Clarke Originals and Shaws

elendil · Post by **elendil** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 8:53 pm

well, i got my order in today: two Clarke Originals (C & D) and an Oak C.

the two Clarkes i had to tweak a little, with a butter knife, to get a purer and more stable upper range. the top left hand notes had been a little fuzzy. with the D i just pried the blade up a tiny bit, but i had to experiment a little with the C: pried it up, but then had to mash it down and indent it in the middle a bit--must have overdone it on the first try. they're now very much what i expected and very pleasant to play. i do agree with those who say that playing these whistles is good for the breath control and ultimately improves your whistling.

the Oak, i have to say, is a little better than a Gen, but just doesn't do that much for me. like the Gen it's quite flat in the top register, in comparison to the lower register. the whistle was quite sharp out of the box, but was easy enough to adjust (hot water & twist).

i do very much like its solid feel. unfortunately, its diameter is a little big for my spare whitecap. if mack hoover (hint, hint) could come up with a whitecap to fit Gen type C whistles i suspect the result would be far better than acceptable. i say that because i stuck the whitecap on a Gen D tube and it was transformed into something very similar to my Burke narrow bore--really. my wife thought so, too. really, i think that anyone who could come up with good mouthpieces to fit on different diameter tubes, especially like for Eb, C, and Bb, could make a small fortune.

jerry--what do you charge for tweaking Shaws?

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 8:56 pm

$14.00 plus postage. Priority Mail in the U.S. is $3.85 for anything key of A or smaller.

Blackbeer · Post by **Blackbeer** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 10:51 pm

I`ve never figured out why a C whistle has any reason to exist but I do have a couple. My Gen C is truely a great sounding whistle but the tweeking process was extreme to say the least. I never play my Sweetone. I agree hole heartedly with Zoob about the Shaw. My D is tweeked by Jerry and the sound is pure pennywhistle. To my ear anyway. I also like the feel of the Shaw and the size of the holes makes for some real fun sounds. I had a Clarke original in C but the thing was unplayable and I gave it away. I do like the D though. I wounder how the Shaw Eb sounds......................

Tom

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 3:40 am

Micah wrote:Zub,
Would you mind comparing the tones of the tweaked Shaw and the Q1?
Micah

For playability: tweaked Shaw isn't a gas-guzzler any more, but gets no true back-pressure yet, while Alba gives aplenty. So the former can be expressive for airs, but would hardly follow the latter at dance speeds.

Fingering may be a tad easier on the Shaw, I'd say, due to the minute size of the cone at its low end. My right hand feels a bit cramped on the Alba, but hey, I'm at ease only with piper's grip, after all.

Half-holing like F nats seems to work better on the Shaw too. It has bigger holes generally. Now, with the Q1, all cross-fingerings work, including an acceptable enough low G# (xxo xxx). On the Shaw this doesn't sound anything else than a flat A...

For tone coulour, my Alba Q1 is more consistent across octaves: round, closer to blackwood than to tin cheapies, so I'd call it pure with just a bit chiff to make it interesting.
My Shaw is very warm, lovely complex in lower register, but gets quite windy/chiffy in the upper register, with a completely different sound (and not pitch!) typically whether you play high D xxx xxx or oxx xxx.

I can pick up the Shaw any time, toot an air and make believe people who don't know ITM at all that I can play some, heh-heh.

Now, the Alba Q1, I'm afraid I'll never outgrow, given the differential equation of X my arthritis and Y my learning curve.

Talking of which, I'd rather decypher a tune by ear on the Alba, beacuse of its purer sound and accurate tuning. I can hear if I picked a wrong note.

Finally, and that's a funny twist, the Shaw got an expensive cigar tube for protection: it's easily crushed, and it's labium (blade) and top of windway are the key to its proper tweak.
The Alba goes directly in my coat pockets to collect the lint, or in my photo gadget bags side pouch, where it risks a few knocks, and scratches. It's about as undestructible a whistle as I can think of. My is the standard, sleek, non-tunable version, but I guess it if it were tunable, it would be even handier, fitting in the trousers pockets * or just any jacket pocket.

* Which I wouldn't do, being a motorcyclist--I hate the idea of a whistle tube stuck in my groin in case of a crash...

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 6:34 am

There's some variation in the degree of breathiness of the upper register with the tweaked Shaws. Most of them are not as breathy in the upper as it sounds like Zoob is describing. His was one of the first I did. There's an additional tweak I developed since he got his, which sweetens and strengthens the upper register and gets it to match better with the lower.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 9:57 am

Jerry Freeman wrote:There's some variation in the degree of breathiness of the upper register with the tweaked Shaws. Most of them are not as breathy in the upper as it sounds like Zoob is describing. His was one of the first I did. There's an additional tweak I developed since he got his, which sweetens and strengthens the upper register and gets it to match better with the lower.

As a registered licensee, do I get a free upgrade to version 2.0, or a downloadable patch, so I can perform the ectomy me-self?

Zubivka wrote:perform the ectomy me-self?

Jerry Freeman wrote:Best wishes

Jerry

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Zubivka wrote:Wait.. who's talking here?

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Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:09 am

Hi, Zoob.

If you can bear to part with the whistle for awhile, send it back to me, and I'll retweak it for you at no charge, I pay return postage. It's to my benefit to get a look at a whistle that's been in use for awhile so I can see how they're holding up. I did a similar retweak for Kar's key of A Shaw, which was the very first Shaw I tweaked.

pfffrssshhhsst

Great sound effects, as always, Zoob. You're a true talent.

Best wishes,
Jerry