The Ultimate Whistle Tweak? (Updated)

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Tue Oct 02, 2001 8:49 pm

While tinkering with a discarded fipple recently, I came up with a simple tweak that will dramatically improve the tone and playability of almost any cheap whistle.
I'm assuming you've already filled the cavity beneath the windway with Sticky-Tack or something, so I won't waste your time with any discussion on that bit of whistle tweaking.
This tweak is easiest to perform on a Walton's fipple because they have no "bump" on the blade, although I have successfully performed it on several Generations.
First, you simply cut a rectangular piece from a thin guitar pick that is exactly the same width and approximately the same length as the whistle's blade... this will be used as a blade overlay/extension.
Thanks to Mike Regan for the guitar pick idea, it looks much better than a piece of a plastic soda bottle.
I have gotten the best results using .50mm guitar picks, but you can experiment with different thicknesses and get some tonal variations.
Make sure you have a nice square cut on one of the short edges of your overlay, this will be the edge that will extend into the fipple window.
Then take a tiny ball of Sticky-Tack and press it onto the center of the fipple's blade.
Now press your overlay firmly down onto the blade making sure that your good square edge is the one extending into the fipple window.
Your overlay should now be securely attached to the fipple's blade, but still quite adjustable.
Look down the windway while adjusting the position of your overlay and line up the edge with the center of the windway, the overlay should extend about 2 millimeters beyond the original blade's edge... this tweak will even work on a fipple that has a ruined blade since it effectively replaces the original.
Now you'll just have to take a couple of minutes to play your whistle and adjust the overlay as needed until you get the positioning just right... you'll want to get the bell note to be stable and not too easy to over blow.
This tweak will make your whistle slightly flat since you're moving the position of the blade, but most whistles can still be brought back into tune by sliding the fipple down farther onto the body... I did have to shorten the body of my Generation Bb because there wasn't enough "slack" left in it's fipple.
When you get the blade overlay properly positioned, you'll have whistle with a much smoother tone, quieter and easier to reach 2nd octave, and significantly reduced wind requirements.
If your overlay is not properly positioned, your whistle will either sound horrible or not play at all... but you can easily remove the overlay and the Sticky-Tack if you can't get it positioned correctly or just don't like the difference it makes.
I highly recommend this tweak on a Walton's fipple transplanted onto a Feadog or Oak body.
Thanks to Joe McKenna for the Walton/Feadog hybrid idea.
This tweaked hybrid whistle is absolutely amazing... something you've just got to try for yourself to truly appreciate.

[ This Message was edited by: raindog1970 on 2001-10-10 20:53 ]

[ This Message was edited by: raindog1970 on 2001-10-10 22:18 ]

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Wed Oct 03, 2001 11:45 am

RainDog

I posted an E-mail to Father Dale on this same "tweak" when C&F was only a baby. Dale Printed it in the original newsletter. I used a trimmed clarinet reed to slightly decrease the voicing window and lower the "attack" of the airstream.

This tweak flattens the scale of the whistle slightly,but quiets and stabilizes the overall tone. I'm glad you have discovered it! This was one of my first "Epiphanic" discoveries I had as a begining whistlesmith but I'm sure it didn't originate with me.

Keep trying new inovations,the "magic" isn't over yet!

brownja · Post by **brownja** » Thu Oct 04, 2001 1:24 pm

This tweak is also part of the Cillian O'Briain improved whistle. Though it looks like he grinds away a substantial portion of the stock blade to make room for the glued on one.
Raindog, I'm not posting this to burst your bubble, it just proves the old saying "there's nothing new under the sun".
Cheers,
jb

Arto_Vallivirta · Post by **Arto_Vallivirta** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 2:24 am

Guys, I just envy you. The biggest soda bottles sold in Finland are only 1.5-litre in size. And they cannot be used to tweak whistles.

BTW, I attatched a sweetone C fipple to generation C body. It's the best sounding C whistle that I have ever played.

/Arto

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 5:03 am

Arto,
a colorful substitute for the drink bottle idea is a thin tortex guitar plectrum by Jim Dunlop however I tried this tweak on a Waltons fipple and felt the result to be less than spectacular,prefering the untweaked fipple instead...some fipples are best left alone save for the obligatory blue tack fix and I reckon this is one of them.Thanks for the Sweetone-Gen tip,I'll try it sometime.Cheers

Mike

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 5:20 am

I am amazed at how it seems that the whole point of this post has been completely missed.
I know that I'm not the first person to experiment with a blade overlay, and I know that Cillian O'Briain markets a similarly tweaked whistle.
My intention with this post was to share the idea that this tweak is something that can be easily done by anyone with a cheap whistle and a few minutes of spare time, and with materials that most of us already have lying around.
If I actually invented anything, it would be the idea of using a very thin plastic overlay and using Sticky-Tack to hold it in place instead of glue... no modification to the blade is necessary with this method, so it doesn't have to be a permanant thing.
My belief is that this should be as common a "do-it-yourself" tweak among whistlers as filling the cavity below the windway is.
I have recieved nothing but positive comments from my co-workers who are subjected to my whistling on a daily basis... they immediately noticed the improvement in the sound, and asked me what was different.
Everyone has been amazed that a little piece of plastic and some Sticky-Tack can make such a difference in a cheap whistle.
Again I urge all of you to give this a try... you won't be disappointed.

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 8:19 am

On 2001-10-05 07:03, mike.r wrote:
a colorful substitute for the drink bottle idea is a thin tortex guitar plectrum by Jim Dunlop however I tried this tweak on a Waltons fipple and felt the result to be less than spectacular,prefering the untweaked fipple instead

You know Mike, there just may be some merit to your guitar pick idea... thanks for the tip.
There would be no curve to have to flatten in a piece of a guitar pick, and they are available in several different thicknesses, materials, and colors.
I'll tinker with that idea this weekend.

P.S. If you're not getting impressive results, you're not doing it right.
The positioning of the overlay is very critical, as is the thickness of the plastic and the straightness of the blade edge.
I'll submit a recording to Clips & Snips to demonstrate the sound of one of my tweaked whistles... stay tuned!

tuugaalik · Post by **tuugaalik** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 9:28 am

I tried it yesterday on a Walton LBW fipple, a Feadog, a Clare, and a Generation which is almost destroyed from my tinkering. It worked on all of them except the Feadog. At first I was at the office, so I used plastic from the snap on part of one of those passes you have to wear in buildings as a guest, and some paper-glue stick. It worked all through noon hour. Later at home I used a tiiiny piece of butyl tape and it worked even better. I'm leaving it on my battered Generation for good. A very neat modification for quieter playing below deck and with a very pleasant sound. My wife thanks you. At the risk of sounding enthusiastic, wholly cow, and neato!

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:40 pm

Raindog,
I tried it again,this time on a discarded Waltons fipple and I deliberately shortened the original knife so it wouldnt interfere with the new overlay.I decided on a permanant mount using super glue plastix by Locktite to allow further tweaking and I used the same 60mm orange plectrum from my first attempt.Here is my finding with a WaltonS C and a completely re-tuned Waltons D...lower air requirement,pleasing,slightly softer voicing with good chiff,improved 2nd octave transition with less harshness on the high notes and orange on green is the coolest color combination I've ever seen.I rate this tweak a ten and it may well come close to being the ultimate tweak for a kuput OR healthy Waltons fipple.Nice work Raindog! Mike

PS The plectrum I used is very rigid yet thin with a mat finish to aid in dispersion of moisture and cuts easily with sharp scissors and has extremely good acoustic value for a whistle,is non-toxic and I imagine different thicknesses could offer many tonal shading possibilities in a variety of cool color combinations ...a tweak within a tweak!A complete fipple made of this stuff would be really interesting.

[ This Message was edited by: mike.r on 2001-10-05 17:14 ]

TonyaD · Post by **TonyaD** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 9:21 pm

Hey, guys, do any of you have a digital camera? Why not post a few pictures for those of us who are visual learners?

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 12:50 am

Tony,
I dont have a digital camera so you'll just have to use your imagination for my version of this tweak until I can borrow one.I now have a 2nd Waltons fipple with a slightly thicker .68mm yellow tortex plectrum and its also very good sounding and eye catching with a very stable pure sound(less chiff) over both octaves...this time I prepared the actual knife edge before the overlay to minimise additional tweaking and I'm pleased with the end result..the possibilities are endless!:) Mike
PS I removed the the blue tack in the cavity of both heads and like the sound even more...I was missing the extra chiff of the pre tweaked voiceing and its return is most welcome.

[ This Message was edited by: mike.r on 2001-10-06 06:42 ]

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 4:38 am

I've got to hand it to you Mike, your guitar pick idea was just what the doctor ordered!
I cut a piece from a thin black plastic pick and used a little Duco cement to attach it to a LBW fipple... you have to look very closely to even see that the fipple has been modified, but the improvement in tone and playability is awesome!
While we're on the subject of permanant fipple modifications, epoxy putty is great to fill the cavity below the windway.
There's a trick to it though... you've got to add a little talcum powder to it while you're mixing the hardener into it.
This little trick removes most of the gooey properties of the epoxy putty, and it slightly increases the curing time... both of which are very handy while you're tamping it into place in the fipple.
Couple that with the guitar pick tweak and you've got a very attractive, durable, and permanantly tweaked fipple.
If I had a digital camera, I'd be happy to post an illustrated tutorial... but alas, WhOA has taken all of my spare cash!

tony pearson · Post by **tony pearson** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 1:13 pm

Dear Tweakers
I've arrived late on the penny whistle scene. This 'sticky tack' mod. that everyone seems to use as standard, I assume is only possible on the 'Generation' type of whistle (filling in the metal tube space beneath the plastic fipple arrangement). I have only ever used (or liked) Clarkes Originals . . . so I have to ask, does the wooden block on a Clarke perform the same duty as 'sticky tack'?

Regards . . . tony p.

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 3:40 pm

Hi tony,
To me the blue tack fix is like the chicken soup- wont hurt,wont help remedy ...the affect of partialy filling in the cavity underneath the airway of some plastic fipples can make a subtle difference but this on its own is no mirracle cure for a dysfunctional fipple and is not a substitute for the wooden block(fipple) on your Clarke as this is a different bear altogether.

Mike

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Wed Oct 10, 2001 6:59 pm

I have updated the original post to reflect the refinements that have been made to this tweak in the last few days.
Thanks to those who have provided their input, and again I urge everyone to give this a try.