - but start small and work your way up till you’re comfortable with the result.
It’s also useful to leave your pipe a little longer then advised in the instructions, before trimming it to length. Then trim less than you need and check. You can get into a “death of a thousand cuts” frame of mind, but it is a useful learning experience.
If the distance between the blade and the bell-end is too long, your base note should be flat.
I’ve found this is not the case, and I assume from this that the internal diameter of my tubing is narrower than advertised.
Moving the fipple makes a lot of difference, as people have pointed out. There is a sweet-spot, but it depends on the air-pressure. The best spot on a hot day will differ from on a cool day. And make sure your pipe is warmed when you are trying it. If you’ve made the windway as long as possible, try making it shorter - moving the fipple down.
So, to bevel it in a low tech way (I’m not handy, and have only the most basic of tools), is it OK to just sand and eyeball it? Any tricks/pitfalls I should be aware of?
Sandpaper on a wooden sanding block should work fine. You can use a fingernail emery board which is pretty handy. Again, easy does it. Take off a bit, check the results and repeat as needed. Finding that perfect voicing is one of the mysteries and joys of making your own whistles. After 450 of them, I’m still learning.
Well, I beveled the fipple block … I have all the holes cut … I actually have a mostly playable whistle-like object I remain amazed that it is even possible with such low tech, and grateful to Mr. Gonzato for publishing his instructions.
Remaining problems that I hope to tweak:
-Low D is still weak and too prone to flip into upper octave. Other low notes are OK
High B and A are flat
Still wondering if I made the window too small … I wanted it to be quiet, but it still has something of a fog horn quality anyway, so maybe I should just cut a more normal window after all?
There are others who are better qualified to advise, but I’ll stick my oar in …
Move the fipple and windway cover just a bit farther from the lip.
Are the low B and A good? If so, you’re probably stuck. Unless you blow a lot harder in the second octave, the second octave is invariably flat relative to the first.
Time to make another one, with a bigger window, then decide which you like… Or play them both.
Thanks It was fun. And I am so notoriously unhandy that my wife was dumbfounded
Is there something I could have done to avoid being stuck?
And now a question for the next whistle I make … forgive my ignorance here, as this was my first low whistle in any case … is it OK to offset the lower holes from the centerline at all? I’m getting the (possibly erroneous?) idea that if the lower three holes were a bit to the right of the centerline, that covering them completely would be easier than it is.
I understand that there may be some acoustical scientific reason why that simply can’t be done … but before I waste my time with an experiment - can it?
I haven’t got a good answer to that … yet. We’ve got a Feadog high D here with about the same problem: high A and B really flat relative to the low A and B, but we’ve also got a Jerry Freeman Blackbird (nice whistle, that) where the second octave is really close everywhere but C-natural, so it can be done. See https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/quiet-low-d/78212/7 for further confirmation.
It doesn’t make a damned bit of difference to the sound (as long as the distance is correct) but it can mess up your fingering.
I’ve tried this, and Snr Gonzato tells me he’s tried as well, and we both found that our fingers were not happy with the offset holes. If it works for you, great!
I figure I’ll try it … I have lots of material and it was fun making the first whistle.
What a feeling of power to have total control over the hole placement
If I stand and hold my hands at whistle distance, relaxed, there is a slight angle, especially at the second joint. I won’t offset the holes much; just a few degrees to try to accommodate this natural angle.
I’m already getting confused going back and forth between the handmade low whistle and my regular whistles anyway … the regular whistles seem tiny, I find myself using piper’s grip, and suddenly I seem to have these great ham hands
offset holes
If done correctly can make playing a larger instrument much more comfortable.
However ‘correct’ depends on the player and even if you are drilling holes for yourself it is hard to know what is correct without trying it - I know I have done it. My approach was to split the drilled portion of the body into 3 parts - top 3 holes, next 2 holes, and 1 hole on the foot section; then one can adjust to suit one’s hands, and readjust again and again … no really it helps - I would not make a whistle below G without doing this, and my next G is going to have at least an adjustable bottom hole.
Of course once you figure out a good offset then you could just drill a one piece whistle with that pattern - it will not suit everyone though.
And of course my whistle with four joints (one of which is designed as a tuning slide) is not quite so ‘low tech’ any longer!
edit: a picture would probably make this clearer - I’ll work on that
and by trying I mean playing and adjusting, and adjusting, and …
A lot of fun so far … not that I’m all that far. Have the tube cut, window cut, mouthpiece made. Trimmed to a decent D.
