old squeaky whistle – repair or tweaking possible?

Whistle
1

As the title shows, I need some help with an old squeaky whistle.
Hopefully I can repair or tweak it?
Or maybe there`s nothing wrong with the whistle and its just me :wink: (cause i am a beginner)

Ok, first, i have to tell you, its not an expansive whistle, its “just” a walton brass d whistle, but please don’t recomment to throw it away and get a new one, I never would throw it away, specialy not cause its my first whistle. (but i may get a new one aditional to compare if needed)

So whats the problem?
It squieks!
Maybe it always did and I didn’t notice cause it was my only whistle, but since I play other whistle too, I notice now.
So, maybe its just a little bitch, wich is complicated to blow, but i am sure it sqiueks now more than it did before (maybe just jealous). But maybe its cause its age, (over 12 years) and some dirt anywhere (even if I cleand it very well)
Its nearly not possible to tounge the lower tones d,e, and f, are just possible to tounge when done very soft and gently, and with a lot of breath-control and even than, sometimes it squiecks (that’s surely me than)
Maybe waltons always like to squieck a bit? but this one realy LOVE to squiek

Here is a soundfile
Scale up and down without tounging – NO Problem
(for my untrained ears it sounds good)
http://www.andreas-fischer-privat.de/no-fo/soundfiles/squeaky-waltons-1.wav

another soundfile Here WITH tounging

I cleaned the whistle with warm soap water, even with alcohol, I cleaned it with “recorder/whistle wiper” I tried to clean the mouthpiece with paper (no sandpaper) and creditcardstrip (that way i did damage the labium of my meg a bit, by the way, but it still sounds good)
maybe there is corrosion inside of my old waltons?

i have to mention, even if its 12 years old or maybe oldfer, i bought it, tried to play for a few days and then didnt untill march this year, so its old (agewise) but new (usedwise)
should be anything done with the head?
Ill try to take it of with the hot water trick later on and clean it again
What elso can I do?
Or hey, is this squiecking just typical waltonbitch behavier, when someone doesn’t know to handle such an old lady?

so far about my old walton whistle

i have another patient, too
and because i am already here i take the chance to ask u if there can be any help to my poor little chinese “gniesel”

in my collecters fever i bought a whistle at amazon wich looks nice but maybe isnt a real “instrument” cause it was sold as a toy
it was said that its made by “gollnast and kniesel” or something like that - so i call it a “gniesel” and cause its unplayable i called “gollnast and kniesel” to ask if its a toy and if thgey or who made it
i was told that its an instrument made in china and imported by “gallnast and kniesel” so i call it my little chinese “Gniesel” (who would like to pronounce more than one time “gallnost and kniesel” :wink:

anyway, this one dont just squiek, it behaves like a weapon . it screams into your ears so shrill that tghere is a possibility to get tinitus (well i have one for many years so, no problem here so far)
but hear yourself
but not without WARNING
its realy terrible and my damage your ears

so i recoment NOT to LISTEN to this soundfile
if yes, dont say i didnt WARN YOU
----TINITUS POSSIBLE — http://www.andreas-fischer-privat.de/no-fo/soundfiles/squeky-gniesely.wav --TINITUSALRM----

is there any help for this little chinese “gniesel” or can i just put it on my desk cause its pretty and should never blow into it again?

2

Have you tried the tweaking thread?
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/tweaks-the-thread/37600/1
Some cures are reversable, some ar not, so procede with caution.
Disclaimer, I’ve never tweaked a whistle outside of filling the void with blue tack.
I don’t want to destroy any whislte.

What I have done is buy different flavors of professionally tweaked whistles, Freeman, O’Brien, Whsitleshop, as well
as repalcement heads by Mack Hoover.

Honestly, those awful whistles that I put aside while I learn are sounding better the longer I whistle.
Maybe just put them away for a year or two and see how well they age?

3

as far as i understand it, that tweaker thread is more a list of tweakers than about tweaking, isnt it?
so no help there

but, anyway, first i need to know if the sound of my whistle is natural, caused by me, or if somethings wrong that can be repaired before i even think about “tweaking”, maybe it just needs to be cleaned or played by a better whistler (in that case i may lay it by side for a while and come back to it in less than 12 years this time)

p.s.
by “blue tack” do u mean “poster putty” in the head?
and what does it change? any squeakstoping that way?

4

in the 2nd clip the squeaking is a combination of your tonging techinque and lack of breath control. You’re not just interrupting the air flow you are causing a pulse of ill controlled air. IMHO

yes: blue tack = poster putty

5

I’m hearing what Denny is hearing. I think Denny has it right. I’m thinking it is more “operator error” than the whistle from what I am hearing in the second clip. Let the air flow, GW. Articulate with your fingers.

The first clip sounds like a decent Walton’s whistle to me (maybe a little too close to the mic).

It’s not entirely clear why the blue tack tweak works on some whistles. But it does seem to stabilize the oscillations in quite a few ill-behaved whistles. I use it on Walton’s particularly but rarely on other brands. And since it is entirely reversible there is no harm done by trying it.

As for the other, the Gniesel, you might want to try the articulated lorry tweak.

Do you have pictures of that beast so we can avoid buying one here? Actually such whistles are a great exercise platform for tweaking. Sounds like you couldn’t hurt it much by operating on it. So show us a photo or describe the construction of the wee beast.

Feadoggie

6

Yep, you’re right- sorry.
I can’t find the threads on how to tweak though.
Probly not your problem anyways.

7

My Waltons D is fussy when it comes to breath control and tonguing, and it sounds like yours is too. If you don’t have the poster putty tweak done on that one yet, that could help things a bit. It did for me anyway. In the first octave you’ll want to be letting air out similar to how you would calmly exhale. And if you don’t already, try to have the tip of the tongue away from your teeth when tonguing.

8



There’s a section on tweaking at http://www.chiffandfipple.com/tweak.html

Best wishes.

Steve

9

I hear nothing wrong with either of those Waltons clips. In the second clip I don’t hear a squeak. All I hear is chiff or chirp, the transient onset at the beginning of breath-articulated notes. It is a normal (and desirable) characteristic of the whistle sound, and it is the responsibility of the player to learn to control it - “playing the chirp”. There is nothing wrong with the whistle; it doesn’t need to be fixed or tweaked.

With the Gniesel whistle - It sounds like the head is in the wrong position on the tube. It if is tunable, move the head and adjust your breath to compensate. If it’s not tunable, it’s just a poorly-made whistle.

10

All this time I’ve been trying to play my Waltons D without getting that. And even tweaked it to get rid of it. Where’s the Homer Simpson emoticon…DOH!!!
Now the putty has been removed and I’m learning to enjoy the chiff.