Walton's is playing two notes at once..

Whistle
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Tweak it, baby…

Start by working on the blade, dull it a bit. Check for burs or other stuff in the windway, tighten the fit of the mouthpiece with teflon tape, drink Mountain Dew…

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Start by making sure nothing’s gotten into the mouthpiece or tube (lint or whathaveyou) and that it hasn’t started to clog with moisture.

Bloo, are you sure you would start by dulling the blade? I would dull it if the bottom notes of the lower register are weak and tend to break into the upper register too easily.

If the upper register is weak and tends to be contaminated with some lower register sounds, I would be inclined to start by sharpening the blade a bit.

As a general rule, my understanding is that dulling the blade tends to strengthen the lower register and weaken the upper, while sharpening the blade tends to do the opposite. You’re looking for a balance, ideally where both are satisfactory.

That said, this isn’t an exact science. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Best wishes,
Jerry

P.S. Any whistlesmiths care to comment?

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Jerry, you’re the man: you know more than I do by now! My thinking was that the buzz & two-octave thing comes form an uneven, chipped, burred blade… or debris somewhere.

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You might also just be having a bad day. Try playing another whistle for a few days which is more demanding than the Walton (if you have one) and then come back to it. I’ll bet it will behave better then. (Unless it’s a Little Black D, in which case it’s hopeless…only my humble opinion.)

Robin

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You’re definitely on target, Bloo.

Sometimes the edge of the blade has some crumbs or an almost microscopic ridge of plastic hanging from it (“flashing” or “flash” in casting parlance). Anything that makes the blade edge more perfectly uniform helps to clean up the voice.

Best wishes,
Jerry

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Robin, if you (or anyone else) has a hopeless Little Black D you would like to get rid of, send it to me!

I’ve managed to reform quite a few hopeless whistles. (I’m not offering to tweak it for you and send it back; I’m offering to adopt it.)

The more Gen-type whistles I can get my hands on to practice tweaking, the sooner I’ll solve the last mysteries that stand in the way or my being able to make them more widely available. I’ve sent out five prototype tweaked Gen-type whistles so far, and folks seem pretty enthusiastic about them.

Best wishes,
Jerry

P.S. Little Black D’s are good whistles for me to work on, but I can put any hopeless whistle to good use.