I bought a couple Generation D’s (a brass and a nickel) and I haven’t been able to get all the notes to play reasonably in tune. Now, this is only a problem with my D’s. (I have an Eb and and F and they play beautifully!)
So the scoop is:
All lower octave notes are OK (although the D and B are sharp).
The high A is pretty durn flat, as is the high E.
The high F# is an F – I can’t even overblow it into an F# without breaking into the 3rd octave.
That is the brass. The same goes for the nickel, but not quite to the same degree.
Anyone manage to solve this problem? Is this something that will correct itself magically if I play the Generations long enough (I started, and continue to enjoy, playing on Clarkes).
(you can search for other threads with similar information)
Possible answers:
A) It’s really “just intoned”, not out of tune. It’s not a problem. Really.
B) Try pulling the head out a bit. That seems to solve a lot of problems with this brand.
C) Generations have quality control problems. Your best bet is to try them in person, because folks who do that pick the good ones, and so the folks who order via the mail get the crappy leftovers.
D) Generations have quality control problems. Buy a whistle that is manufactured to more exacting standards.
I recently got a Gen D (sealed for my protection) whose G turned out to be painfully flat in both octaves, and the F was a bit off as well. Aside from the tuning probs it had a very nice tone, so I gradually carved at the 4th and 5th holes with my exacto knife to bring both notes closer into tune. But I still need to go at it with some sort of electronic tuning device – aforementioned adjustments were done by ear – there’s something about the scale is still just a little bit screwy, particularly in the 2nd octave… but at least my adjustments made enough of a difference to make it a servicable whistle. It has a very nice silvery tone, even if the tuning in the high G neigborhood is still a tiny bit off…
Get a Keyboard or use a Sequencer to play a non-vibratoed note, say Recorder, and tune every note to it starting with low D. If the holes Flat make it larger (removing material at the top of the hole sharpens the note faster and will minimize overall size change), if the holes sharp apply tape.
C#/Cnat hole is more tricky as it has two jobs to do, essentially the larger the hole the less the effect of cross fingering and vica-verca.
