Question on Hoover Whitecaps and whistles...

Whistle
1

Still very new to this, but I’m looking into some of the more moderately priced stuff, and considering a low G whistle.

I realize I could get answers by emailing Mack, but I’d rather ask you guys than bother him for the time being.

First a general question about the Whitecaps; if I wanted one, would I just send the whistle to Mack? Would he just make it, put it on, and send it back to me? Is that how it works?

How would a Whitecap affect a Feadog D? If I were to do this, the goal would be to make it a little quieter, and lose a little chiff - but not much. I don’t want it to sound too clean.

Secondly about Mack’s whistles. If I were interested in a low G, but didn’t want to spend too much, would I be better off with a PVC model, or a Whitecap on aluminum - which also appears to be available. And, does he not make a low G with a Whitecap and brass?

Also, any soundclips of Mack’s whistles that would give a good representation of what to expect? I’m already going to look around on the Clips n Snips page.

And lastly (sorry for so many questions), are the PVC whistles just plain plumbing PVC from Home Depot with writing, or are they more “professional” looking? Sorry, I can’t really tell from the pictures - don’t mean to offend.

My goal in all of this is a not-too-loud whistle, with a bit of chiff, but not too harsh. I’m more interested in slow airs than jigs and reels for now. And please forgive me - I’m still new and don’t really know what I’m talking about, but think I know generally what I’m looking for.

Thanks,
Jason

2

Jason:

I’d suggest you just share all this with Mack. He’s very accessible and I think he does this mostly because he likes it, so he’s interested in making things that you’ll like.

As for the white caps, you don’t need to send your whistle, just tell him what you have. His standard models fit a generation D body. I ended up with three white caps. The openings (I forget the correct term) above the blade are small, medium and large. The difference is in the volume. I’ve used them on generation, oak and feadog bodies. The white caps are well made from what appear to be two types of plastic. Each one is signed and numbered. They’ve improved every whistle on which I’ve tried them. I have yet to find a good, mass produced plastic on an in-expensive whistle.

I also had one of his narrow bore brass high D whistles. It wanted because I’m often traveling for work want a quiet instrument so as not not disturb the folks in nearby rooms. It was a fine whistle, but the air requirements were too minimal for my beginners breathing. I sent it back and that wasn’t a problem.

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His pvc whistles are indeed made of plumber’s pvc, but they look very professional. The low F I have is like a work of art. Very smooth and polished, slight flare on the bell, brass tuning slide.

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Jason,

Do contact Mack directly. He will not be bothered. He is a very nice guy and will make exactly what you want.

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i have several of mack’s whistles and treasure them all. his whitecaps are wonderful - but i have come to think his cpvc’s are his best. that’s just a bias on my part. you can’t go wrong…

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I have two Whitecaps I use with a Feadog D tube, a “quiet” version and a “louder” version. The quiet version is quite quiet with very low air requirements. The “louder” version is just a bit quieter – a couple of dBSPL – somewhat lower air requirements than the Feadog fipple. The most significant difference in tone between the “louder” Whitecap and the Feadog fipple is that the Whitecap sounds much nicer. A bit less chiff, but much less airy, and a fuller character. Not as sweet/pure as a Burke. I like Feadogs for the most part, but I greatly prefer the Whitecap, unless you’re seeking lots of chiff or much more volume in which case you’d probably want a different whistle altogether.

You can tell Mack what kind of volume you want, and if you say you want something around the same volume as the Feadog you’ll probably end up with something like what I have.

No, I didn’t have to send him my whistle.

Edited for clarity.

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I have his CPVC tunable low G, and it’s one of my favorites.

First a general question about the Whitecaps; if I wanted one, would I just send the whistle to Mack? Would he just make it, put it on, and send it back to me? Is that how it works?

How would a Whitecap affect a Feadog D? If I were to do this, the goal would be to make it a little quieter, and lose a little chiff - but not much. I don’t want it to sound too clean.

Yep. Sending it to him is the best. When I bought a Whitecap for my Feadog D, I just ordered it and put it on, myself, and it worked out fine, but with my Oak, he did it. I think that was because the Oak has a slightly flared end that can make it tricky to do.

As far as the sound goes, you can explain to Mack exactly what it is that you want, and he’ll try to match it. (Of course, he can’t hear what you hear in your head, so there could be a mismatch.)

Secondly about Mack’s whistles. If I were interested in a low G, but didn’t want to spend too much, would I be better off with a PVC model, or a Whitecap on aluminum - which also appears to be available.

I have a low A with a Whitecap on aluminum. It’s nice, but I’ve convinced myself that the all-CPVC whistles have a more complex sound (in spite of all the whistle makers saying that the exact shaping of the blade and such is a bigger factor than the material).

And lastly (sorry for so many questions), are the PVC whistles just plain plumbing PVC from Home Depot with writing, or are they more “professional” looking? Sorry, I can’t really tell from the pictures - don’t mean to offend.

I think they’re very attractive. They are CPVC, which is supposedly safer to put in your mouth than PVC, and have a nice off-white, almost ivory, tone. They don’t have any of the printing on them that Water Weasel owners seem to like so much.

My goal in all of this is a not-too-loud whistle, with a bit of chiff, but not too harsh. I’m more interested in slow airs than jigs and reels for now. And please forgive me - I’m still new and don’t really know what I’m talking about, but think I know generally what I’m looking for.

I play almost nothing but slow airs, and Mack’s CPVC low G and high D both work well for me. They probably get more play than any of my other whistles. As I mentioned, they seem to me to have a more complex sound than most metal whistles, but on the other hand, it’s not a raspy or breathy sound–more of a hum, I guess. (After almost two years on C&F, I’m still not comfortable using the term “chiff”.)

Mack seems to control loudness by window size. (I’m sure he’ll correct me if I’m wrong.) My Hoovers vary from very quiet to what I would call “standard”, matching my Syn, Busman, and most others.

As previously mentioned, Mack is a joy to work with. Just tell him exactly what you want and see what he has to say.

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Note that Mack also has a new blacktop</a](http://home.bresnan.net/~mackhoover/announcements.htm">blacktop</a)> available,
which is made of Delrin, and is supposed to clog less than the
whitecaps (which are noticeably susceptible to moisture clogging).

When I bought a whitecap a year ago, Mack asked me if I wanted to
send him the tube so he could assure that it fit. I declined, and he
was fine with that.

According to his website:[quote]That](http://home.bresnan.net/~mackhoover/index.htm">website</a>:[quote]That) typical Hoover sound is pure and “sweet”, but you can request it with just a hint of chiff.[/quote]

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I have a lot of Mack’s whistles. I like them all for various reasons. My favorite now is a wide-bore soprano D. It clogged really quickly, so I didn’t play it much at all for a long time, but I just tried the soap-in-the-windway trick and I was able to play for a half hour last night without it clogging at all. It is very well in tune, the tone is strong, and it is very responsive to ornamentation.

I have a lot of whistles that I like, but Mack’s really “sing” more than the others and they have distinctive personalities.

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This is a must with mine. I clean the windway and re-apply soap every couple weeks.

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Hi Jason -

Mack is a great guy, and a friend of mine “in real life”. He won’t be at all bothered by your questions.

There are some sound clips on his website from rambling whistlers who came in for a pint of juice and some French Toast. See the “Sounds” subpage for most of them; there’s also one on the “Rocky Mt. Players” subpage but as that recording is of some unusual one-off models it probably won’t help you decide.

Wandering Whistler did a review of a whitecap earlier this year, including clips:

http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/reviews/hoover_whitecap/index.asp

I don’t know where you live, but if it’s anywhere near Western Colorado I highly suggest you take a road trip to see Mack and his workshop, he welcomes visitors of all playing abilities and will probably ask you to stay for a meal. He’s a wonderful guy and his wife is just as sweet. He can also make your whistle top while you’re there, and make sure that it’s exactly how you want it.

Regarding your other specific questions:

if I wanted one, would I just send the whistle to Mack? Would he just make it, put it on, and send it back to me? Is that how it works?

Yup - or he can just send you the head and have you assemble it.

How would a Whitecap affect a Feadog D? If I were to do this, the goal would be to make it a little quieter, and lose a little chiff - but not much. I don’t want it to sound too clean.

I’ve found that they can affect different whistles in different ways - as will all heads on different bodies. If you are going after a particular sound on a particular whistle I suggest sending it to Mack.

…And, does he not make a low G with a Whitecap and brass?

He could, if he’s got the materials and the interested buyer. Ask him about it.

And lastly, are the PVC whistles just plain plumbing PVC from Home Depot with writing, or are they more “professional” looking?

As far as I know it’s plain plumbing PVC. He cleans the writing off, and the cleaning process turns the PVC a bit whiter than your standard plumbing tube, but it will slightly yellow again over time. He can tell you how to clean it - I forget but it was something really simple.

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. . . if I wanted one, would I just send the whistle to Mack? Would he just make it, put it on, and send it back to me? Is that how it works?

I ordered a Mellow Dog and an Oak from Thom Larson at http://www.thewhistleshop.com/ who mailed them directly to Mack who put Whitecaps on them and mailed them to me. The transaction was very smooth and easy, and I didn’t even see the whistles until after they had their Whitecaps.

13

i was going to get macks brass lowg but he suggested that the pvs would be a better low whistle to start with so i bought that just as a set of training wheels but i was amazed at how good it look and it sounds in credible i imeddiatly ordered another i was skeptical about the hole pluming thing too but i am definetly converted

14

Thanks for all of the replies so far.

I’ve listened to several of the samples and like what I hear. Specifically, the Tinwhistler review is about what I’m looking for. Fairly sweet, not too loud, with just a bit of bite.

Any more comments on clogging? I will likely be playing along most of the time, so I guess it won’t be much of an issue for me.

On the low G (later), I was considering both Mack’s whistles and Dixon. However, from what I’m reading, it seems that Mack’s are more consistent. I know this should be another thread, but any comments on this?

Thanks,
Jason