Ralph has been coming to the Wednesday night City Steam sessions, on crutches or a cane like yours truly. He’s two months further down the healing road than I am, and it was nice to hear that he was able to do a bit of dancing recently, even though he seems to have over done it.
I first met Ralph as he called contra dances in this area, and he literally introduced me to Tyghre, my husband (part of sqare dancing is often the ritual 'bow to you partner, bow to your corner,…).
I had the opportunity to play one of his whistles, a blackwood and silver beauty with a G# key, and I loved the sound and responsiveness of the instrument! The chunky mouthpiece would take some getting used to, but for a whistle of that caliber, I’d gladly learn to get used to it!
Glad to hear Ralph’s on the mend. He’s a wonderful man to deal with, and although his instruments may not be to everyone’s tastes, he really does quality work. We have one of his walking-stick flutes and also one of his whistles. The whistle is the sweetest sounding I’ve ever played – great for slow pieces like Blind Mary or Beauty in Tears.
I got to play Ralph’s whistle, too. A beauty and gorgeous tone. I had a chance to chat with him about the Adler Heinrichs and what he does to them. He pulled one out of his bag and let me try it. Very nice, too. Needs very little air which surprised me. He gets them to be pretty well in tune, but it requires quite a bit of work, aparently. He undercuts the fipple block, adjusts hole sizes etc. The tuning slide is really weak on these: way too loose.