I love my Clarke original, it’s my second favorite whistle. However, I find it a bit of a workout to play the faster tunes; jigs, reels, and so forth, due to the lack of breathing opportunities. So, I was considering getting a tweeked Clarke from the whistleshop. I’m sure this has been asked before, but since a number of people have bought/tried them since the last time this question was posed, I though I’d ask again: How does it compare to the original? Does it still have the distinctive Clarke original tone and feel (very, very important for me)? And is it really better in the windflow department, or only marginally? The only reason I would get one is to improve my breathing capacity, since I really love my untweaked whistle. Thanks!
I don’t have a tweaked Clarke from Thom Larson, but I have one that’s been tweaked by Jerrius Freemanius. I played it before and after it was tweaked. The windway has been flattened and narrowed and the blade has been lowered and re-shaped. The sound is exactly the same, except that it lacks the breathiness (air you hear at the same time you play), and it seems to take less air than before, but I think some of that might have to do with my playing improving, I’m not really sure.
One thing that isn’t done that the whistle shop does is that the fipple isn’t reshaped, which isn’t that big of a deal to me because I can play it fine the way it is.
I think Jerry’s tweaked Shaw Ds are basically Clarkes but ‘better’…you might think of those, too…
The tweaked Clarke does indeed keep the great sound of the Clarke orig.
If you you are so incined you can try tweaking the whistle yourself. It’s fairly easy and you can get alot of advise by searching the C & F archives.