Okay, I started a couple of weeks ago learning on an el cheapo (aluminum, wooden block…I’ve actually started to get pretty fond of of the little guy). I’ve recently purchased a brass Feadog and a Sweetone, and I’m having a hard time getting a decent tone out of them. I’m trying to sort out if it’s the whistle or me.
For the Feadog- I’ve given it the sticky-tac treatment (mine was yellow, but I think that’s beside the point), and that helped a lot. The lower octave sounds okay except for the D and E being a little buzzy (not too bad, though), but the upper octave is kinda screechy. I think that’s proabably just me, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.
The Sweetone is another matter entirely. I’ve come to understand that these are supposed to be really playable whistles, but this one is really buzzy and I have a hard time flipping into the upper octave. Dud or me?
That really wasn’t very clear, was it? I guess I mean something along the lines of “Is there that big a difference switching between plastic and wooden fipples (or blocks…or whatever…I’m still learning terminology)?”
i find the clarke original very breathy, and the feadog scratchy as well, but still i nice traditional sound. i am very fond of sweetone, it is my favorite whistle. but i think that you run out of breath less on the plastic fipple, but clarke is easier to control in the octaves.
You might check this link for further tweaking: http://www.chiffandfipple.com/tweak.html . Scroll down a ways where tweaking the blade is discussed. My Feadog was doing the same. I slightly blunted it with 600 grit sandpaper and the tone improved. Godd luck.
And I think I can say that the Sweetone is the only whistle I ever bought that I just flat-out don’t like. Lots of folks like ‘em, though. Either they vary that much in quality, or peoples’ tastes are that different. Dunno.
I’ve bought a Sweetone and two Megs (basically the same whistle), and all three were decent. I found all three easy to play in both octaves.
The Feadóg is actually just a little harder to play. It’s not as forgiving as some other cheapies, but has a great traditional sound once you get the hang of it.
I got the Feadóg and Sweetone both as my first whistles. I took to the Sweetone pretty quickly, but the Feadóg gave me squeaks and squawks for a while, but once I got used to its idiosyncrasies, I came to like it better overall.
It may just be that you’ve gotten used to your other whistle. You probably just need a little more time on your two new ones.
