I’m a new member here and a complete beginner with whistles, so I appreciate any patience and basic explanations.
I’m seeking some advice on my Susato Oriole High D whistle. I’ve been having a consistent issue with the bottom two notes (Low D and E). According to my tuner (Soundcorset), these two notes are consistently flat by about 20 cents.
Here are the specifics:
The Sound Quality: Even at -20 cents, the notes have a noticeable buzzing / fuzzy sound.
Breath Pressure: When I try to increase the breath pressure to bring the pitch up, the notes become unstable. The tuner starts jumping to C# (for D) or D# (for E) due to harmonic chaos, or they just jump to the second octave.
The Rest of the Scale: Notes from G up to B are perfectly in tune.
Physical Fit: My Oriole is a friction-fit (no O-rings). I’ve tried pushing the headjoint in as far as possible, but it doesn’t seem to fix the flatness of the bottom notes without making the upper notes too sharp.
Additional detail (important): I’m a beginner, and in an attempt to make the mouthpiece/headjoint fit more snug I rubbed a small amount of lip balm on the tenon. I’m now worried that I might have caused the problem or even damaged the whistle.
Is this a known quirk of the Oriole’s “one-head-fits-many-bodies” design? Or could it be a technique issue (breath support)? I’ve checked for clogs and finger leaks, but the problem persists.
Any insights, troubleshooting steps, or small tweaks (including whether that lip balm could be an issue) would be greatly appreciated!
Given that these are plastic whistles I can’t imagine that a bit of lip balm will have caused such a problem. When you say that you’ve checked for clogs and leaks, how did you do this? If I had a wooden flute that was behaving this way (weak bottom notes, but functional higher notes) I’d look for a hairline crack somewhere lower down the flute body. If you leak air that might cause the weak notes. If you remove the head, securely tape/seal the foot of the flute and cover the finger holes so they are sealed, you can do a suck/blow test to see if it leaks anywhere. You may have already done this?
I’d also recommend washing the entire thing out with soap and hot water. Make sure you let the water run through the windway. That will rule out the possibility that the problem is a clog. Sometimes a very small bit of paper or gunk can really mess with a whistle’s pitch.
But yeah, it does sound a bit like a crack, so that might be it. Orioles should have, if anything, slightly sharp bottom D/Es.
Yeah, I agree. Clogs that aren’t even visible can make them behave really oddly. As it’s plastic, it’d be worth soaking it in hot water and washing up liquid/dish soap and leaving it overnight, before running water through it under force from the tap.
If you use a interdental cleaner such as a WaterPik, they’re good for cleaning whistle windways (albeit a bit inclined to drench your sleeves).
Thank you for reassuring me about the lip balm! That takes a lot of worry off my mind.
I tried the suck/blow test you suggested. I should clarify that I didn’t use tape or any strict sealing tools—I just used my hands and fingers to cover the holes and the bottom. Under these less rigorous conditions, the flute body seemed mostly airtight.
However, when I tested the headjoint by itself (by tightly covering the voicing window and the bottom socket with my hands), I felt air escaping when I blew into the mouthpiece. Because of this, I have a strong hypothesis that there might be a leak in the headjoint, perhaps around the block inside. Do you think a leaky headjoint could cause this specific 20-cent flat issue?
That is incredibly helpful information about the Orioles usually having slightly sharp bottom D/Es. Knowing that makes me certain that my whistle being 20 cents flat means something is definitely wrong, rather than it just being a design quirk.
I agree with your advice. Before I jump to conclusions about cracks or leaks, I will definitely do the hot water and soap wash to absolutely rule out any invisible clogs or gunk in the windway. Thank you!
Thanks for the great advice! The overnight soak with dish soap and the WaterPik idea are brilliant. Since it’s plastic and won’t get damaged by water, I’ll give it a good soak later. I want to make sure the windway is completely clear of any microscopic debris before I investigate my “leaky headjoint” theory further.
I have some sad news. Following your suggestion about the seal test, I decided to do a more definitive “underwater bubble test.”
I sealed the windway and the bottom socket of the headjoint as tightly as possible, submerged it in water, and blew into the mouthpiece. To my disappointment, a steady stream of air bubbles escaped from the seams/joints of the headjoint assembly. >
This confirms my hypothesis: the headjoint itself is not airtight. This massive pressure leak explains why my Low D and E are so flat (-20 cents) and buzzy.
But I’m curious to get your take—could a leak of this magnitude actually be the cause of such a significant drop in pitch? Since Cyberknight mentioned that Orioles are normally slightly sharp, I’m trying to determine if this leak is the primary culprit or if I should be looking elsewhere.
As a beginner, I’m quite heartbroken. Is a leaky headjoint like this considered a manufacturing defect for Susato? Do you think I should contact the seller for a replacement, or is there a safe way to seal these plastic seams without ruining the whistle?
Thanks for guiding me to find the truth, even if it’s not the news I hoped for.
When you say it is leaking at the seams, which seams are you talking about? Is it leaking at the socket and tenon joint? Or is it leaking around the block inside the mouthpiece? How did you seal the flute for your test? Were you simply snugging up the socket joint and covering the wind way opening with your finger (for example)? Or did you do something like wrap duct tape around the joint? How tight is the fit on the joint (the one that you used the lip balm on)? Without handling the whistle I can only speculate, but if it were me I might try wrapping the tenon of the plastic joint with a bit of Teflon plumber’s tape to ensure a really good seal. But I’d be wary of getting it too tight and potentially rupturing/cracking the socket. If you had to lubricate it in the first place it doesn’t sound like you have much wiggle room there. But if you are leaking at the joint this might help. If air is leaking out from other seams you can likely seal them, but it might be a messy business. I know there are some glues (Loctite 406 for example) that are made for plastics and this can be used to seal the seams, but it dries very quickly so you have to be pretty brisk with clean up. Other makers/players with experience modifying plastic flutes might have some alternative suggestions.
Can you take a couple of close-up photos of the mouthpiece from a couple of different angles? Maybe indicate where in the photos you see the leak happening.
As to why the low E and D are so flat while the rest of the notes are okay is puzzling.
I’ve never heard of this specific manufacturing defect occurring, but it’s certainly possible it could happen in theory. I echo what Geoffrey Ellis said, however. It could be an issue with the seal on the tuning slide.
Either way, it should be possible to get a replacement, if all else fails. If your whistle is defective, they should replace it for you.
I have a 19th-century flageolet with a big crack a bit below the labium, and it has a similar quality. It can play notes F# and above audibly (if weakly), but low D and E are almost nonexistent and are a bit flat. I don’t know why this is. But suffice it to say that a crack in the headjoint seemingly can affect different notes to different degrees.
Yes, I have an old Gen Bb where the bottom of the windway is a bit misshapen – I think I might have abandoned it on my bedroom windowsill in the 70s, which got direct sun all afternoon.
The low Bb doesn’t sound at all, the C is flat, D is okay but weak, and everything above it is perfectly in tune with a lovely tone. The high Bb will sound, but it’s very flat.
