i received a whistle this morning that i ordered some time ago from the whistle maker. it plays beautifully and sounds terrific. only it looks…used. 
the mouthpiece is all shiny and new looking, but the barrel is real scuffed all over. it was packed well, so i know it didn’t happen in shipping. i know that its how it sounds and plays that is important. and i really like that part of it. and if it was a gift for someone else then i would ask for another whistle for that reason. the whistle maker is well respected on chiff and fipple so i don’t want to mention the name here. has anyone else had a problem like this? am i being to fussy about cosmetic flaws? i spent a lot of money for it. i know if i am going to say anything to the maker it has to be soon so he does not think i caused the problem. any ideas or advice is appreciated.
Any the whistlemakers that I am aware of (held in high regard here on the board) would probably do what it takes to make you happy, Tyrone. I’m sure you could just call whoever it is and I would imagine that they’d take care of it. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It was probably an oversite during a really busy shipping season what with the holidays and all.
Best,
Paul
Bummer! When I get a new whistle, I always like it to look new. I would talk with the maker and see what they say.
I certainly respect your wish to keep things on the down low concerning the maker’s identity. However, I think nearly every whistle maker known has recieved their fair share of criticism here (respected or not..
). We’ve discussed this kind of thing in the forum before, and some of us take the stance that as long as the post is informative vs inflammatory, this is good information to know. I certainly wouldn’t want to get a scuffed-looking whistle myself. Ultimately, it’s your decision of course, but I think most of us would have been ok if you had said something like “I just got a new Sindt, and it’s really scuffed looking. Is this normal?” (as opposed to “Sindt’s suck! I got one, and it was a piece of crap!”)
Then again, some folks do take exception to naming makers when there’s a problem, though I’m not sure why. (shrug)
Anyway, to bring this thing back full circle, I hope you get some satisfaction from the maker. Most of them will bend over backwards to make things right, so I think your odds are good.
I’d suggest contacting the maker. To illustrate the point, I recently bought a whistle from well known maker. As always, it arrived promptly and played wonderfully. However there was a small ding on the side of the body. Purely cosmetic. I stewed for a day about whether is was too trivial to bring to his attention. Finally I sent him a very cautious e-mail telling him about the ding. He immediately responded, insisting that he replace the whistle. He could not have been more gracious. The spotless new whislte arrived in a couple of days. The issue I had was probably much more minor than your’s. It was clear the maker takes great pride in his craftmanship. Contact the maker of your whistle. My experience is that craftmen like the praise but really want to find and fix the mistakes and make sure they don’t occur again.
Good luck
There are a few makers who “rough up” their metal whistles with steel wool to give it a more satiny finish, instead of glossy. Maybe they got carried away…
-Brett
I am sure the the maker will do right and correct the problems you describe. I also expect the new whistles I buy to be in mint condition and those that I have bought whistles from directly used already know that before I make a decision they have to answer several questions for me prior to purchase…all regarding the condition of the instrument. Thats why I am known as the “Pain in the Ass”.
Errr, this wouldn’t happen to be the whistle that got misplaced, would it?
A very short while ago . . . probably only days . . . a whistle-maker posted the sad tale that he had accidentally sent a used whistle (freshly repaired) to the purchaser of a new whistle . . . he thinks. Maybe. Only he didn’t know who got it. Or something like that. But asked that whomever got it would take a good look at the whistle and let him know.
Sorry that I can’t recall the thread and don’t feel like looking for it. But, that gives you a very good excuse to contact the maker. “I recall seeing on C&F that someone sent a repaired whistle out by accident. I notice mine looks . . . well-loved. Is this the one you’ve been looking for?”
Even if it isn’t that whistle, it’s a good way to segue into getting it taken care of.
It was this one: Please help!! C/D whistle mixup…
Hope this helps…
Have you received the instrument from outside the country you live in so that it had to go through customs? We had this once, 3 whistles came back from Hungary. They were returned after arriving at Hungarian customs and had not reached the player in the first place. So you would expect them to arrive back the same way as when they left here (there should not be any finger marks or scratches when leaving here) They were not only handled but must have been played, mouthpieces had bite marks and oily finger prints all over the bodies, the people at customs seemed to have given them a good test drive before sending back to us.
We now heard that EVERY parcel going to America gets opened at customs and Germany is the same for years. The problem with untreated whistles in Aluminium and Brass is that finger prints will show up especially if the person had no clean hands, they show up more a few days later. Sometimes people rub their hands up and down the body because they like the feel of the metal, this can cause slight scratches on soft metals especially when wearing rings.
Hope this helps.
Brigitte
thank you all for your kind words of advice. i sent an email last night to the whistle maker and got a reply first thing this morning to return it for a different whistle. things could not have turned out better. it was an awkward thing and i was afraid of ill feelings on his part, but everything seems fine now.
i hope that whoever got the wrong whistle gets it taken care of. it wasn’t me though. thanks again everyone for the good advise.