I’ve been trying to get a good sound control over my Oak D whistle. I do also have other D’s: a Susato S series, a Jerry-Tweaked Sweetone, and a Feadog nickel. Comparing them, IMHO the most beautiful tone comes from the Oak, especially in the second octave. The Feadog is a bit similar to it, even in design, though the sound doesn’t “ring” as well as the Oak does.
The thing is: the bottom notes of the Oak are kind of noisy unless I REALLY underblow it, what does not happen in the case of the Feadog. As if I have to be veeery tamed in the Oak, while the Feadog allows me a fuller, thou poorer, tone. That saddens me a bit, being the Oak one of my favourite cheapies, for it obliges me to make it even quieter than it already is in the lower register.
Are there any suggestions so I could tweak the Oak and make the D, E and F# more solid, without the harmonics that threaten to thow it to the upper octave? And - who knows - something that could make it satisfactorily louder? Any of the tips provided by Dale and Jerry at the C&F site apply to the Oak?
Thanks for the tip. But then here comes my first obstacle. I’ve put the Oak mouthpiece submerged in very hot water for a brief time, but there’s no way I can manage to pull it off. I confess I’m a bit cautious and affraid to damage it, as I have the experience of a broken Sweetone mouthpiece due to normal (?) use and transport.
The Oak head is notoriously difficult to remove. Try wrapping some rubber bands around the body and the head and then do the hot water thing. The rubber bands give you bettter grip and a little torque advantage. It doesn’t always work but try. The thing about the Oak tube is that it’s slightly flaired at the end. I have had Mack Hoover make white caps for the Oak and I sent him the tube and he removed the flair to make his head fit better.
Also search this forum for “putty tweak” or “blue tack” or “blu tack” for more information.
The putty tweak can sometimes help to stabilize the bottom notes and reduce the scratchiness of the top notes. It won’t increase the volume, but it might let you use more pressure. Of course, you still have to remove the mouthpiece …
P.S. That’s some hot keyboard playing on your MySpace page! Quase não posso crer que vôce toca whistle tambem.
MTGuru, I’ll try to try it.
Thanks for the comments about the videos. Cool you enjoyed it. I hope to keep up with the whistle and flute as well. Still a long way to go, though.
