I got an untunable nameless knockoff Low D (which is probably Pakistani or Chinese.) It is non-able and looks and feels like a lightweight Hardy/Chieftain. It has a nice tone but is clearly out of tune. I should probly give up on it, but I was wondering if there are any gimmicks to alter the pitch. Most of my other whistles are tuneable..
Not sure if it works but I heard a conversation between two 'whistlers' at my local session and one told the other he could put the head in boiling water and then adjust the mouthpiece after the plastic heats up -using a tuner. Not sure if it works though.
Hopefully -its a bit flat -in which case you may be able to correct (If it's sharp -not so easy!) . First check the D's (all holes closed) at both octaves. If a bit flat -you may be able to correct by shortening the overall length (from the bottom end -obviously)- bit by bit -until correct.
But then there are the holes. If individual notes are also still low -they can be raised by slightly enlarging the holes -(the hole 'opened' to produce that note) if possible-with the extra opening width in the direction of the fipple.
Whether I would risk ruining an otherwise nice sounding aluminium whistle is another matter - assuming it is at least in tune with itself.
If the whistle is sharp - not so easy - unless you can think of a satisfactory way of adding length -and possible also having to reduce the size / lowering the location of individual note holes if this is also necessary. Doesn't seem very practical -serious metal work involved !
Oh yes -all above is assuming it doesn't have a separate mouthpiece (tunable as above - but avoid over hot water - plastic mouthpiees can distort) - I assumed it is 'all in one'
I have heard pipers can tune chanters by adding bits and removing bits. I think plasticine and bits of wire may be involved, but I have no detail. Are there any pipers who know about this and, if so, could similar techniques be used for whistles?
You can tune a chanter, especially the bottom D and E, by shoving things up the bottom of it (this sounds a lot kinkier than it is). The object you put in the chanter, called a rush, flattens it. It's probably called a rush because at one point people used actual rushes. These days paperclips are pretty common as rushes, although anything will do. I have a cable tie in my chanter and I have seen people use everything from torn-up strips of beer mat to a small stick.
I have never seen this done to a whistle. Not sure it will work -- maybe if you had a whistle with a conical bore? I don't know enough about the mechanics of these things.
I had a mate who had a brass Chieftain that was always flat. My friend, to be fair, knew something about engineering, metal work, and brass tubing, so he chopped the whistle into two bits and made a tuning slide to hold the sections together. Voila! A tunable whistle! (Pete... is the whistle in question still working?).
I have a whistle like that, which is quite sharp. At one point I was talking to whistle maker Ronaldo Reyburn about cutting it into two pieces and putting in a tuning slide. He thought that wouldn't be too difficult - I just never got around to it.
He was going to sort out my aluminum Chieftain but was uncertain about chopping up aluminum, since it's a lot less structurally sound than brass. Then I left the country and months later the whistle went MIA at Willie Week. I like to think it has made it somewhere nice and warm and is drinking mojitos in a beach.
You can Tune D whistles by either making the holes bigger or smaller. For example if if A was flat then you would make the G hole bigger. (only by a slight amount around 0.5mm, dont be taking out huge chunks) or if it is sharp you can add tape to the g hole by covering the top of the hole by about a mm or 2 or till it sounds ok.
So, I have a car whistle. It's a Clarke meg, and I was never happy with a C natural fingering. It doesn't sound great, but it keeps be from yelling at the other cars in stopped traffic.
One day, I had carried it in with me, and stuck it into my pocket to return to the car. Having forgotten about it I sat down and bent it sideways on the door frame. I now had a clarke boomerang.
I bent it straight, and now I like the C natural a bit better. It may take a lot of whistles to get it right, but I stand (sit?) by my method.
the only solution i have for your problem is to talk to cillian o brain in dingle co.kerry.his tel number is on the npu site 'pipers.ie'inform him of the problem.cillian is a master pipe maker and whistle maker.if this fails buy anew whistle
Some pipers use tape to cover up a small part of the hole in question, effectively making the hole smaller. This would cut down on the metalworking involved.
To solve your problem, I would suggest purchasing a tunable whistle. A Burke whistle is a very nice sounding one. It's a bit pricey (about $200) but will last you a very long time, and it has a very very nice tone.
If it is a 2 piece whistle you have and you can't seem to move it, then yes, running it under HOT, not boiling water, will make it "moveable"
Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
I got an untunable nameless knockoff Low D (which is probably Pakistani or Chinese.) It is non-able and looks and feels like a lightweight Hardy/Chieftain. It has a nice tone but is clearly out of tune. I should probly give up on it, but I was wondering if there are any gimmicks to alter the pitch. Most of my other whistles are tuneable..
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by azirishmusic
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Not sure if it works but I heard a conversation between two 'whistlers' at my local session and one told the other he could put the head in boiling water and then adjust the mouthpiece after the plastic heats up -using a tuner. Not sure if it works though.
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by Mac Donn
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
So the whole whistle is a single piece of metal?
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by Whiddler
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Hopefully -its a bit flat -in which case you may be able to correct (If it's sharp -not so easy!) . First check the D's (all holes closed) at both octaves. If a bit flat -you may be able to correct by shortening the overall length (from the bottom end -obviously)- bit by bit -until correct.
But then there are the holes. If individual notes are also still low -they can be raised by slightly enlarging the holes -(the hole 'opened' to produce that note) if possible-with the extra opening width in the direction of the fipple.
I have succesfully raised the tuning of 'flat' home made cheap plastic pipe whistles this way. These are whistles made as shown on this website (and elsewhere)
http://guido.gonzato.googlepages.com/whistle.html#Troubleshooting.
Whether I would risk ruining an otherwise nice sounding aluminium whistle is another matter - assuming it is at least in tune with itself.
If the whistle is sharp - not so easy - unless you can think of a satisfactory way of adding length -and possible also having to reduce the size / lowering the location of individual note holes if this is also necessary. Doesn't seem very practical -serious metal work involved !
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by Col Arco
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Oh yes -all above is assuming it doesn't have a separate mouthpiece (tunable as above - but avoid over hot water - plastic mouthpiees can distort) - I assumed it is 'all in one'
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by Col Arco
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
I have heard pipers can tune chanters by adding bits and removing bits. I think plasticine and bits of wire may be involved, but I have no detail. Are there any pipers who know about this and, if so, could similar techniques be used for whistles?
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by greg sheils
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
You can tune a chanter, especially the bottom D and E, by shoving things up the bottom of it (this sounds a lot kinkier than it is). The object you put in the chanter, called a rush, flattens it. It's probably called a rush because at one point people used actual rushes. These days paperclips are pretty common as rushes, although anything will do. I have a cable tie in my chanter and I have seen people use everything from torn-up strips of beer mat to a small stick.
I have never seen this done to a whistle. Not sure it will work -- maybe if you had a whistle with a conical bore? I don't know enough about the mechanics of these things.
I had a mate who had a brass Chieftain that was always flat. My friend, to be fair, knew something about engineering, metal work, and brass tubing, so he chopped the whistle into two bits and made a tuning slide to hold the sections together. Voila! A tunable whistle! (Pete... is the whistle in question still working?).
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
I have a whistle like that, which is quite sharp. At one point I was talking to whistle maker Ronaldo Reyburn about cutting it into two pieces and putting in a tuning slide. He thought that wouldn't be too difficult - I just never got around to it.
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by Gzeg
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Yeah, the brass Chieftain is still plugging away, and is much better now that it is tunable
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by Reverend
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
He was going to sort out my aluminum Chieftain but was uncertain about chopping up aluminum, since it's a lot less structurally sound than brass. Then I left the country and months later the whistle went MIA at Willie Week. I like to think it has made it somewhere nice and warm and is drinking mojitos in a beach.
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
*on a beach even
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
You can Tune D whistles by either making the holes bigger or smaller. For example if if A was flat then you would make the G hole bigger. (only by a slight amount around 0.5mm, dont be taking out huge chunks) or if it is sharp you can add tape to the g hole by covering the top of the hole by about a mm or 2 or till it sounds ok.
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by dmilligan935
Easy solution.
So, I have a car whistle. It's a Clarke meg, and I was never happy with a C natural fingering. It doesn't sound great, but it keeps be from yelling at the other cars in stopped traffic.
One day, I had carried it in with me, and stuck it into my pocket to return to the car. Having forgotten about it I sat down and bent it sideways on the door frame. I now had a clarke boomerang.
I bent it straight, and now I like the C natural a bit better. It may take a lot of whistles to get it right, but I stand (sit?) by my method.
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by reenactor
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
the only solution i have for your problem is to talk to cillian o brain in dingle co.kerry.his tel number is on the npu site 'pipers.ie'inform him of the problem.cillian is a master pipe maker and whistle maker.if this fails buy anew whistle
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by trad man
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Pete, you are a man of many parts.
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by will morgan
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
In my quest for virtually free whistles I found this page:
http://guido.gonzato.googlepages.com/whistle.html
Has some advice for tweaking things a bit, might be helpful
# Posted on January 13th 2009 by steadkeeper
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
That is seriously useful.
# Posted on January 13th 2009 by greg sheils
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
Some pipers use tape to cover up a small part of the hole in question, effectively making the hole smaller. This would cut down on the metalworking involved.
# Posted on January 14th 2009 by rob_handel
Re: Tuning Un-Tunable Whistles
To solve your problem, I would suggest purchasing a tunable whistle. A Burke whistle is a very nice sounding one. It's a bit pricey (about $200) but will last you a very long time, and it has a very very nice tone.
If it is a 2 piece whistle you have and you can't seem to move it, then yes, running it under HOT, not boiling water, will make it "moveable"
# Posted on January 24th 2009 by Flute86