Ok, this week I only made a Soprano D. I used a new tubing, which is not as bad as the last one, but still not good enough. The fipple joint is a bit loose, so I had to glue it face-down so it won’t loose air.
I’ve tested changing quite a few things, the sound improved from the last one, or at least that’s what I feel. I like it better than the last one, it requires less breath, the sound is more “buttery” and very pure, not so windy. It has a tiny bit of chiff, which I like. The breath requirements are like my Feadog’s on the first octave and just a bit higher on the second, but it has a lot more dynamic range than the Feadog, so it can be played more quietly or louder, but it also needs more attention when playing. The overall volume is like the Feadog’s, but since the sound is purer it “sounds” louder (at least to my family’s ears).
Ok, here’s the pic:
I posted only one because it looks like the last one, the differences are some changes on the soundholes, the window, the blade and the plug. The windway is longer too, to improve backpressure, and since it’s quite high and curved it doesn’t clog as often as my Feadog.
And about the soundclip… I really don’t like to record myself playing, since I’m just learning and I’m plain bad, but I really wanted to share the sound, so I learned The South Wind (of course I knew it, but I’ve never played it before) and recorded the result
I record my soundclips with a small voice recorder, which uses a heavy compression to store the sound and makes some kind of white noise, so the sound is actually less airy and raspy than it seems to be in the soundclip.
Also, the jump to the second octave is fine, the weird sound is just me, since the whistle is new I need more time to adapt myself to it
I agree, the sound is better than the last high D. I see you added an extention to the whistle, I asume to get the bell note right. It’s still a nice looking whitstle. It seems to me that one of the biggest problems you are having is getting the right materials. You may have to special order your tubing to get the right fit. There are several whistle makers that read this forum regularly that may be able to steer you in the right direction on material acquisition. Don’t give up. I believe in you.
It looks really nice, and it impresses me immensely that people like you have the skill and gumption to craft these things.
It does seem to me that the whistle gets sharp when you shift up an octave. Anyone else?
Toasty:
I’m using aluminium. I buy it from a aluminium wholesaler, they sell tubes and bars and stuff like that, mostly for construction. I can give you the contact info if you want, but since I’m from Argentina I don’t think it will be of use to you
Benbrad:
That’s no extension, that’s the “ring of balance”!!
I put it too close to the end… and the picture is too dark too.
Emmline:
Wow! Your hearing is amazing! You’re right, the second octave is about 10/15 cents sharper than the first. I don’t know if that’s a feature of the new design or is just me and my very-bad breath control
I think your balance rings would look better flush with the end of the tube… though that’s just my opinion.
It does look like an extension attached to the tube with a barrel connector the way you’re doing it now.
Several other whistle makers have put similar rings at the end of their tubes, and they look nice as well as helping to balance the feel of the whistle.
The main thing you need to work on is reducing the windway height… difficult without a lathe, but not impossible.
I used to glue in little shims to drop the roof of the windway in my earlier attempts at whistle making… you might want to give that a try.
Another option to consider is using copper tubing and coupling sleeves in making your mouthpieces… there are three different thicknesses available, so you could work out a combination that gave you a better windway height.
I had really good results using a combination of copper and PVC, so copper and aluminum should work just as well.
I only used PVC for my tubes because it was cheap and easy to work with, and I was scrapping a lot of material in those days!
