Greetings, all. I am a new whistle player who has a thumb injury that makes holding a narrow-body whistle very difficult. I’m currently playing a tweaked OG Clarke that I’ve glued a big leather pad on the back of to be able to hold it, but I’m ready to move on. It’s a bit Frankenstein-ish and I don’t like how screechy the highest notes are. I ordered a Freeman Mellow Dog a few months ago, but… I’m wondering if there’s a good option in a wide-body while I wait for that and/or if there is a step up I should consider.
Greetings Garick,
I’ve used leather myself in making “accessories” for my whistles.
Is there any chance you could post a photo of yours ?
On the subject of “wide” whistles, most of my high-D’s are very similar in size. Now, as you change whistle key, the diameters can get much larger. My low-D’s are easily twice the diameter of the high ones.
Also, have you seen the whistles offered by Susato ? They come with thumb-rests that clip on. They also sell the thumb-rests separately. See: https://www.susato.com/
Also, if you like backpressure, the low whistles by Reyburn are winners ! I love them !
Welcome to whistling !
trill
There is a good, possibly better option. The tube diameter of the Freeman Mellow D is 9/16". Checkout the two Hermit Hill Delrin D’s which have a tube diameter of 3/4". http://www.hhfi.biz/products.html
If you haven’t yet received the Freeman, to get familiar with it, I wouldn’t be spending much money during the wait. The standard Walton’s Mellow D right out of the box won’t be too far off and gets good reviews. It’s one of the least expensive whistles available.
BINGO!!! What he said!
I wished my first whistle had been a Waltons Mellow D. When I finally got around to ordering one I had low expectations due to how low the price was. When it arrived I was very very impressed.
I can only speak for mine and it is mellow, the notes are strong and stable. You can get into the high second octave notes (A, B C#) easily and it doesn’t kill my hearing like some of my high D’s do.
No it’s not the perfect whistle but for a beginner, it is one that I would highly recommend.
Thanks for the kind welcome, folks. I thought about just trying the Mellow D, but at its price point I feared it. I’ll give it a shot.
I will admit to a prejudice against plastic instruments, as I always fear they will sound like the elementary school recorder of my youth.
Sure. It doesn’t look like much. Just some scrap leather and Shoe Goo.
I came to the whistle via a long and winding road. Having married a fiddler/step-dancer, I am often the guy just drinking beer while everyone else plays music and/or dances. Due to a (different) injury, dancing is right out, and my previous instruments of trombone and drum kit are far from Celtic. I originally thought I’d try the button accordion, but the cats are convinced that it is some sort of torture device. As soon as I unstrap the box, the cats flee to the farthest regions of the house. On our last trip to Ireland, my wife bought a couple of budget whistles at Custy’s on the “much easier to travel with than a fiddle” theory. Turns out the cats love the tin whistle and come running like the pied piper is playing their favorite tune, so I bought one for myself. It’s nice to have an instrument that actually get appreciated during practice.
A plastic whistle may also suite you. I have a Dixon DX005 and a Parks Walkabout that are both relatively wide diameter.
Hi Garick, I’m new to this forum but for what its worth have a look at a Chieftain high D. I have both the Chieftain and a Feadog Pro high D. The internal bore of the Chieftain is 19mm while the Feadog is 12mm. This does not sound much different but the Feadog fits entirerly within the Chieftain baring a very small band around the plastic mouth moulding. Hope this may be of interest, Regards Chris D
Another option is to buy a whistle in the key of A, which is the next general increase in bore size, the altos (keys of A, G, F), and A whistles play the key of D too. And improvising a cushioned thumb rest?
One step further is to use the double-thumb three-season mountain whistle technique as demonstrated in this video, which negates issues with tube curvature altogether:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe38tMJrQ3U
Sounds like a strong case for one of Sedi’s square-bore whistles: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/square-alloy-whistle-that-i-made/101299/1
Unfortunately I never really went into production. Covid made shipping prohibitively expensive and my day job has me swamped with work. But I still improve them and might have another go once shipping is back to normal and I find the time.
That is so cool! If you do go into production I would definitely be interested. Alternately, if you are interested in selling a copy of your plans for a DIY, I would also be interested. I am an amateur jeweler, so I have all of the tools I would need for such a project.
Sure thing. There’s no copyright on a whistle. I use a simple app called “DIY flute” from Google play. You just need to calculate the square profile into a round one. The tube I use has an inner profile of 13x13 mm. And there are many tutorials on how to build a whistle.
Assuming that I can find the same sized hollow stock, are you willing to share your calculations? I am pretty bad at geometry and don’t use the Google Play store.
Ehm, sorry but I cannot explain how to make a good whistle in like a couple of sentences. I’ve been doing that for 5 years and it took me a half year and more than 20 prototypes to perfect the square whistle. So you would have to learn the necessary skills and make yourself familiar with some tools like a “flutomat” software to calculate hole-size and other measurements. It would be all but useless if I gave you some calculations if I don’t even know what type of material (wall thickness, diameter, etc) you’d be working with. Every millimeter difference would make new calculations necessary. So I guess your best bet is to buy a Susato with a thumb rest. It’s not like I have some “secrets” I don’t wanna share but it takes time and effort to come up with a good, in-tune whistle. There is more than enough material online on how to make whistles. And there is no geometry needed to come from 12x12 mm to a round diameter. The formula for the area of a circle is r^2 times “pi”. And 2 times r is the diameter you need for any flutomat software. So I use tubing with 14 x 14. Inner diameter 12 x 12 (not 13 as stated above, my bad – wall thickness is 1 mm)
12 x 12 = 144
144/pi = 45.8366236
square root of 45.8366236 is 6.770275 – take it times 2 and you get the inner diameter of a round tube which you can then put into a flutomat software to calculate the hole sizes and spread of the holes. 13.54055 mm is the number you’ll get. This is the formula you need when using a flutomat software with a square tube. Basically just translating the square profile into a round one.
Wood whistles are generally wider so might be a consideration, although wood whistles are not everyone’s cuppa.
Sorry, I didn’t mean that I’d ask you to calculate it for me. I meant that if I could get square tube identical to yours, would you be willing to share the hole locations and sizes that you used? That said, the tubing you’re using appears not to be a standard size in the US, so since I don’t think I can get identical tubing, the question is moot. Also, the part I was worried about was the conversion issue from square to round, and you just gave me that, so I think I can figure it out from there. Thank you.
In the meantime, my Walton’s Mellow D arrived, and I’m quite happy with it. Thanks for the suggestion RoberTunes and TxWhistler. It came tune-able out of the box (actually, wrapper) and has a very nice sound. Practicing on this should help me be prepared if/when my Mellow Dog arrives.
Sorry, I didn’t mean that I’d ask you to calculate it for me. I meant that if I could get square tube identical to yours, would you be willing to share the hole locations and sizes that you used?
That might work. But you’re probably right about the different sizes EU vs. US. The tube I use is not even standard here with 14x14mm on the outside. A standard size would be 15x15 but I couldn’t find the right square connectors that I use for the mouthpiece. And the app I’m using never gives me the correct overall length – so that is more or less trial and error by cutting off small pieces till I have the right length. The calculations for the holes that the app does, are correct however but the app is intended for flutes and not whistles and the mouthpiece screws everything up when it comes to overall length.
Waltons Mellow D is a great wide-bore whistle, I think the only one among beginner (inexpensive) options. If you are aiming for loudness, you can go with a Susato (also wide-bore but it’s a bit more expensive). There’s a good tin whistle buying guide you may want to check for some more options too.
This thread came up again and I wonder what you came up with. Nothing to be ashamed about if you make a frankenstein whistle by the way. It is the music that counts, not how they look.