Hi!
I just received a new Feadog Pro flute for Christmas. I have owned other flutes in the past so I know something about how to blow a xgood sound from them. This one does not make a good low D note… it is kind of screechy, for lack of a better word. Is it me or can it be the flute itself? I found out it was bought on eBay and don’t know from who or where. Do I try to repair it, if such a thing is possible, return it or again, am I doing something wrong?
I appreciate any and all comments. Thanks and hope all had a wonderful Christmas.
Diane
That’s pretty typical of most relatively inexpensive / mass produced whistles. That’s why folks like Jerry Freeman “tweak” them - turning “zeros into heros!”. Still, with a bit of getting to know the whistle & finessing, a better tone can be reached.
Merry Christmas!
Some whistles are a bit scratchy. The putty tweak does wonders.
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/tweak.html , §11
That’s pretty typical of most relatively inexpensive / mass produced whistles.
That’s nonsense. Someone who has just received a whistle is not likely to produce a good bottom d on his/her first day. On any whistle.
Suggesting a tweaked or more expensive whistle would solve the problem is misleading. Finding the correct pressure to blow will solve the problem, buying another whistle won’t..
http://www.flutesite.com/feadog_pro.htm
“The downside of the original design is that it does take really good breath control. Many whistlers get a Feadog early in their whistling career, because they are inexpensive and commonly available, and are simply not ready for this kind of whistle yet. They can’t blow quite that softly in a controlled manner yet, so they blow a bit harder and the whistle responds like it was made to.”
Can’t tell without trying it, but I’d guess the whistle’s OK…
Can’t agree with the first two sentences when I’d happily suggest the Feadog to a beginner as a competent ‘standard trad’ whistle!
Gumby has a point there. People new to whistles, particularly free/easy blowing Generations or Feadogs, tend to wildly overblow them and have trouble getting good solid low notes.
A really good Generation or Feadog should have an extremely easy sweet 2nd octave but still have round solid low notes including a solid round full bellnote. All the Generations I play, and my old Feadog D, are like that.
But when people not used to them give them a try they usually overblow them.