Hello all.
I am curious if anyone has been able to raise the pitch of a Generation whistle a 1/2 step higher? I have a Bb Generation that I would like to raise to match my B set of pipes. Thanks,
Arbo
Remove 3/4’’ from the top of the tube and 3/16’’ from the bottom.
Pipers make B whistles out of Bb Gens with some frequency apparently. And the question keeps coming up on this forum with some regularity too.
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/whistle-for-playing-along-with-flat-sets-in-b/37507/1
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/does-anybody-remember-this-thread/55476/1
The same type of hack works on a Gen Eb to make an E whistle too.
Shouldn’t we include these hacks in the tweaks thread? Or is a modification like this beyond the scope of a tweak?
Feadoggie
That works for me. 
I did this to a Gen Bb and it fixed the bell note but I had to do a little carving and taping to get the other notes in tune.
I’ve added a post to the “Tweaks” thread.
Yes, I expect some tuning of individual notes is generally needed for these mods. As with any cookbook whistle making project, results can vary.
Feadoggie
I don’t think there can be a one-size-fits-all measurement regarding how much to cut off from the tube at the top, because you can line up tubes from a dozen Bb Generations and you’ll see that the distance between the top fingerhole and the top end of the tube can vary from whistle to whistle. They apparently change their design from time to time.
That being the case, I let the pitch be my guide, and cut off the top until the upperhand notes (holes 4, 3, 2, and 1, the notes that would be G, A, B, and C# on a D whistle) are in tune to the new pitch I want. The bell note is now flat so I chop the bottom until that’s in tune to the new pitch. The bottom two fingerholes are flat also and they must be carved out.
It’s best to first chop the bottom to fix the bellnote, then carve the bottom fingerhole (hole 6, what would be E on a D whistle) and lastly carve the next-to-the-bottom finghole (hole 5, what would be F# on a D whistle) because sharpening below has an effect on notes above.
When making C# whistles from Generation C’s, and B whistles from Generation Bb’s, I’ve only had to carve out those two bottom holes (holes 5 and 6). The other holes have been fine. Of course this will vary from whistle to whistle, once again there’s no one-size-fits-all approach because Generations can vary so much.
My conversion was early in my whistling career and I probably over did the carving and taping. I’ve been meaning to go back with a new Bb tube and try again. I think I’ll do that now after having read pan’s informative post. I don’t have a B whistle I really like and this might be an easy way to get one.
Warning-thread drift: One thing I think I mis-understood was that C# could be made exactly in tune by carving and taping. My later experience tells me the C# on straight tube whistles will generally end up slightly flat when all the other holes are in tune and so the C# must be blown into tune with a little more breath pressure than the surrounding notes. Am I correct in this assessment or is there a trick I’m missing?
Hey all,
some more information about ‘carving out holes’ would be appreciated! Thanks.
Arbo
Warning-thread drift: One thing I think I mis-understood was that C# could be made exactly in tune by carving and taping. My later experience tells me the C# on straight tube whistles will generally end up slightly flat when all the other holes are in tune and so the C# must be blown into tune with a little more breath pressure than the surrounding notes. Am I correct in this assessment or is there a trick I’m missing?
To discuss further some clarifications are needed:
1st - ‘C#’ the note or the fingering, and if it is the note you are talking about which whistle is the note on a Bb or B or ???
2nd - what are you defining as ‘in tune’
And 3rd a perhaps not very helpful answer, though possibly inspiring, to “is there a trick I’m missing?” Yes, there are always tricks!
Sorry, I’m referring to the C# fingering. By in tune, I mean at just tuning with respect to the other notes on the whistle.
There should be be no great trick to tuning C# that is fingered OOO OOO, just adjust all the other holes first as they will effect the C# tuning and then the top hole which will have virtually no effect on notes other than C#, cross fingered Cnat and a bit on the 0XX XXX D. If you go for a just C# (flat of a ET C#) you may end up with a useful cross fingered Cnat as well - personally I would worry about the C# and take what I got for the C, of course I mostly half hole the C but it does make some phrases easier to play if you can use OXX OOO (or something similar) for C
Getting the second octave in tune is where the tricks come into play.