New keys and models are now available.
All the new whistles have been modified according to player feedbacks and tests in sessions: a Stronger bottom D and lower octave, a more full/fat sound/more pure, and additional backpressure (most players describe it as medium (.
Acoustically the carbon fibers generate a sweet, warm sounds, being spacely oriented in a similar way to natural wood. Another important physical feature is their smaller susceptibility for temperature, which means less clogging and the need for warming the instrument up.
I will also add new videos of the whistles soon. The last video was played in a close kitchen to get that reverb, the next videos will be in an open standard place.
Another important physical feature is their low thermal expansion- they will expand/contract much less than metals and wood, a welcoming characteristic for keeping in tune.
It should be pointed out that the variation of pitch with temperature arises from the physical features of air and not the tube material.
If it was the tube then one would expect that as the tube is warmed up it would get longer and hence the pitch would get flatter. This is the opposite of what happens.
The speed of sound is strongly dependent on air temperature - higher temp = faster moving air molecules = faster sound velocity. And so as the temperature goes up the pitch becomes sharper - cold room push the tuning slide in (or warm up the whistle) hot room pull out.
In fact if one could find a material that expanded enough with temperature then the increasing length of the tube could cancel the increase in sound velocity - I’m not sure but I doubt such a material exists!
There are thermal physical characteristics that may be more important such as thermal conductivity and thermal mass but this gets quite complicated and more than I want to think about right now!
Your explanation is perfectly correct!
I tried to simplify the notion it plays more consistently and that it will be more resistant to pitch changes.
As you know metal is one of the best thermal conductive materials available.
Thus when blowing into a cold whistle, It will likely cause condensation of the warm air from our breath which may cause clogging. As the whistle is warmed up by the breath and hands it also effects the conductivity on sound inside the whistle, which can verify greatly because of the temperature changes- As you noted warm air travel faster.
Not that i want to think about it either so early in the day, but is the issue thermal conductivity, thermal retention or the ability to respond to changes in temps quickly? Carbon fiber has high thermal conductivity but I don’t think it retains cold or warmth in the same manner as the metals we usually associate with whistles.
Flying Yakman, what is the type of resin binding the carbon fiber in your new whistles? (If you don’t mind saying) And how have you finished the tip of the beak? Is there any risk of fraying, splintering or cracking over time? Just curious. I experimented with carbon tubes meant for kite building for whistles a number of years back.
Carbon is a great material, I got to it from the time building bicycles and liked its looks, weight shock absorbing properties (6061 T5/T6 aluminum alloy is great, but hit my back pretty hard…) and hardness.
The carbon tubes are roll wrapped and not pultruded tube. so they have both longitudinal and transverse strength which makes them more resistant for compression, drilling, milling and more
Because of this dimensional strength they don’t suffer from splints/ breaks when handled correctly. but this strength has the cost of dealing with the fibers being cut (I have to use extra hard mills and aluminum oxide white polishing stones to deal with them)
I do not manufacture the tubes myself but purchase them according to my whistle specs from a factory specializing in manufacturing them. As much as I want to I won’t be able to build the tubes at the same level of expertise as them.
I actually did banged them on the floor very very hard and threw them from heights (Don’t try this on your whistles of course …!! ) to see they have no cracks and splints. To avoid their epoxy gloss coating being fractured I drill them with almost no pressure and cooling fluids (not to heat the coating), suction system and more.
I plan on making a page on “How its made” when I have the time! Feel free to ask me whatever you want directly at hiltch@gmail.com, not to scare people
With the carbon fiber whistles being ultra light weight, is there any advantage to that? Or is it just a personal preference? I’ve grown to prefer the wider and heftier tubes in wood and metal.
I’m not a whistlemaker and not much experience either, but, wouldn’t a light weight whistle be more susceptible to picking up vibrations from the surrounding environs in which it is played?
Naturally when playing the whistles the mouthpiece part inside the mouth functions as a fulcrum and also exert extra grip on the whistle reducing the amount of force needed by the hands.
My personal preference is thus to have the weight of the whistle leaning toward the upper part of the whistle (so It will cancel) leaving the lower part of the body lightweight. I prefer it that way cause It easier for me to play fast…but you know, since its only a matter of tens of grams it doesn’t make that such of a difference.
The only down-costs I have stumbled in the carbon is the need for more precautions during handling and the extra cost for the builder (not for the buyer).
They are less susceptible for environmental changes and generally play more consistently.
I will also make them tunable- with a metal slide, for thin carbon is brittle and will not bend but break.
Carbon is very strong material, but it will break and not crush like
metal which is moldable and flexible. so the tuning slide needs more thickness if done with carbon fibers- I will make the tuning slide from aluminum in the future.
One of the reasons for carbon fibers being uses in sport cars is its ability to absorb the impact and break- not crushed.
Inelastic Collision with metals gradually crush the metal and convey the energy to the driver.
Then it sounds like carbon fiber is actually a worse material for whistles than plastic. I hope there’s some kind of acoustic advantage to compensate for that.
Whistles are not made with a thickness of 0.1mm.
And 1mm of carbon is tens times stronger that 1mm of aluminum, a strong leverage or very hard materials (which are used for processing ) are needed to break it.
The point is that it will not bent but break due to forces during processing.
I am up to four carbon fiber instruments now, from Carbony.com. I can attest that carbon fiber makes amazing instruments that are durable and lightweight. Carbony does a tapered bore on their whistles that hearkens back to the clarke tin whistles - a really nice breathy but pure sound. The whistles I have are all tunable. I absolutely love that once I’m in tune, my instruments don’t lose it - inside, outside, hot, cold.. its great.
I just picked up a new carbony low d irish flute. It does have a tuning slide as well, and also has a tapered bore. It is definitely heavier than the whistles, but also sports stainless steel fittings instead of aluminum. One of the cool things Carbony is doing on the bigger instruments is drilling some of the finger holes at an angle so the reach is easier for those of us with small hands.
After.. 5? years of use, my very first carbony high d whistle is showing no wear, except for where my teeth hit the mouthpiece when I’m playing. And that is just a scuff. I can rub it out with a little work with a some soap and water.
The Blackwood whistles look really slick. Carbon fiber is such a cool looking material.
New materials should always have a chance. Does anyone remember Ovation Guitars. My only experience with CF is building fly fishing rods. The tubes are tough, light and perform better than other materials but the weird thing is if you drop them in just the right way they shatter… Bob
Hi Bob!
Well I banged them pretty hard on the floor, droped them from ~5meters tried to bend them and more…
They performed excellently. Aluminumsuffered damages.
But at the end of the day one doesnt use the whistle for fighing at pubs (well maybe just the low whistles…) my main issue for choosing the material was its unique sound.
