Maybe it has already been covered before, but I don’t remember it if it has.
Anybody care to comment on why a “wall” around the window strengthens the tone of a whistle?
Even just using a thicker windway sleeve like on a Sindt, which only creates a “wall” behind the window and leaves out the sides, dramatically strengthens the tone compared to the very same whistle head with a thin windway sleeve.
A 3-sided “wall” like that found on several brands of whistles seems to work even better though, but I’m still confused as to why either method works in the first place.
I just know metaphors–the wall controls the air,
it tells the air it has a job a do. Of course it
will protect the window from breezes,
and perhaps focus the vibrating stream
that issues from it.
Hi, Gary.
My tweaking experiments have disclosed, anything that provides a more regular, targeted airstream improves the sound of the whistle, whether it’s machining and polishing the ramp as perfectly flat as possible to adjusting the windway geometry so it minimizes any air going anywhere except directly over the windcutter blade. I’ve no experience with window walls, but I would expect it to contribute to a clear, confident, focused sound. Sometimes seemingly very subtle adjustments (like getting the ramp perfectly flat) make a surprisingly big difference.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I have no practical experience with whistles with ‘wings’, but I have made many NA flutes. It is standard practice to have a wall (called a chimney in NA terms) around the sound hole on NA flutes. It stabilizes the tone and slightly flattens the pitch…the taller the chimney the flatter the pitch. It also may make the octave transition slightly more difficult (this part is only a theory). Since the NA flute is usually only a 1+ octave instrument I really wouldn’t consider building one without a chimney because it just makes the tone soooo much better.
For what it’s worth,
Eric