Hello, all. I recently received a Dixon soprano D from The Whistle Shop. Although it is clear and pure and lovely in the low octave, I’ve noted a whole lot of chiff in the high octave, especially above F#. Indeed, there is a nasty undertone into the low register (imagine the whistle is unable to ‘commit’ to the upper register, creating a most displeasing double tone). This remains the case even when I modulate my breath from just-barely-clearing the second octave, all the way to flirting with the third, and I’m quite sure I have all holes properly covered. Actually, I feel a bit of a vibration against my fingers when this happens, suggesting some kind of unintended resonance with the body of the whistle. Does anyone know if this is a characteristic of these whistles? Are there any fixes? Any advice on this would be most appreciated. Cheers.
Please tell Thom!
Already wrote to the support area of TWS, though not specifically to Tom. Why, do you think this sounds like a defective whistle?
My Dixon D is lovely. It does not have any of the problems you describe. I’d certainly think this sounds like a defective whistle.
-Patrick
On 2002-08-10 15:45, Patrick wrote:
My Dixon D is lovely. It does not have any of the problems you describe. I’d certainly think this sounds like a defective whistle.-Patrick
Agreed. While my Dixon Soprano D requires very good breath control to keep from overblowing it, it always sounds clean and clear all the way into the first couple notes of the third octave. I’d say your particular whistle may have a problem.
Thanks for replies. As a relative novice, I’m not sure I know what you mean by “overblowing.” Does this mean blowing too hard so the whistle squeakily oscillates in and out of the third octave? IAC, I wrote to the Whistle Shop on Thursday, so they might not have been able to get back to me by the week-end. If a non-defective Dixon sounds as good in the second octave as it does in the first, though, I can’t wait to try a fully functional specimen! Thanks again!
Noocyte,
Have you made sure the airway is completely free of any debris? One of my Dixon Ds sounded a little raspy when I got it, but after cleaning out the airway with a piece of a business card, soaking the whole thing for about 1/2 hr in a weak solution of H2O & dishwashing liquid, rinsing it good then letting it dry, the raspyness disappeared and it’s nice and clear throughout both octaves.
If that doesn’t help, definitely see about getting it replaced. Thom and Tony are both very good about taking care of their customers.
On 2002-08-10 17:19, Noocyte wrote:
Thanks for replies. As a relative novice, I’m not sure I know what you mean by “overblowing.” Does this mean blowing too hard so the whistle squeakily oscillates in and out of the third octave?
That’s part of it. Just getting close to the “break” between octaves can introduce some undesirable overtones on many whistles. I have a severe problem with overblowing my Dixons after playing the Chieftain for a bit. The Chieftain has higher air requirements, as well as more back-pressure. It likes to be blown with confidence. The Dixon OTOH, must be blown gently and consistently.
Dear DRC and Msheldon;
Yah, I tried cleaning out the airway with a piece of biz card, and, although I didn’t use any soap, I did blast the whistle out with a considerable volume of water, after scouring the interior with a paper towel wrapped around a chopstick (figuring the towel would dislodge any gunk, and the water would take care of any lint left over from the towel). There was a mild improvement, but the undertone remained. While I await a reply from TWC (yes, I’ve been quite impressed with their customer service; they were delayed processing my order, and gave me a free upgrade to 2nd-day UPS when they discovered it), I will experiment with more variations in blowing…though I’m not sanguine about hitting on a breath through-put level which I have not yet tried; I’ve been characteristically obsessive with incremental variations in windage, without discernible improvement. The clincher for me seems to be the slight vibration against my thumbs while the thing is in its tone-doubling mode. While fluid dynamics and acoustics are not my fortes, my intuitive impression is of a resonance with some part of the whistle which is not supposed to resonate in quite that way (possibly due to some structural defect in the plastic of the shaft, or some source of turbulence in the air-stream [e.g., due to a blob of adhesive or a bit of ‘flash’ plastic in just the wrong place]). Regardless, I’m not looking forward to a return to my Clarke (or [shudder] my dented Guiness Walton’s) while awaiting a replacement. Ah, well.
Noocyte, I think my relatively new Dixon high D does the same thing. I’m not sure it’s not me, though. What I’ve found is that a dramatic increase in air pressure – more than any other whistle I have – stops this problem. Unfortunately, it causes a volume problem, as those top 3 notes are much louder than I really want them to be.
Does yours clear up if you try blowing a lot harder than you think you should have to? And could you let me know what you find out? I haven’t loved my Dixon as much as many others have, for this reason, but as I said, I thought it was me.
Tery
tkelly; Thanks for the input. I’ll be sure to try out your suggestion…but probably not today, as the wife and I went to a wedding last night, and are just a mite too hung over to allow for such sonic experimentation…to say nothing of the dog’s likely reaction! 
Still, even if this turns out to work, it will not bode well for this whistle’s suitability while I continue to teach myself (the neighbors may organize against me). Only 7 months till I reach the head of John Sindt’s waiting list… In any case, I’ll let you know if this works for me. Cheers!
Before doing anything major to it I would wait for Thom’s reply. II’m concerned that it wouldn’t be returnable if you muck with it too much. I had a problem with the second octave D on my dixon when I got it from the whistle shop last year. Thom and Tony (Dixon) were incredibly nice to me and within a short time I had a brand new D direct from Tony’s shop in England.
Noocyte, you might see if you can get a Hoover. It has an absolutely beautiful sound and is very quiet, so it’s great for playing when you don’t want the world to hear . I don’t know if Mack Hoover is making whistles again yet, but I was able to get mine used from someone on the board.
Tery
I saw him in chat the other day - he is currently not selling whistles.
Okay. And thanks for the comment about Dixons, avanutria. I’d like to like mine more, so I just e-mailed the Whistle Shop saying I might have the same problem others have had and asking for advice.
Tery
Avanutria, thanks for the advice. I have resisted my natural inclination to tweak and tinker, for just the reason you cited. All I did (apart from the cleaning I described) was some slight filing of the sharp inner edges of the holes, to see if I could smooth out the air flow a tad. The difference was only visible through a rather strong magnifier…and had essentially no effect on the sound. I don’t think I have ‘voided the warranty’ there (???). So, when you got your replacement Dixon, did it have the same characteristics, or was the problem solved?
Tkelly, thanks for the tip about the Hoovers…too bad he’s not making them, but I will be on the lookout for any used whistles. And, if my current avid interest in whistling has not abated in a few months, I will probably give in to the temptation to shell out the serious wampum for a Silkstone alloy (BEAUTIFUL to look at, and highly regarded sound). All accounts of the Dixon, however, had led me to believe that it would be a perfect stop-gap, and, as I’ve said, the sound in the lower register is pure spun Mithril. I only hope that, when this current issue is resolved, this will be the case across both octaves (hence my question to avanutria). Cheers!
Noocyte & tkelly,
Thom is great to work with and I know he’ll get it taken care of, but I think it also helps to let Tony know directly about these problems and concerns. Customer input is very valuable to the craftsmen. When I had a problem with my first Dixon, I contacted Tony directly about it and he was very receptive to my concerns. He thanked me for bringing my concerns to his attention since that’s what he relys on to fine tune his whistles, and immediately authorized Thom to send me another whistle from a new batch. Like Thom, Tony’s a super person to deal with and will do everything possible to make you a happy camper.
Give Tony/Thom a chance to address your concerns. My Dixon is excellent in both octaves and I get positive comments all the time about the tone and clarity. I had a Silkstone alloy D for a short time and aside from the price, it’s quite a different animal than a Dixon with some characteristics better, and some…well…
[ This Message was edited by: DRC on 2002-08-12 16:46 ]
On 2002-08-11 16:40, Noocyte wrote:
So, when you got your replacement Dixon, did it have the same characteristics, or was the problem solved?
Was absolutely solved and the Dixons were my favorite for some time (I have since gravitated toward the metallic sounding whistles). I have a whistle bag that holds six whistles, and these ones go with me whenever I go to a session: Dixon, Laughing, Hoover, other Hoover, Meg, and Doolin.
DRC; Thanks much for the suggestion. I have just finished writing a message to Mr. Dixon, describing my difficulties (amid much praise for the instrument, which really does sound quite stunning, till that crucial point when it becomes octave-indecisive!). I have no doubt that Thom will live up to his (really quite inspiring) reputation and adddress my concerns. I will absolutely give him a chance to do his stuff…I’m not going anywhere! Incidentally, I know these things are quite subjective and hard to put into ploddingly linear, verbal terms, but I’d be interested to hear some of your impresions of the Silkstone alloy (which, I note, you referred to in the past tense; whatever became of it [hint-hint…]?). Visually, it so matches my aesthetic, it’s as if it were designed for me (superficial, I know…but the sound has also been crooned over enough that I don’t feel too silly).
Avanutria (reference?); I am heartened by your praises for the Dixon. Thanks for the reassurance that, once this bump in the road is behind me, I’ll have as dandy a whistle as I’d hoped, to tide me over till that obsessive whistle acquisition thing kicks in again… (or the 7 months are up on my John Sindt wait-list…whichever comes first!). Cheers!
Noocyte,
I can give you my impressions of the Silkstone alloy and I’m sure others will disagree with me, but please bear in mind it’s just a personal opinion. And maybe the particular whistle I received was a rogue and not truly representative of the SA in general.
On the positive side, as is typical with Silkstones, it’s dead-on accurate in both octaves and plays easily with average breath requirements. Holes are large and allow easy half-holing and slides. Good whistle for airs.
I didn’t like the tuning slide design. It’s not as tight as the Burkes and can very easily be ‘accidentally’ moved out of position after getting it where you want it. I went to Home Depot and got a couple new o-rings that were just slightly thicker than the originals and it helped, but still not as tight as I’d like.
The overall tone of the SA is a bit unconventional and I couldn’t get used to it. I’d term it ‘unique’ and unlike any whistle I’ve ever played, bordering on ‘unwhistle-like’ to me. Not at all bad or on another planet or anything…just a different edge and character that I didn’t take to. It’s hard to explain. I like a nice, obvious whistle sound and the SA sounded more contrived than natural. Maybe the best way to explain it is by saying I like a whistle that maintains a basic tonal character from the low D to the hi D…you can tell each note is from the same whistle. With the SA I had, when transitioning from the first octave to the second, it sounded like two different whistles and I don’t like that charcteristic. I made several recordings with it and just didn’t like the tonal variances.
Like I said, this is completely a personal thing and you may absolutely love the SA. And it could be I got ahold of a ‘questionable’ one. From my brief Silkstone experience, I actually prefer the PVC over the alloy. Both PVCs I’ve played were excellent sounding, well-balanced, easy playing whistles and I’d have one if they were tuneable.
BTW, I returned the alloy.
[ This Message was edited by: DRC on 2002-08-12 21:00 ]