Chiff and Fipple Forums

hoopy mike wrote:

red_menace wrote:Any particular problem with a Shaw E? I have one, and like it a lot. It's a wee sweetie. Inexpensive, too.

Not being tuneable might be an issue if you're intending to play with others.

Good point.

Hey, doesn't the Dixon Trad come in E? Pretty sure it does.

I made a Generation C# out of a C and a B out of a Bb. The same approach would work for making an E out of an Eb.

1) chop the tube at the top until the upper-hand notes are in tune in the new target key. Usually
xxx ooo
xxo ooo
xoo ooo
oxx ooo
will all be close together and shouldn't need any further adjustment.

Next chop the bottom until xxx xxx is in tune in the new target key. What you'll now find is that xxx xxo and xxx xoo are flat and these two holes will have to be carved out quite a bit. My Gen C# and B play great.

To go lower you have to add tubing. I made a Gen A out of a Bb by making a new body. It plays great too.

Here they all are, Generations in A, Bb, B, C, C#, D, Eb, and F. That Gen Bb was horrid and I have a terrific Freeman Gen Bb now.

red_menace wrote:Hey, doesn't the Dixon Trad come in E? Pretty sure it does.

Um yes. ever get that sense of deja vu?

hoopy mike wrote: Um yes. ever get that sense of deja vu?

Sorry, I'm spectacularly dopey today!

red_menace wrote:

hoopy mike wrote: Um yes. ever get that sense of deja vu?

Sorry, I'm spectacularly dopey today!

No prob, it is Friday after all

WJC wrote:If you want to give it a try, Pipe-maker Nick Whitmer has detailed instructions on his website for making an E whistle out of a Generation F. Here's a link to his site: http://mysite.verizon.net/nwhitmer/index.htm It's what Angus MacGyver would do, with a swiss army knife and duct tape of course

Nice one. I had forgotten about that. It's a good description of his process. Here is the link to Nick Whitmer's page on the E whistle. It requires a Gen F whistle head and a 15/32" brass tube and a 7/16 dowel to make one. Oh, and a drill. K&S Engineering make the brass tubing. It can be purchased here as well as hobby and craft shops. Dowels should be a hardware store item. This is probably more work that modifying an Eb to play in E but it is an alternative.

chansherly212 wrote:it puzzles me though, that the bottom part has to be removed as well, and that it wouldn't mess up the whistle's tuning with itself

No it would not. It's easy for us to think that because a scale in one key has full step, full step,etc intervals that the distance between the holes that play those intervals between the notes are the same. They are not. You have to shorten the tube a little bit at the bottom and the top. After that the Eb and E scales are close enough that you can just adjust/file the holes to tune. I haven't tried this project yet but I'll put it on my list. If/when I get to it, I'll report back with measurements.

Feadoggie

WJC wrote:If you want to give it a try, Pipe-maker Nick Whitmer has detailed instructions on his website for making an E whistle out of a Generation F.

I've played that whistle, and it's nice. However, it will be easier to convert an Eb to an Enat because you can use the existing tube, which saves a terrific amount of trouble.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Feadoggie wrote:

WJC wrote:If you want to give it a try, Pipe-maker Nick Whitmer has detailed instructions on his website for making an E whistle out of a Generation F. Here's a link to his site: http://mysite.verizon.net/nwhitmer/index.htm It's what Angus MacGyver would do, with a swiss army knife and duct tape of course

Nice one. I had forgotten about that. It's a good description of his process. [url=http://mysite.verizon.net/nwhitmer/ewhistle.html] Here is the link to Nick Whitmer's page on the E whistle.
Feadoggie

I made one with Nicks measurements and a 1/2'' tube. If a person is set up to machine thin brass it is less trouble than changing an F tube. Also have a low E using the per cent method. Got lucky that time and did not have to change any holes.

Tommy wrote:Got lucky that time and did not have to change any holes.

I did some quick calculations for converting an Eb to an E scale based on what has been written about the Bb to B modification using a percentage strategy. You don't have to take a lot of length off from either end of the original Eb tube to get started.

Off the top of the tube - 8.76 mm
Off the bottom of the tube - 4.15 mm

Then check the tuning on the holes. That's where I'd start anyway.

Feadoggie

Tommy wrote:

Feadoggie wrote:

WJC wrote:If you want to give it a try, Pipe-maker Nick Whitmer has detailed instructions on his website for making an E whistle out of a Generation F. Here's a link to his site: http://mysite.verizon.net/nwhitmer/index.htm It's what Angus MacGyver would do, with a swiss army knife and duct tape of course

Nice one. I had forgotten about that. It's a good description of his process. [url=http://mysite.verizon.net/nwhitmer/ewhistle.html] Here is the link to Nick Whitmer's page on the E whistle.
Feadoggie

I made one with Nicks measurements and a 1/2'' tube. If a person is set up to machine thin brass it is less trouble than changing an F tube. Also have a low E using the per cent method. Got lucky that time and did not have to change any holes.

Hi folks,

I'm a newbie whistler and I was just wondering what lathe, drill bits, files, dremel and other workshop equipment you'd recommend for starting out on this wholesome and inexpensive hobby. Oh and I guess I'll need a couple of boxes of existing cheapie whistles to customise too...

A. Whistler

Touché

hoopy mike wrote:
Hi folks,

I'm a newbie whistler and I was just wondering what lathe, drill bits, files, dremel and other workshop equipment you'd recommend for starting out on this wholesome and inexpensive hobby. Oh and I guess I'll need a couple of boxes of existing cheapie whistles to customise too...

A. Whistler

Start by tweaking whistles till your happy with them and your in control of what they do.
When I made my first wood whistle I only had a drill press and a DIY lath. It took fours hours to bore the first one and now about thirty minuets.

chansherly212 wrote:Do any makers besides shaw and susato make E whistles? Rare key, but I’m finding it more and more necessary now that the band I’m in plays quite a few songs in E and not to mention, playing in A would be a breeze, without busting my budget for a keyed flute/low E. SO, anyone have any suggestions, or could point me to a past thread about this.
On a side note, why exactly are they so rare? , while Eb which seems to be odder to me, is relatively more common

Here is a clip of the low E I make.
Just click the pic to hear.

hoopy mike wrote:I'm a newbie whistler and I was just wondering what lathe, drill bits, files, dremel and other workshop equipment you'd recommend for starting out on this wholesome and inexpensive hobby.

That'll do for the wee whustles. You might need larger gear for the low whustles.

Feadoggie

I have a Burke aluminum low E that is a real gem. It is tunable and has delrin lining in the head so it warms up easy and it is really light because it is made out of thin walled aluminum. It is easy to blow all the way up into the second register and it has a little complexity to the tone. The price is 240$ but it is a high quality instrument that you won't have to upgrade later. ww.burkewhistles.com/home.php?cat=275

I have a high E tube that I bought with my Sindt E/Eb/D set but I play it with a Hoover white cap head on it. Mack can also make you a white cap with one of his tubes for a reasonable price.
http://mackhooverwhistles.com/order_whistles.html

Like others have mentioned playing in the G position on a B whistle is also a good way to play in the key of E.


Cheers!
Nate