New Clarke "Recalibrated"? What?

Whistle
1

I have to raise a question; has anyone used the new Clarke “Recalibrated” whistle?

  1. the old bent metal as a blade design that wastes 50%+ of the air, is still there.

  2. the huge windway may have been reduced in size. That would be good.

  3. the block may be of a different material, but not sure about that

  4. the sales price is a SHOCKING $91 CAN for ONE high D in nickel. A total “no sale!”.

I can only think from this monstrosity of “item as matched to new pricing” that Clarke is going out of business and is scrambling to make sense in the world, but can’t. The “recalibrated” needs to be carefully reviewed for performance, and then the HUGE price increase needs to be commented on. I wouldn’t buy it just to test it, so it’s for someone else to. The very short video of Cutie Pie promoting it on the Clarke website doesn’t get into meaningful detail of either performance or price.

1 Like
2

Ah sure, it’s cheaper than a cello. It’s almost like they are giving it away!

:smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

3

I always liked Clarke whistles, but I can’t imagine wanting to spend $60+ on one lol.

It’s also odd that they describe it as “easier to play.” What, the original one wasn’t already easy? :face_with_raised_eyebrow: Of all the ways to improve a Clarke, making it easier to play wouldn’t be very high on the list, I’d think. How about making it durable and/or tunable? I’d go for that.

They also say it’s less breathy, but honestly, the breathiness of the original is sorta why I like it. Makes it sound interesting.

1 Like
4

I’ve always liked Clarkes but found them too breathy. I bit the bullet for the communal good and will give it a try! Thanks RoberTunes for alerting me to a new way to waste my money!

Eric

2 Likes
5

“Recalibrated” seems to be what others term as “tweaked.” I suppose Clarke just wanted to sound fancy or summat.

Until relatively recently I hadn’t bought a Clarke whistle since I was about 12 years old, and even then they weren’t what I wanted to buy, they were just bundled in.

Honestly, I think the price looks a bit high for what they say are “small changes”, but who knows. I’m not surprised they’re on the tin whistle “shopping channel.”

6

I hear what you are saying, but I’ve never been able to tweak a Clarke in such a way that the stopper doesn’t fairly soon became loose and I become quickly frustrated and give it away to someone who is curious about whistle. Maybe it’ll play like a tweaked Clarke that doesn’t fall apart, but no matter what…it’ll look pretty on a shelf.

Eric

1 Like
7

Gold plated, the old magpie effect :star_struck:

They are tricky to alter, even the most minimal alteration can have huge and unexpected effects. I have one old, battered looking Clarke that, when I first got it was one of the nicest Clarkes I had come across, I tried to improve it but on several occasions had it at a point where it was no longer not making any sound at all. It’s going well again now, not huffy or air hungry and with a nice tone. Still not one I’d play but I could, if I wanted to.

1 Like
8

That’s certainly been through a bit Peter! Call me a magpie, I went for gold plated, but only because I’m allergic to nickel.

9

It’s old but I don’t know how old. It came with a batch of other whistles. It’s a good player, not a typical modern Clarke and it’s in D too.

10

I agree with a few of the points here:

  1. No doubt! Just shut of 100 bucks is a joke to say the least. It needs to far more than “recalibrated” fur that money.
  2. It needs to be a completely different instrument, “durable" and “tuneable”, as someone else said.

I’d say to remain a “penny” whistle, accessable to folk with little cash, a beautifully inexpensive anybody’s instrument, it needs to keep the price WAY down, especially if made of the same old materials in the same old way.

In favour of the old Clarke and the plastic mouthpiece versions, they have their own sound. I wouldn’t agree that they waste breath. It’s just a different use of breath for a different, a softer and characteristic Clarke sound. I love my Clarke’s, though I play others for other reasons (variety mainly) in addition to my own flutes. I make pipes and flutes, but have never made a “whistle” yet as the mouthpieces are more complicated…. And I like the versatility of the flute. But with the rising prices of simple whistles, “penny” whistles!!! I’ve thought about making a good inexpensive whistle that can be called a folk whistle, accessable to common folk. Any thoughts???

What should a basic folk whistle in high D cost (in present day context) to be easily buyable to most people of low income? I’d appreciate feedback please. And it’s only for feedback (not a sales pitch. I promise! I’ve had this thought for a good while now and reading the post and comments has made me rethink the idea.)

Characteristics of a Duffy High ‘D’ Folk Whistle

  1. No plastic in the whistle.
  2. Local Scottish hardwood versions.
  3. Non- ferrous metal versions.
  4. Combination wood/metals.
  5. Possible durable mouthpieces of horn/antler.
  6. Straight/conical bore versions.
  7. Easy blow/ clean sound and breathy versions to preference.

(4 and 5 are definitely more work than plain wood or plain metal and wood be slightly up from a simpler version. Maybe shouldn’t include those options under “FOLK” WHISTLE. THOUGHTS?

11

Many years ago, I got a whistle .. by Mack now MackBeth … that was much less than 9 quid. It was hand made, and all that… Clarke “recalibrated” sounds fun .. and I like "chaft”, but really? Almost 70 pound for a .. subar part whistle …

The ad was well financed though!

Plenty of whistles of much higher quality, for much less ..

12

Good questions Tom! I’ve pondered these issues frequently in the past, and reached the conclusion that, for me personally, it is a fundamentally over constrained problem.

What do I mean by that? Well, you frequently hear people complaining, or perhaps just airing their frustrations, about the following things:

  1. Price: Anything more than a penny (or a few pennies) for a “penny whistle” is way too much.
  2. Quality: If its made from cheap materials, such as plastic or thin sheet metal, it is not a quality instrument.
  3. Knock-off: If its a mass produced version of an earlier design, then someone is ripping someone else off.
  4. Inconsistency: playing characteristics should fall within a very tight window.
  5. Not made here: If its made somewhere else where labor is cheap, then we should not buy it, out of patriotism and loyalty to local makers. Plus those foreigners are not to be trusted.

So, its clear that to be considered legitimate, you will have to use expensive materials to make an original design of your own, finish and fine-tune every instrument by hand to high quality standards, live in the same country as your customers, and sell your instruments for a fraction of the cost of the raw materials!

Seriously, though, it is quite difficult to make a really good whistle because the tolerances in the head are so fine, and slight differences have a big impact on the playability.

You can address this by fine tuning every one by hand, but then you have huge labor costs per instrument.

Or you can address it by building a high precision manufacturing system, but then you have huge up front costs and will spend your time in a completely different way.

Or you can try to outsource and manage quality control and consistency remotely.

For me personally, I’m interested in making instruments by hand (more as a hobby than a profit making business), and the amount of work taken to make a quality whistle by hand, combined with the costs of materials and tools, is just incompatible with price point expectations for inexpensive whistles, even at $100 a piece.

Its arguably easier to make a consistently good keyless flute than a consistently good whistle, but the two instruments command radically different price-point expectations.

13

I see some have an objection to plastic, otherwise it costs about $0.50-$0.55 to 3d print one of @Wanderer ‘s whistle designs, which he’s very kindly published for free. That would seem to fit the “few pennies” requirement. . .

(Also, it could be 3d printed anywhere in the world, really supporting local makers & patriotism & all that!)

14

Yes! I’ve thought of all that. The minimal amount of material though, where I am wood is so abundant, meaning little material cost, if any per whistle. As I said, my main concern is not having made a “whistle” per se. Fitted are far more simple to make. I would never be a mad producer. But once a system is efficient, even at a smaller output rate, then a steady consistent number could be made.

I agree, we shouldn’t decry instruments made elsewhere produced. I don’t at all. Fair play to them. These makers are helping supply “penny” whistles for pennies. :grin:

I can now through pilot holes for flutes and whistle let fast, as a first stage and let wood season to stage 2 boring and reaming. If a day was spent doing that, in theory. Then the cost of those 2 stages would be spread over a lot of whistles and wouldn’t cost much per item, if aiming to keep cost to customise down.

Then with a standardized way of making my mouthpieces, I’m sure the initial stages of completing then (before voicing if needed) can be done pretty swiftly. Again, no great numbers, but enough for one maker.

The easiest way to keep it fast and cheap, while still a good whistle, no compromising there, would be to make it of one piece of wood, main body with simple insert at mouth piece.

I will certainly give this a go, hopefully soon. I’m anticipate an awakening to certain realities too, no doubt. :grin: But one try.

15

Please forgive my typos Paddler! Just noticed then. Hope you know what I meant.

Anyway, as I think about it, there is still plenty of inexpensive penny whistles, original Clarke’s included and Generation etc. I suppose it’s pretty much covered then as far as inexpensive whistles are concerned. Id still like to try a cheap/good wooden one though. I’m turning some sycamore into rounds just now, so maybe in a few months…. :grin:

16

You planning to make the wooden whistles conical, Tom Duffy? I wondered if a plain cylindrical whistle in wood is likely to tend flat in the second octave, given the greater wall thickness compared to the very thin metal tubes.

I’ve made a few cylindrical whistles using metal tubes and a boldly conical whistle using wood. And a mildly conical one using telescoping thin-walled metal tubes to approximate the taper! But I haven’t tried a wooden cylindrical.

Anyone experienced a plain cylinder wooden whistle? Tuning OK?

17

I have some wooden cylindrical bore whistles that are excellent players. Specifically, I have an Oz whistle in high D, and a Grinter in low F. These are two of the best whistles I’ve ever played. Both are very finely crafted with relatively thin (for wood) walls, and both from excellent Aussie makers. But sadly, neither Mitch Smith nor Michael Grinter are making whistles anymore.

So certainly wood can be used to make a good whistle with a cylindrical bore. However, I do think that the least explored area of the design space is conical bore wooden whistles with large tone holes. Someone just needs to do the experiments to find suitable bore profiles and tone hole sizes.

18

My few wooden flutes I’ve made are cylindrical. I’ve made them in low D, low Eb, Bb, A and high D. They all played pretty good and sold at the craft markets my family are involved in. I play an A flute I made myself from bamboo which I like and is my standard for my As. I’m hoping :folded_hands: I’ll have the same success with whistles, but anticipate fiddly fun and games. Lol

19

I made bamboo flutes in the late 1990s and early 2000s and even sold them at a local folk music store (until the state shut it down and took all inventory for back taxes). Bamboo makes such a nice flute, and the right pieces are conical enough that they play well in both octaves. It’s a fun thing to do!

1 Like
20

In my experience, wooden cylindrical bore whistles DO tend to have fairly flat second octaves. You have to push them a bit to get them in tune. I adore my Roy McManus high D whistle, but even it has this issue (albeit less than most others I’ve tried, for whatever reason).

Conical bore whistles certainly seem to fix this issue somewhat. But you don’t actually need to make the whistle conical in order to fix it. All you have to do is add a little outward taper in the inside of the head. This is what Donald Lindsay does with his low whistles (which actually have plastic heads, but are shaped similar to a wooden whistle with a curved windway), and it works perfectly.

So for anyone looking to make extremely in-tune, thick-walled, cylindrical whistles: Be like Donald Lindsay! Add a taper in the head! :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like