Tony Higgins has posted a clip of me playing ‘King](http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/Audio/8-03/KingOfTheFairies-GaryHumphrey.mp3%22%3E%27King) of the Fairies’ on a nickel Generation Bb tube retrofitted with one of my PVC/Delrin heads to the Clips](http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/%22%3EClips) & Snips tune archive.
I’d like to get a little feedback regarding both the sound of the whistle and the name ‘Retro-Pro’.
Since I’m still having to work a ridiculous amount of overtime at my regular job, production of my new whistle heads for sale has still not begun.
Perhaps it has been for the best, since it has made me really take my time with R&D, and kept me from getting in too big a hurry to officially begin production.
Whatever the case may be, R&D on the retrofit D and Bb heads is finished, and I have non-prototype models of both that I have been playing extensively in order to be certain that they are as near perfect as I can make them… and I’m happy to say that I’m very satisfied with both of them.
I’ll finish the little bit of R&D still needed for the retrofit C head before I officially announce the availability of anything for sale… but my next day off should be more than enough time to complete that task.
My tastes have changed recently, and I now favor a more traditional sounding whistle… now I’m yet another high-end whistle maker trying to consistantly reproduce the sound of a really good cheap whistle.
I think my current retrofit head design does a very good job of turning a cheapie tube into a professional quality instrument, while still retaining much of the traditional sound.
In my mind, the name ‘Retro-Pro’ seems to be a good choice for my new retrofit heads… but it may sound silly to everyone else!
Anyway, I really would appreciate it if you’d take a few minutes to listen to the clip and give me a little feedback on it, and also let me know what you think of my current idea for a name.
The clip is completely unedited in order to provide the closest possible representation of the actual sound of the whistle, so please excuse the background noises and my goofs… I normally edit that stuff out to make myself sound like a better whistle player than I really am!
And here are some more fuzzy photos from the early Hubble space telescope -
Gary, the clip sounds very good. The tonal quality reminds somewhat of my Bb water weasel. They both have a certain ‘solid’ sound, if that makes any sense.
I have to admit, I don’t much care for the name. It reminds me of that craze of sometime back where everything was ‘retro’ this or that. But, hey don’t mind me… Burke’s Al-Pro always makes me think of dogfood .
Wow! That sounded really great (the whistle and the playing).
I want one! Will the heads come with a body (Generation?) or us that up to the user to supply (I’m mainly wondering if the D head would fit an Oak tube)?
-Brett
P.S. To be honest, I don’t care for the name either, but it wouldn’t stop me from getting one.
Oooooh, pretty!
very slick, good stuff and everything else I use for complements.
If I didnt have a good Bb whistle already I’d be rushing for the wait list too
Good work Gary
Of course, a fair contest should have two prizes:
one for “Pro” category (for instance, Kathy and, er, who else?),
and the second for all of us mere amateurs…
OK, so popular opinion is that the whistle sounds fine, but the name sucks… I guess I really should listen to Jerry Freeman from now on!
Now to answer a few questions -
I can’t pass on any savings or make any profit from tubes unless I buy them in wholesale bulk quantities… and then there are the possible legal issues that could arise if a manufacturer decides that I’m misrepresenting their product.
Since cheapies are so readily available, and since most whistle players already have several good tubes with crappy heads on them lying around gathering dust, I doubt that I’ll ever give the option to include a tube with the purchase of a retrofit head… but that’s subject to change later on.
I’ll be making my own tubes later on when I get into making keys lower than Bb, and I may offer complete PVC whistles from Eb to low D later on… but for now I’m just concentrating my efforts on the retrofit heads, since I am so pleased with how good they have turned out to be.
Oh, and yes the D head will fit an Oak tube… I’m intentionally making the fit a bit loose to compensate for the slight differences caused by paint, lacquer, nickel plating and the like.
A couple wraps of teflon plumbers tape will create a good snug fit, while still allowing relative ease in sliding the head for tuning purposes.
Soon, very soon… I’ll have to sell a lot of them just to break even on this venture since I had to invest in some pretty expensive equipment!
And for those who’ve suggested it, yes there will be a contest to kick things off for the official debut… so be brushing up on your Dubliners trivia! (the band, not the book).
Sounds really nice. Quite a solid sound, but not too strident and great clarity on the lower notes/ornaments.
Have you tried a brass Gen. tube with your head? I’ve always found the brass ones a lot nicer to play, seem to somehow have a nicer tone. The hole edges soften-up making it nice for slides and avoid cracking notes when playing around the 0XX XXX range of the whistle.
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)
Nah, that’s for Jerry Freeman’s tweaks
