I know I’ll probably take a lashing from some Sindt fans for this post, but some of you might find this information useful.
I’ve had a Sindt soprano D for around a month now, and I’ve been in love with it since the day it arrived.
Unfortunately I was already very much in the habit of using cross-fingering for C natural… and yes I knew when I placed my order that Sindts were not designed to cross-finger C natural properly.
I have become fairly proficient at half-holing C natural since I got the whistle, but I still find myself in need of the ability to cross-finger sometimes.
It’s nice to have the option to cross-finger when necessary, and it is necessary on some tunes… Lots of Drops of Brandy is a prime example.
I’m sure everyone who owns a Sindt has at one time or another tried to slide it’s head onto the shaft of another whistle… only to discover that it doesn’t quite fit.
The reason is that John uses 1/2" brass tubing to make his shafts, and the cheap English and Irish made whistles use 13mm tubing which is ever-so-slightly larger.
The solution: carefully sand down a 7/8" section of the top end of your preferred shaft and use a turn of teflon tape to snug it up in the Sindt head afterwards.
I chose a brass Feadóg shaft because they are very well in tune and have a brushed finish just like a Sindt shaft.
I couldn’t be happier with the resulting hybrid whistle, and I suggest this simple operation to anyone who is troubled by their Sindt’s inability to cross-finger C natural.
While I used an electric sander and a simple jig for greater accuracy, I see no reason why it couldn’t be done by hand.
“[Rain Dogs] …the ones you see wanderin’ around after a rain. Ones that can’t find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants…”
Tom Waits
[ This Message was edited by: raindog1970 on 2002-03-29 13:57 ]
Hi Raindog,that is indeed an interesting although puzzling tweak as the Cnat on my feadog plays sharp when cross fingered,same as a Gen.I dont own a Sindt:( so I cant compare.I have a theory that thin walled whistles have this problem moreso than thicker walled whistles.I reckon Overton and Susato both have good C nats but my favourite sounding whistle is my modified Gen with its typically sharp Cnat…some things we just have to live with I suppose.What about a Gen fipple on the Sindt body? Peace,Mike
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Jelaludin Rumi
[ This Message was edited by: mike.r on 2002-03-29 16:29 ]
On 2002-03-29 16:27, mike.r wrote:
Hi Raindog,that is indeed an interesting although puzzling tweak as the Cnat on my feadog plays sharp when cross fingered,same as a Gen.
Like Generations, Feadógs produce the truest C natural using OXX XOX (“forked” fingering) rather than the common OXX OOO which is indeed a bit sharp… both fingerings are quite sharp on a Sindt.
On 2002-03-29 16:27, mike.r wrote:
Hi Raindog,that is indeed an interesting although puzzling tweak as the Cnat on my feadog plays sharp when cross fingered,same as a Gen.
Like Generations, Feadógs produce the truest C natural using OXX XOX (“forked” fingering) rather than the common OXX OOO which is indeed a bit sharp… both fingerings are quite sharp on a Sindt.
Have you tried OXXXXO on the Sindt? I seem to recall this as the recommended Cnat fingering. Mike
Hi. Why not drill a Cnat thumb hole in the back of the whistle body? It’s the easiest and most accurate way to play the note and you don’t have to change your fingering every time you get a new whistle - you just keep your black & decker handy.
I suggest the whistle tablature might look something like this:
X X X X X X
(X)
= D
AND
X O O O O O
(O)
= Cnatural
[ This Message was edited by: nickb on 2002-03-29 21:37 ]
Half hole–at speed cross finger,
if you must,
noone willnotice, but when there
are sustained notes, half hole,
you young rascals, you! It will
transform your whistling on several
levels. It starts somewhere. Like
when you get a Sindt.
O´neils have decided that all future publications will substitute Cnat for C# in all tunes in the key of G.This decision was unamimously approved by all of the ten Sindt players present at the meeting. The request to abolish Fnat is presently under review. Peace, Mike
I have been experimenting in similar fashion with my new Sindt. Mainly trying to get something not in equal temperament.
Although the c s react slightly different fro mthe other whsitles I fail to see what the fuss is about, you finger them a bit different but didn’t you do that already on other whistles to find a better tone/pitch ?
On 2002-03-30 07:01, mike.r wrote:
O´neils have decided that all future publications will substitute Cnat for C# in all tunes in the key of G.This decision was unamimously approved by all of the ten Sindt players present at the meeting. The request to abolish Fnat is presently under review.> > Peace, Mike
O’Neill had a good few of the key signatures wrong anyway
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-03-30 12:56 ]
Is there an easy tried-and-true method for determining the location for a Cnatural thumb hole on a whistle?
Edit: I ended up just trying it after I originally did this post, so I guess I can answer my own question. I drilled a 1/16" hole in the back of the whistle right in the center of where my thumb usually rests (I used a Clare One-piece whistle). Then I enlarged this hole until Cnatural came into tune (with my "B" finger down). The hole ended up being 1/8".
It’s not inconvenient to have the thumb hole there when playing the whistle normally, since the hole is right where my thumb sits anyway. Even if I don’t use this hole much for the lower Cnatural, it could be handy to have for the higher one, which usually does not come out very well unless you use oxo xxx or something similar.
I would still like to know if there is an “optimum” location for this hole.
[ This Message was edited by: thomlarson on 2002-03-30 14:52 ]
Peace,Mike
Peace, Mike