Hi,
My relationship with my susato is in trouble: the sound keeps getting muffled, sometimes after one minute of playing… I keep washing it and it looks clean but this does not seem to help.
Any advice?
It may look clean, but there may still be some gunk in the windway.
Try taking a pipe cleaner, or a piece of business card cut to fit, and
physically clean out the windway (the hole wherein you blow).
Some things that may help:
First, I do suspect fearfaoin is right; there is probably some kind of gunk in the windway.
I’ve had good luck with stubborn whistles in taking waxed dental floss and using it to clean the windway. This to date is the most effective treatment I have found to prevent clogging.
Also, you may be playing the whistle without warming it first.
There are some whistles (Susato included) that really just don’t play well when they are cold. Try warming the whistle in your hands before playing it; you can also cover the window with a finger and gently blow warm air through it–this is a very effective way to quickly warm a cold whistle.
Finally, the plastic may actually be bent or damaged, particularly the blade. Take a good look at it from all angles and see if anything looks out of shape.
Good luck!
–James
Looking at your avatar, I’d say the problem is probably cow slobber. Letting bossie chew on your whistle while you cavort about the fields is rarely a good idea.
If your problem is really windway condensation, then do a foum search on some of the following terms for ideas on how to combat it: Duponol, Jet Dry, clogging, dryer sheet, detergent, surfactant, dental floss.
