making a whistle

Anyone making the "low tech’ whistles the Italian gentleman came up with?I have ?s about making the fipple.Thanks.The website is ggwhistles.com under “how to make one”.

I think a lot of us here have made whistles using the Guido Gonzato method, myself included. What’s your question?

Yes, as Mr Ed indicates there are quite a few whistle makers here on C&F. Dr. Gonzato’s Low-Tech whistle site is a boon to whistle making wannabes everywhere. So the Low-Tech do get talked about frequently. Chances are we’ve discussed your question already. There is a search function at the upper right of each forum page. You can search on things like “Low-Tech whistle”, “Gonzato Whistle” or “GG Whistle” to find previous discussions. Add a keyword or two applicable to your question and you may find answers you are looking for. If not. let us know and we’ll help.

Welcome to the neighborhood.

Feadoggie

Oh no… it might be too late to save him… :sniffle: Well, welcome to the obsessive and perfectionistic world of whistle-making! Your stay will be very long. :slight_smile:

made a whistle and lower register is very squeaky unless you blow very softly can you make it where its not as squeaky.tks

To strengthen those lower notes, read what Guido says about the dimensions of the window. This section comes early on in the plans. Later on, he also mentions adding a bit of a bevel to the upper edge of the fipple closest to the ramp. Do this a tiny bit at a time-- maybe a stroke of a file or two. Test and that low note should be stronger. Repeat until it’s the way you like it. If you go too far, you’ll get a very solid low register, but a difficult upper register. Only cure is a new fipple.

I’ll concur with Paul’s thinking. I’ll just add some more particulars you may not have considered.

Assuming that you used a proper pipe and bore size for your whistle the likely culprits are the window dimensions and the exit edge of the plug, as Paul said. You are trying to use the windway to direct a steady stream of air out of the windway to be split by the lip or labium.

With Guido’s design it is easy enough to adjust the gap that forms the voicing window. You just slide things forward or backward a bit as needed. Guido suggests that the edge of the mouthpiece cap line up evenly with the face of the plug. That’s a good default position. But you can play around with how the outer mouthpiece cap lines up with the plug face a bit too. If you push the plug closer to the labium than the outer mouthpiece cap it has an effect of lifting the direction of the air jet. Pulling it back in relation to the cap has the effect of dropping the jet down a bit. A tenth of a millimeter can have a large effect so go slow.

Focusing the air jet further is slightly more tricky. If there is a burr on edge the plug the air stream will not be steady enough to do the trick. So make sure the plug has a smooth edge first. In fact make sure that all the edges at the exit of the windway are smooth with no chips, burrs or noticeably sharp edges. Then give it a try. If that does not work then do as Paul suggests, bevel or round over the edge little by little testing things as you go until it plays a nice strong bell note.

There is one more thing to consider which is germane to plastic bodied whistles like the Gonzato Low-Tech design. The design assumes a rather perfect fit of the fipple/block/plug into the whistle body such that the plug surface and the labium edge are at the same level. However the pipe material is flexible so it can be deformed or stretched out to a slightly larger diameter by a slightly oversized plug, especially after the windway has been cut. When that occurs the, the plug surface and the labium no longer match up exactly and the air stream is not likely to be split neatly by the edge of the labium. Most of the air will go above the labium. That will result in a weak tone and will be more pronounced at the low end of the range since the air velocity and pressure is lower. Making a plug can be tedious work if you are not using machinery like a lathe and it is easy to stop shaping the plug once it can be pressed into the pipe. So check to see that you have not stretched the pipe diameter a bit. It is a good idea to fit the plug to the pipe before you cut the windway slot to ensure that things will match up as they need to.

Patience is the key to success.

Feadoggie