HI all,
came across this whistle thing on ebay six holes brassy look mouthpiece
on the side.
sponge 
It’s a fife with a “cheater” for those unable to blow a transverse flute.
it can’t be a fife…look closer…it has a windway with a blade like a fipple. I might buy it just for kicks
Well, it’s kind of hard to tell. To me it looks like an ornamental do-hickey on the left end. (Crown-piece?). The mouthpiece (fipple) looks like it extends out of the side of the flute, which is what a cheater is. Buy it, and submit your report!
Edited to Say: And if you REALLY look close, there seems to be a seam in the mid-section. I believe this is a two-piece instrument that would fit in your pocket.
It does have the outline of a cheater, however cheaters are usually removable and the fife could be played without it. To my knowledge the only exception to this was the Melbay “Melody flute” with a plastic mouth piece blowing across a blade on the side. Due to the perpendicular hole on the body of this instrument, it would have to have a block right before it and would probably be more like more like a whistle, NAF or other block flute.
At 14” the blade on the photo looks like it is around 10-11” from the end and would probably be in the key of D or perhaps C.
The keys of Bb or C would be consistent with a military fife. Many were cast in one piece with the cheater built on. These were “trainers”, or for people who wanted to march, (e.g. in parades), but were not able to form the tight fife embouchure. Modern cheaters are generally removable, but I’ve seen the other kind, too. That’s my guess, but it’s pretty hard to tell from the picture.
If you find a picture of one of these I would be interested to see it.
14” over all seems short for Bb (especially) where the mouth piece is. Guess we’ll have to wait for Flogging Jason’s review if he gets it.
[URL=http://imageshack.us]
Look at the angle of the “mouthpiece” on the critter on Ebay.
It looks more like a chanter of some kind than a whistle; it looks very much like a tube is meant to connect there.
Could this be a part of someone’s effort to make some “whistle-pipes?”
–James
I was wondering that same thing… interesting thing… hope to see more about it.
I wonder if we’re seeing the only surviving example of a whistling device which survived the crash of a Crystal People ship, about 5 years ago. According to Government sources, it is////SERVICE INTERRUPTED/// RUNNING 3FISH.PROG.TRACER.DWISELY/////
Thanks, for the photo of the fife like device. I guess the MelBay thing had predecessors.
It’s a transverse whistle. These things are usually made in India, from what I’ve seen.
Where does one get one of these because I think I’m one of those unable-to-blow-a-transverse-flute people? (Or did they quit making them in 1870?)
So, you received your renaissance D fife? (That is what you were thinking getting, right?)
I did, but it’s not going well. I can make most of the bottom octave notes kind-of-sort-of, but they are very soft and airy and probably can’t even be heard out in the hall. And I can do a few of the second octave notes, but they sound like I’ve got an air leak. Still it’s going better than when I tried a Dixon non-tunable flute or a Cooperman plastic museum special, and that maple is very pretty. I haven’t given up yet, although I’m glad I didn’t spend a hundred dollars.
Gonzo, I have the Sweetheart maple fife, too … and am not a consistent player of good notes on it, either. I love the sound of the flutes. As well as the fife, I have a Hall’s Crystal flute in G, Dixon 3-pc polymer, Tipple PVC flutes in C & G, and a Burns Folk Flute. The folk flute and the Tipples are the easiest by far to play, IMO – at least to someone just starting. If you can find a good deal on a used Tipple, it might give you more hope of playing the “tranverse flute” for a more than reasonable price. For myself, the folk flute was more than worth the price just because I could actually get a decent note from the get go. 
Judy
I have one too… and though it is a good bit grating right now, I do think that if I give it the practice time I need, I’ll have a good fife that I can play (fairly) well. It’s a good instrument, I’m just not up to snuff on it. However, I have, at intermittent intervals, gotten some sweet high notes on it… the kids and cats are rolling their eyes right about now, but it’s true… the notes are in the instrument, it’s just training myself to bring them out. (I used to play flute and piccolo, so I do know how, it’s just been a looooong time)
Hang in there… stay out of close ear-shot of people who get exasperated easily, and just keep plugging away at it… you’ll get better at it.
Thanks for the encouragement. I do know there is no fault with the instrument, and I’m going to keep working on it. This is a nice instrument – I love the look of the maple. It’s the only wood instrument I have, and it has made me want a nice wood whistle now.
Someone else suggested I look at the Tipple flutes, and I did consider getting one. But he does’t do credit cards and I don’t do PayPal, plus the price difference was enough that for the same price I could get the Renaissance fife and a whistle, and you all know how that goes. But they did look like an exceptional value, especially given the good reviews I’ve heard.
I have two of Doug’s flutes… very nice… I especially like my older, contact paper covered one… it’s just so… I don’t know… somehow really cool looking even though I would scoff at such if I’d just heard about it… I need to get a couple wedges for them though. And I need to play one or the other of them more… sigh… so many instruments… so little time… and breath!