I acquired my first low whistle last year - an Overton Low D, which I am very pleased with and I love the sound. However, I have a problem with what seems fairly constant clogging. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to deal with this?
Many thanks
John
I read somewhere on the main website that you should first make a soap(like dawn, handcleaner, or something) and water solution. Then you should cut up a business card that fits the airway. Dip the card in a solution for a few seconds and then thoroughly coat the inside of the airway with the solution. And then play. The soap keeps the water/spit/condensation from building up and clogging. Repeat this whenever you experience clogging. It also helps if you warm up thick whistles like chieftains and overtunes in your pocket before playing.
I hope this is helpful
Jack Murphy
You should also always warm up the head before playing whistles like Overtons. Hold it in your hand or under your arm; it might take several minutes for a low-D, but between that and the soap treatment, there will be a vast improvement.
Charlie
Hey John,
I agree with both of the replies you’ve gotten. Warm it up and soap it down!
Vinny
Follow the previous suggestions, then when playing, if it starts to clog just keep playing but play louder and the airway will clear. A good suggestion that I learned about on this board is instead of soap, use a tiny bit of “Jet Dry” the anti-filming stuff you put in dishwashers. It is really important, especially with aluminum whistles that they be warmed-up. Besides clogging problems, a cold alum. whistle plays flat, and doesnt have as good tone.
I’m having this problem, too. Goin’ out to the store to buy some Jet Dry!
I agree with the need to warm up the head of the Overton. Remember that your breath is going to be around 90 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Metal at even room temperature of 74 degrees will get condensation. I have very warm hands so I generally rap my hands around the head and warm it up that way, trying to get it up to body temperature. In addition I often use blotter paper tabs to remove moisture from the windway. The following is a post from last December about cleaning my Big-O.
On 2001-12-14 14:02, LeeMarsh wrote:
For cleaning my Overton onepiece Low-d. I bought a cleaning swab made by the folks who make the crystal flutes. I has a dowel with cushioned swab at the end. The swab is 1" in diameter and fits snuggly inside my Overton; while, the dowel is long enought to reach the whole length. It only cost about 3 or 4 dollars. For my soprano (regular) whistles I use swabs that are made for recorders. Both of these can be found at discount music stores like Mars Music.For cleaning and drying windways. I went to a local art supply store and bought a big piece of blotter paper. This is the paper you use to blot caligraphy ink. Years ago desk 'blotter’s were made out of blotter paper. I know, I know, who uses fountain pens and ink anymore when e-mail and printers have done away with the need. Any way, you can still find Blotter paper at some art stores.
I then cut the sheet of blotter paper up into little strips about 1/4-1/2" wide and 3-4" long. These easily slip through the wind ways and remove any moisture. The paper is stiff enough to be pushed through with out any problem. I then sit them out on the table and, as long as they don’t get guiness spilt on them, they dry out for re-use.
Hope this helps and …
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-06-06 10:47 ]
sorry ..i’m stupid…do u insert the card into the whistle and leave it there..or remove it afterwards./??and…which part should be covered with soap..???and how long should the card be…how can i cover the most inner part of the airway..???
pls bear with my stupidity
[ This Message was edited by: christina on 2002-06-08 04:01 ]
This may seem weird, but I just run hot water through my aluminum whistles for a minute, then blow the water out and dry the exterior with a towel. They play great with no clogging problems (until you put them down to answer the phone, or stir the soup or change the baby’s diapers, or whatever). As long as you keep playing continuosly after warming them up like this the clogging doesn’t seem to be an issue.
can someone pls answer my question
Christina,
Insert the card for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, but while you do, you want to move it back and forth in the airway to make sure it touches everywhere in the airway. You want the airway to be lined with soap(top bottom and sides) so it won’t allow water to build up. Once the airway is thoroughly coated, remove the card and play. You want to cut the card before you insert it into the airway so it fits the airway and still allows you to hold on to it, so I would leave the business card the same length but trim the sides to fit the airway. I hope this answers you’re question.
Jack Murphy
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions - I will try these.
John
Christina, you’re just using the card as a kind of paint brush, that’s all. And it does work. I was about to throw my Howard in the river, but this cured it, so far at least.
Instead of blowing hard to clear the windway, try sucking in sharply. Blowing can just make the problem worse by adding MORE moisture. You can even do the suck-in thing in the middle of a tune, and it doesn’t make any obnoxious noise
On 2002-06-09 09:24, brewerpaul wrote:
Instead of blowing hard to clear the windway, try sucking in sharply. Blowing can just make the problem worse by adding MORE moisture. You can even do the suck-in thing in the middle of a tune, and it doesn’t make any obnoxious noise
I also endorse this method, which I tried just yesterday for the very first time at a birthday party. It was at a park and the weather was a little on the chilly side (= fast condensation) and I was playing my clog-prone Laughing whistle. When the tone started getting iffy I waited for appropriate places to skip notes and sucked in quickly and although I didn’t notice any moisture intake (ewwww!) it cleared the windway very effectively.
This also gives me the opportunity to say that the woman at the right of the picture of Tinker’s Damn to which Tony Higgins posted a link is my lovely wife, who was fortunately drowning out most of my mistakes at the party yesterday with her accordion - specifically her piano accordion, not the Saltarelle button box in the picture.
John