If you want any whistle to sound smoother, then, don't play at the edge of the mouth piece, but instead, insert more of the mouth piece between your lips until you hit the bulge on the bottom where the whistle goes into. It gives it a richer sound. It's something I use.
My collection includes two identical Feadog D whistles, both sharp and hard to play. I modified one and compared them. Not only is it in tune, but the tone is more mellow and the high notes are easier to play without breaking. It's even giving my Chieftain a run for its money! I plan to modify all the Feadog, Oak, Waltons and Generation whistles on the top shelf now. Thanks very much for the tips...
HI Stephanie, here’s a thought about Da Lounge Bar. I’ve lived in the Shetland Isles and Da Lounge Bar in Lerwick is the place to go for Fiddle music and all the other instruments. Just the place to be honoured with a Shetland tune! chris ingram , tauranga NZ. love all of your tunes and tips
Read my post above . You'll get a good one for 100 quid . Every other musician in the session will be spending 1,000 to 2,0000 on their gear . If you're serious about sitting into a session get a whistle that plays in tune . It won't break the bank and you'll be a lot more popular .
Thank you for the tips. I was a tin whistle player for almost forty years until I had a stroke and the left hand eventually does as it is told, but too slow for a tin whistle. I was interested in an overtone flute like the koncovka from Slovakia which requires one hand. Being able to remove a generation mouthpiece means I can transfer a D mouthpiece to a tube of stainless steel I have which is of identical diameter to a D whistle. It is a one handed instrument like a tabor pipe and can be made in less than an hour if I can scavenge a mouthpiece (fortunately I have several D whistles I can no longer play, so there is luck!). The bore of the whistle is about fifty times its diameter and by overblowing with the end of the tube open and closed I will have a range equivalent to a tin whistle. A similar instrument was used by the Ukrainian entry in the 2022 entry in Eurovision. It won't be easy but needs must...
Have you looked into one handed recorders? I'll try to find the brand and get back to you but Sarah Jeffries covered it on her team recorder Channel ua-cam.com/video/xlXjr0oOrXs/v-deo.html if you want to search for it after you watch it. I think you can control the other notes with keys and control it all with one hand. You might be able to get your bad hand to kind of help out here and there with some of the keys but it wouldn't be responsible for holding down all the notes all the time. The Yamaha version of this is kind of pricey at the $3 to 500 range but maybe it's possible to find it used. I hope you can get one so you can still easily play and share all of the tunes that you know after 40 years lol.
Wow, a much warmer and sweeter sound. This is a great vid for people who can't afford a more expensive whistle but who aren't satisfied with the normal Generation sound. I'm happy to buy a Generation whistle now that I know I can easily get a lovely sound with it. Thanks!!
Oeoo fun story, bought one of these in a charity shop for £3, life is good, I find the tuning much harder but I'm a piccolo player so when's that ever stopped me 🤣 Very interesting, the first thing I did was try to pull the mouthpiece out a little to make it flatter, I may try the blu tak on the inside
This site has been so awesome in helping me. I have been trying to fill in my days with the mandolin and whistle.(i'm new at both) I have way too much time on my hands since I recently lost my wife to cancer and I found you on youtube once I started researching tin whistles. This is my first post on your site and it is not something I normally do, but wanted to give credit where credit is due. I have a "D" Sweettone and a "D" Feadog that are so out of tune from each other. It was so shocking to hear how out of tune (comparitively) from each other they are. I am not sure if anything I do will get them close, but at least they are inexpensive whistles. Keep up the great work you are doing to inspire and promote the whistle.
Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for your loss! It's lovely to have you here, and I'm so pleased you've found my channel helpful. If you ever want to chat tin whistle (or otherwise) please feel free to get in touch on any of my social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or here). I hope you continue to enjoy playing ❤️
You are so kind, thank you. It has been a struggle, but I am working through it. I found your vid on the INISHEER tune and I love it. I printed out your tablature sheets and copied the tabs, so I will be able to practice it when on the go. I am looking forward to knowing the tune well enough to add emotion to it. (A happy emotion)😀
Friends! Maybe someone has already done this) Found a good way to remove plastic whistles from whistles. This method is suitable when it is impossible to remove the whistle at all by holding it in hot water and twisting with your hands. Sometimes twisting can break the whistle. I had the whistle glued firmly and nothing helped...I just took two bearings...One is slightly larger than the diameter of the whistle tube and the second one is bigger and heavier...I put a soft cloth between the plastic of the whistle and the bearing so as not to scratch and began to throw off the large bearing by force down towards the whistle...And voila, he easily took off...It is better to do it on a soft litter...It is also better to heat the whistle in hot water
i am so going to do this with my Oak D, thank you!!! i have always liked the sound of my Oak, but it has this awful raspy squeak it does(my playing isn't the issue XD) on higher parts. this hopefully will fix that, thank you for sharing i so appreciate it :)
I did the blu-tack cavity fill earlier this week before this video to my old Soodlums/Walton in D and just that alone made a huge difference. The head is already movable but the grease/tape/binding ideas are all good. Gonna go look at the blade now to see if I can do some more good...
Thank you, Stephanie. My Generation brass Bb whistle sounds loads better after I followed your tweaking instructions. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Wow, thank you for this. I recently bought cheap whistles (Walton Mellow D) for my daughter and myself. I have just taken apart and blu-tacked one as per this video and it is SO much better now! I can more easily play the 2nd octave, without so much raspy squeaking. It does sound a bit breathy, like panpipe-y, at very high notes - is that to be expected?
I’m going to try this. I’ve just bought a generation D tabor pipe with great designs of doing something with it, however the racket it makes has put me off practicing.
Hi. The physics of tweaking is this: mass (weight) absorbs random sound. The sound of metal flutes (Boehm or silver) flutes sounded shrill to the ears of the Germans. They preferred wooden flutes with all the keys of a silver flute. Richard Wagner supposedly said: the only thing worse than a silver flulte is 2 of them. I had a Haynes flute over 100 years old & the top end where the mouth piece has a stopper, the stoppler had a screw down end & the threaded section of the stopper was a heavy metal weight about an inch long. The flute I had was from 1915 & that was the first year Haynes sold as many silver flutes as they did wooden flutes. Now wooden flutes are hard to find & expensive. So adding poster putty just ads mass and reduces the resonance of the tin whistle. But the tin whistle sounds purer, less bright this way. Lir and Wild Irish tin whistles are heavy near the head and you can blow with lots if force and they stay in tune & do not overblow. I tweaked a cheap whistle & it became easier to play. But I removed all the poster putty & learned howto play the cheap whistle without any tweak;ing. Since it is hard to play, I do not play it often. But I had to learn a lot about breath control. I have a cheap all metal whistle which has thick walls and it gives a darker sound than most whistles. Twaking a whistle vs. not tweaking, like most tings muscal is a matter of choice. Finding the right point on the scale of bright sound vs. tweaked sound is a compromise. Expensive whistles have made choices about the sound they produce, so you can choose the sound you want. I'm not reccomending spending lots of money, Most whitle players have several flutes. But mastering one whistle is probably more productive for the player than buying so many flutes. I obviously have thrown away some money on flutes I almost never play.
I am a seasoned woodwind player and agree with this assessment, which is why I ended up filing the blade instead of building on it. Filling the mouthpiece didn't affect the resonance much in my case. I found it actually balanced my whistle out. So while you're correct, I think poor craftsmanship also plays a part in whether or not to play with/without making adjustments to any cheap whistle lol!
I see your chanter in the background. This excites me because I love both the bagpipes and the tin whistle! I can’t play the whistle yet and I’m terrible at the bagpipes, but I can imagine that you certainly are fantastic.
Oof I needed this! My generation Bb is one of my favorites but I did want to get rid of some of the raspyness lol. And I have a cheap C whistle that is terribly out of tune so I'm super excited to give this a shot thank you!
I received one just like what you are using except in Bb. I found it had no glue at all. The mouthpiece came off with a little warm water below boiling to prevent warping and I did not have to leave it in the water for even 30 seconds. I tried the blue tac in the rear cavity but just saw your video and will try filling the other area you talked about. Thanks for the excellent explanation and the close up video. You must use a pretty nice camera.
What song are you playing in the pre-tweaking? Love it! As a side note, I have made two of my non-tuneable whistles tunable, it works well. Especially since they were at least a semitone out of tune...
Thanks! Discovered your channel while trying to decide on a tin whistle. Fingering pattern seems similar to a recorder. Originally thinking inexpensive $10-20usd and deal with potential issues. Now thinking Shush Classic. Bad idea for a first whistle? The softer projection of sound might be appreciated by everyone:). Unsure of type of glue used. But if similar to hot glue adhesives used in craft and industry. The glue that comes in sticks that you melt in a hot glue gun. You can easily break the bond using 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing, 1st aid alcohol). It should wick into any void between the the plastic, metal, and glue. Just give it a few moments to break the bond. Might leave a hard residue of the glue which is brittle and easy to clean off with an old toothbrush. Maybe less chance of damaging the mouth piece? No go, then your hot water tip. Optional method of string binding. Seizing hitch. The hitch used to seize loose rope ends.
I carry a C,D, E flat, F...had a G. The F and E flat play great bagpipe music and some those reels and jigs the Dubliners play are definitely done with sounds like E flat and F. My D is a Walton and the others are Generation...I've used Faedog also. ( check spelling). also...cleaning out the gunk from inside the mouth piece with a thin piece of plastic. I have also played successfully with a broken whistle duct taped.
Hi Stephanie, that certainly did make a difference to your whistle. I don't have a Generation one, so I know mine will be different (Sweetone, Feadog and Guiness). Have you ever tried making the tweaks permanate? I wonder if Milliput would do that? If you have never used Milliput, it's worth having a try on something else first. It is a modelling epoxy (2 part) which you can shape before it sets with water, or a wet knife blade ( or wet fingers, it washes off with soad and water, before it sets). It sticks to most things, and can be sanded when it sets hard, which from memory is about 4 hours. But, more difficult to remove than blutack if it goes wrong! Thanks for the tips!
my session whistle is a 20 yo Feadog body with and Oak fipple, about 2 years old. The Oak fipple interchanges with the Gen Eb. I try to be cheap with the blu-tack, a wee bit at a time.
Thank you so much for your video! This was phenomenal advice. The only thing I did differently to modify my Clark whistle was to take a glass nail filer to the blade instead of building it up with blue tac. I tried the blue tac and simply could not get it to work for whatever reason (but it was perfect for filling the mouth piece). So, instead I filed the blade SLIGHTLY and it had the same effect. (To anyone thinking of filing instead of building up, do NOT use emery board or sandpaper. Use a very fine filer like I did. I used a glass filer because it is a much softer/smoother file and will leave a smoother edge.)
Also, I will say to anyone who is a beginner with any woodwind that the embouchure (your mouth position on the instrument) is very important to have down correctly, especially if you're playing a cheaper instrument (because they are less forgiving). I've found that the whistle embouchure is not as easy as it may appear, and I'm a flautist so this is saying something lol! Applying that skill with these tips will get you the best sound!
I didn't have any of that but I had some Play-Doh so I shoved that in there and padded the end of that with the cotton on the end of a Q tip and was bored so ended up kinda putting different colors of yarn around the head joint for the stability... And this morning I think the Play-Doh has dried in there it hasn't come flying out yet... I used the end of a pen a hair pen and tweezers and whatever I found to shove that in there even the Q tip and I couldn't find the scissors so I grabbed my pocket knife I didn't need any tape or the hot water because when mine came in the mail the heat outside already took the glue off it ended up coming not centered and had to put it back the way it's supposed to be.
Great video, I bought an inexpensive Eb Generation just for this purpose. Worked great! I couldn't get the head off with hot water though so I tried a heat gun, suggested by someone at Chiff & Fipple. That did the trick. Thanks for the easy to follow tutorial.
I've done this yesterday and I highly recommend this! Instead of blue tack I used dental wax (for braces) which is odorless and can get wet too. Also my Clarke Sweetone wasn't glued on so it was very easy.
Wow! That really made a difference.. My Clarke sweetone has a tiny dent at the very end of it.. meaning it's bottom view is not exactly round.. I'm thinking of fixing it but fear that the seam will separate out.. what will you suggest? I doubt that it will affect the sound though.. just for the look of it..
Tip for loosening assembly glue without water: use a rice sock (like a heating pad you can buy/make for your neck shoulders) and microwave it to the temperature you need (usually almost too hot to handle will due).
Excellent video, I had the exact same whistle and it was slightly out of tune, not exact concert pitch,this was noticed when playing along with the guitar, and sure enough when I checked it with Snark tuner it was slightly sharp. I was hoping you would get to talk about how to actually get it back playing in perfect pitch? Ger the guitar man, and former whistle player.
@@MrGmooney if a whistle is sharp, pulling the mouthpiece out a little (thus lengthening the entire whistle slightly) will flatten it, as will adding a bit of blu-tack to the blade. Whistles get sharper as they warm up, and a lot of their pitch depends on how much air pressure you put through each note too, so you'd need to start by warming up the whistle well, then playing around with those three variables: Mouthpiece position - Breath pressure - blu-tack 😁 If you make these tweaks the whistle actually needs less air to hit the same notes, so you might be overblowing the notes a little.
Hm, i did not expect such difference. If it works that good for such a well made whistle, i guess it will be even better on good old Clarke's MEGs. Thanks!
@@CutiepieTinWhistle Yeah, construction itself will make not only removing it quite a bit of 'fun' but then assembling it back will be not easy due to 'rolled sheet of metal' way they were made. But i think it's worth a try, even just for fixing bad fit to prevent so much air leakage around it.
There's Clarke traditional whistles too where the tweaks are different - I've done the first bit of changing the profile of the blowin' end over the wooden block but haven't started straightening out the blade with a metal tool and arguably don't really want to...
I would like to request a view on the Burke Brand Whistles (Standard and Narrow bores). Thank you for sharing your talents and views. They are highly valuable to me and many others. Best Wishes.
Hi thanks, did not realise the amazing difference this made on my generation whistle. Worried it may shift a bit after finding that perfect spot. Would you re-glue?
Hi CutiePie, I've been enjoying your videos lately. I have enjoyed playing Irish Whistle for years and have amassed quite a collection of them. I use them mostly for accenting original songs while recording but am planning to start bringing them to jams and performances. Now for my question: I recently bought two Tilbury Whistles, a G and an A. The A plays wonderfully, but the G is unstable and requires a VERY small amount of air to play. Is there anything I can do to improve this? Thanks, Greg Connor
I'm not sure that there's much that can be done about that. As far I as I know, that's mostly to do with the window size and mouthpiece, but I wouldn't recommend making any adjustments to those. Definitely worth contacting Tilbury about.
I've just found this - thanks for the tips! I have a high D "Meg" whistle that was extremely cheap (I bought it in a tourist shop in Dublin for about £10 I think!). Upon inspection, it seems to have a slightly better mouthpiece than the one you show here. The blade is very neat, and the cavity under the air hole is smaller. However, the actual tube looks very cheap: it's tapered, but it's obviously been formed by rolling and has a seam along it. I was wondering how much success I'd have with improving that sort of instrument? Is it worth doing? The whistle actually sounds surprisingly good, given how cheap it was, but it could definitely be better.
Hi, I'm sorry I don't understand 🙁 If you've seen the phrase 'mastered sound' on my videos, it just means that the sound of the instrument has been edited digitally. So the sound has been smoothed, levelled and reverb has been added. You can use the blue-tack tweaking methods in this video to achieve a similar effect in reality. You'd need to play in a room with this acoustics though, like a large concert hall, tunnel, church, bathroom etc.
I dabble in other instruments and I bought one a while ago and lost it and bought another and found your channel as well as many others. Great community. Your vids are very well shot and easy to understand. +for letting people know about youtube speed controls, etc. Subscribed.
Therapeutic blessings come yer ways,' love to be leave,' dares a crismis 🎄 decorated with different keys of penie whistles going around it with bells in da different keys, butiefull bulb's with da songs,psychedelic 🎶 music boxes playing yer faverot song's,mery x mas Rrrrrrrrrrr...... Me to old an arthertic!'
I have several including a few Burks but my favorite is my Jerry Freeman tweaked Generatiin bluebird in D. Such a sweet tone. I just bought an Eb Generation. Sounds good except when I go from the low to high registers. It’s a squawker. I’ve been playing Irish tin for many years, so I know it’s not something I’m doing. I can get it to not squawk too badly if I put alot of air through it but who wants to play loud all the time. Just wondering if there’s a way to adjust for that or will this tweak help that problem? Maybe I should I just send the whistle back? Your thoughts? Thanks.
Thank you for your sharing. I hope one day to be able to play like you. Could you play the pirate anthem "raise our colors" please. I would love to work on it. Thank you very much see you soon .
For the blade, could you just sand it SLIGHTLY so it's smooth? Seems like an easier way to do it, and when I mean sand it, it'd only be enough to smooth it, so hardly anything at all. They make small flat files that could easily get in there.
Most affordable, low end whistles (under $20) will benefit from some adjustments, as they're mass produced. If you're looking for a higher quality instrument, you're better off spending a little more money and choosing a whistle maker that hand finishes their whistles, makes them in a small workshop, and has dedicated many years of experience to creating a quality product. I have lots of whistle reviews where you can hear better quality whistles 😊 for example, Dixon, Carbony, Lir, deQuelery, Setanta, Killarney and many more!
I know this is an older video… but I figured I’d try to ask: I purchased a Jerry Freeman tweaked, but I don’t see any similar adjustments made to my whistle. I’m just not too happy with the overall sound (lots of squealing and sqwaking) I’m still working on proper air pressure and scales, upper octave etc- but are you familiar with this whistle or have any suggestions?
I have some freeman tweaked whistles, and a review for one of them. The tweaks aren't going to look as obvious as if you do them yourself, but if you're not happy with the whistle, you could connect Jerry.
Suggestion- For about the same price as a Generation whistle one may purchase a impressive handmade PVC whistle form James Becker, Becker Whistles. I have 10 whistles from James and very much like them.
That's a very helpfull video, but I suggest something even better. I did it to my Generation D sharp whistle but I used bee's wax instead. It does exactly the same job but it is healthier. It is not so good idea to have glues and chemicals very close to your mouth. Great video though, keep up your excellent work and stay safe.
You can still use the bluetack technique 😊 I experiented on the Clarke original with narrowing the windway and filling out the block a little to stop air leaking from the fipple, but they don't really need much tweaking.
There are many makers of those cheap tin whistles with plastic mouthpieces, most of them get fairly consistent good reviews for what they are, and here we have Generation as the one brand that by far, is the one that people feel a need to "tweek" because the whistle as sold, whistle to whistle, is predictably of inconsistent quality or flat out defective. So since the whistle is ~ $10 and you must then spend an additional $20 on supplies and tools, and spend time learning new "repair technician" techniques and spend an hour attempting to "tweek" a defective bad purchase, logic and self-respect of the consumer demands of logic to stop buying Generation whistles and buy whistles that play properly at the time of purchase. Why agree to being repeatedly and predictably scammed? What other items of any kind, would you agree to buy and have to go through this process? There are many whistle brands not any more expensive than Generation, that will play well out of the box.
I agree generally. Though from what I understand, Generation whistles are often easy to get in countries where other whistles are not, as they can be bought in bulk. It's definitely better to buy a better quality whistle, bit it's certainly worth trying to improve the crap whistles you have, especially if you have a bit of bluetack 👍
Ah go on! The Highland Pipe fingering is really easy! 😳 Just joking! Having played pipes for over 30 years I know it’s not, probably the most complex fingering embellishments of any wind instrument, most likely because it’s a single octave! Especially when you get into Piobaireachd. Enjoying your videos though Steph having been on the whistle about a year. Following this video I’ve ordered a Gen Bb to try this on! Many thanks!
@@CutiepieTinWhistle I'd be intrested to see the chanter in one of your 60sec reviews, or maybe in one of the longer group introduction/review videos. People always talk about why they chose an instrument, why it works for them and why they think it's awesome. But we rarely hear the flip side. I am curious about your reasons.
@@antoniahammer it's old, I was given it by someone who was throwing it away, so I didn't really have an interest in playing it. It sounds like a dying duck and is impossibly difficult to blow 🤣
If you want any whistle to sound smoother, then, don't play at the edge of the mouth piece, but instead, insert more of the mouth piece between your lips until you hit the bulge on the bottom where the whistle goes into. It gives it a richer sound. It's something I use.
I start thinking that play tin whistle is so difficult but then i saw this video and the sounds changed completely, thank you🖤✨
My collection includes two identical Feadog D whistles, both sharp and hard to play. I modified one and compared them. Not only is it in tune, but the tone is more mellow and the high notes are easier to play without breaking. It's even giving my Chieftain a run for its money! I plan to modify all the Feadog, Oak, Waltons and Generation whistles on the top shelf now. Thanks very much for the tips...
So pleased it worked out for you ❤️ I hope it works for your other whistles too!
I have a feadog D whistle
HI Stephanie, here’s a thought about Da Lounge Bar. I’ve lived in the Shetland Isles and Da Lounge Bar in Lerwick is the place to go for Fiddle music and all the other instruments. Just the place to be honoured with a Shetland tune! chris ingram , tauranga NZ. love all of your tunes and tips
Read my post above . You'll get a good one for 100 quid . Every other musician in the session will be spending 1,000 to 2,0000 on their gear . If you're serious about sitting into a session get a whistle that plays in tune . It won't break the bank and you'll be a lot more popular .
Thank you for the tips. I was a tin whistle player for almost forty years until I had a stroke and the left hand eventually does as it is told, but too slow for a tin whistle. I was interested in an overtone flute like the koncovka from Slovakia which requires one hand. Being able to remove a generation mouthpiece means I can transfer a D mouthpiece to a tube of stainless steel I have which is of identical diameter to a D whistle. It is a one handed instrument like a tabor pipe and can be made in less than an hour if I can scavenge a mouthpiece (fortunately I have several D whistles I can no longer play, so there is luck!). The bore of the whistle is about fifty times its diameter and by overblowing with the end of the tube open and closed I will have a range equivalent to a tin whistle. A similar instrument was used by the Ukrainian entry in the 2022 entry in Eurovision. It won't be easy but needs must...
Have you looked into one handed recorders? I'll try to find the brand and get back to you but Sarah Jeffries covered it on her team recorder Channel ua-cam.com/video/xlXjr0oOrXs/v-deo.html if you want to search for it after you watch it. I think you can control the other notes with keys and control it all with one hand. You might be able to get your bad hand to kind of help out here and there with some of the keys but it wouldn't be responsible for holding down all the notes all the time. The Yamaha version of this is kind of pricey at the $3 to 500 range but maybe it's possible to find it used. I hope you can get one so you can still easily play and share all of the tunes that you know after 40 years lol.
Just wanted to add that Generation actually make their own one handed tabor pipes, which you might be interested in.
Best overtone flute is G# 🎶👶🎶
Wow, a much warmer and sweeter sound. This is a great vid for people who can't afford a more expensive whistle but who aren't satisfied with the normal Generation sound. I'm happy to buy a Generation whistle now that I know I can easily get a lovely sound with it. Thanks!!
Oeoo fun story, bought one of these in a charity shop for £3, life is good, I find the tuning much harder but I'm a piccolo player so when's that ever stopped me 🤣
Very interesting, the first thing I did was try to pull the mouthpiece out a little to make it flatter, I may try the blu tak on the inside
Great post, those simple tweaks make a huge difference. I love the sound of a good Generation whistle. Now everybody can have one.
CutiePie has anyone told you yet you are brilliantly amazing. You're like a woman MacGyver.
Wow! So much more understanding of the physics of how a whistle works and what to do about it. Thankyou! ❤
Lovely playing. You almost have a Piper's grip on the right hand!
This site has been so awesome in helping me. I have been trying to fill in my days with the mandolin and whistle.(i'm new at both) I have way too much time on my hands since I recently lost my wife to cancer and I found you on youtube once I started researching tin whistles. This is my first post on your site and it is not something I normally do, but wanted to give credit where credit is due. I have a "D" Sweettone and a "D" Feadog that are so out of tune from each other. It was so shocking to hear how out of tune (comparitively) from each other they are. I am not sure if anything I do will get them close, but at least they are inexpensive whistles. Keep up the great work you are doing to inspire and promote the whistle.
Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for your loss! It's lovely to have you here, and I'm so pleased you've found my channel helpful. If you ever want to chat tin whistle (or otherwise) please feel free to get in touch on any of my social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or here).
I hope you continue to enjoy playing ❤️
You are so kind, thank you. It has been a struggle, but I am working through it. I found your vid on the INISHEER tune and I love it. I printed out your tablature sheets and copied the tabs, so I will be able to practice it when on the go. I am looking forward to knowing the tune well enough to add emotion to it. (A happy emotion)😀
@@kmill3887 Inisheer is a lovely one! Always very rewarding to play 😊
Friends! Maybe someone has already done this) Found a good way to remove plastic whistles from whistles. This method is suitable when it is impossible to remove the whistle at all by holding it in hot water and twisting with your hands. Sometimes twisting can break the whistle. I had the whistle glued firmly and nothing helped...I just took two bearings...One is slightly larger than the diameter of the whistle tube and the second one is bigger and heavier...I put a soft cloth between the plastic of the whistle and the bearing so as not to scratch and began to throw off the large bearing by force down towards the whistle...And voila, he easily took off...It is better to do it on a soft litter...It is also better to heat the whistle in hot water
i am so going to do this with my Oak D, thank you!!! i have always liked the sound of my Oak, but it has this awful raspy squeak it does(my playing isn't the issue XD) on higher parts. this hopefully will fix that, thank you for sharing i so appreciate it :)
The difference in sound is amazing. You are a very creative young lady!!!
Thank you. Got the same model in D.... I gonna try that
Much better control, I’ll try this, thanks :)
You are an excellent teacher. Thank you
Absolutely Brilliant!
I did the blu-tack cavity fill earlier this week before this video to my old Soodlums/Walton in D and just that alone made a huge difference. The head is already movable but the grease/tape/binding ideas are all good. Gonna go look at the blade now to see if I can do some more good...
The blade trick made the biggest difference on this whistle! I hope it also works for yours 😊 x
54 k views wow. More Whistler's than I'd have thought. Playing 50 yrs myself. Oh, thanks for the video.
Thank you, Stephanie. My Generation brass Bb whistle sounds loads better after I followed your tweaking instructions. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Wow, thank you for this. I recently bought cheap whistles (Walton Mellow D) for my daughter and myself. I have just taken apart and blu-tacked one as per this video and it is SO much better now! I can more easily play the 2nd octave, without so much raspy squeaking. It does sound a bit breathy, like panpipe-y, at very high notes - is that to be expected?
I’m going to try this. I’ve just bought a generation D tabor pipe with great designs of doing something with it, however the racket it makes has put me off practicing.
Great tip, also fabulous playing! Thank you
You're brilliant! Thanks for this!! I've just started my Tin Whistle journey, and you're really helping!! xxxx
Hi. The physics of tweaking is this: mass (weight) absorbs random sound. The sound of metal flutes (Boehm or silver) flutes sounded shrill to the ears of the Germans. They preferred wooden flutes with all the keys of a silver flute. Richard Wagner supposedly said: the only thing worse than a silver flulte is 2 of them.
I had a Haynes flute over 100 years old & the top end where the mouth piece has a stopper, the stoppler had a screw down end & the threaded section of the stopper was a heavy metal weight about an inch long. The flute I had was from 1915 & that was the first year Haynes sold as many silver flutes as they did wooden flutes. Now wooden flutes are hard to find & expensive.
So adding poster putty just ads mass and reduces the resonance of the tin whistle. But the tin whistle sounds purer, less bright this way. Lir and Wild Irish tin whistles are heavy near the head and you can blow with lots if force and they stay in tune & do not overblow.
I tweaked a cheap whistle & it became easier to play. But I removed all the poster putty & learned howto play the cheap whistle without any tweak;ing. Since it is hard to play, I do not play it often. But I had to learn a lot about breath control. I have a cheap all metal whistle which has thick walls and it gives a darker sound than most whistles. Twaking a whistle vs. not tweaking, like most tings muscal is a matter of choice. Finding the right point on the scale of bright sound vs. tweaked sound is a compromise. Expensive whistles have made choices about the sound they produce, so you can choose the sound you want. I'm not reccomending spending lots of money, Most whitle players have several flutes. But mastering one whistle is probably more productive for the player than buying so many flutes. I obviously have thrown away some money on flutes I almost never play.
I am a seasoned woodwind player and agree with this assessment, which is why I ended up filing the blade instead of building on it. Filling the mouthpiece didn't affect the resonance much in my case. I found it actually balanced my whistle out. So while you're correct, I think poor craftsmanship also plays a part in whether or not to play with/without making adjustments to any cheap whistle lol!
Thank you for the videos! 👍 Thank you.
I see your chanter in the background. This excites me because I love both the bagpipes and the tin whistle! I can’t play the whistle yet and I’m terrible at the bagpipes, but I can imagine that you certainly are fantastic.
Oof I needed this! My generation Bb is one of my favorites but I did want to get rid of some of the raspyness lol. And I have a cheap C whistle that is terribly out of tune so I'm super excited to give this a shot thank you!
Great video 🤩 Thank you ❤️
Never wondered about this, but loved your presentation. Thanks!
I received one just like what you are using except in Bb. I found it had no glue at all. The mouthpiece came off with a little warm water below boiling to prevent warping and I did not have to leave it in the water for even 30 seconds. I tried the blue tac in the rear cavity but just saw your video and will try filling the other area you talked about. Thanks for the excellent explanation and the close up video. You must use a pretty nice camera.
Oh, my gosh, Return of the Stephmeister!
What song are you playing in the pre-tweaking? Love it!
As a side note, I have made two of my non-tuneable whistles tunable, it works well. Especially since they were at least a semitone out of tune...
The tune is 'Da Lounge Bar'. I have a tutorial here: ua-cam.com/video/IEOLG5vyTdI/v-deo.html
It's a lovely one! x
Thanks! Discovered your channel while trying to decide on a tin whistle. Fingering pattern seems similar to a recorder. Originally thinking inexpensive $10-20usd and deal with potential issues. Now thinking Shush Classic. Bad idea for a first whistle? The softer projection of sound might be appreciated by everyone:).
Unsure of type of glue used. But if similar to hot glue adhesives used in craft and industry. The glue that comes in sticks that you melt in a hot glue gun. You can easily break the bond using 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing, 1st aid alcohol). It should wick into any void between the the plastic, metal, and glue. Just give it a few moments to break the bond. Might leave a hard residue of the glue which is brittle and easy to clean off with an old toothbrush. Maybe less chance of damaging the mouth piece? No go, then your hot water tip. Optional method of string binding. Seizing hitch. The hitch used to seize loose rope ends.
I have been trying to match the tone of Seamus Ennis' C# pipes and never could. now I've modified my generation C and it matches perfectly. Thanks!
I carry a C,D, E flat, F...had a G. The F and E flat play great bagpipe music and some those reels and jigs the Dubliners play are definitely done with sounds like E flat and F. My D is a Walton and the others are Generation...I've used Faedog also. ( check spelling). also...cleaning out the gunk from inside the mouth piece with a thin piece of plastic. I have also played successfully with a broken whistle duct taped.
Hi Stephanie, that certainly did make a difference to your whistle. I don't have a Generation one, so I know mine will be different (Sweetone, Feadog and Guiness). Have you ever tried making the tweaks permanate? I wonder if Milliput would do that? If you have never used Milliput, it's worth having a try on something else first. It is a modelling epoxy (2 part) which you can shape before it sets with water, or a wet knife blade ( or wet fingers, it washes off with soad and water, before it sets). It sticks to most things, and can be sanded when it sets hard, which from memory is about 4 hours. But, more difficult to remove than blutack if it goes wrong! Thanks for the tips!
I'm sure it'd be fine to make the changes permanent using something non toxic that hardens 👍
my session whistle is a 20 yo Feadog body with and Oak fipple, about 2 years old. The Oak fipple interchanges with the Gen Eb. I try to be cheap with the blu-tack, a wee bit at a time.
This makes me so happy, thank you!
Thank you so much for your video! This was phenomenal advice. The only thing I did differently to modify my Clark whistle was to take a glass nail filer to the blade instead of building it up with blue tac. I tried the blue tac and simply could not get it to work for whatever reason (but it was perfect for filling the mouth piece). So, instead I filed the blade SLIGHTLY and it had the same effect. (To anyone thinking of filing instead of building up, do NOT use emery board or sandpaper. Use a very fine filer like I did. I used a glass filer because it is a much softer/smoother file and will leave a smoother edge.)
Also, I will say to anyone who is a beginner with any woodwind that the embouchure (your mouth position on the instrument) is very important to have down correctly, especially if you're playing a cheaper instrument (because they are less forgiving). I've found that the whistle embouchure is not as easy as it may appear, and I'm a flautist so this is saying something lol! Applying that skill with these tips will get you the best sound!
I didn't have any of that but I had some Play-Doh so I shoved that in there and padded the end of that with the cotton on the end of a Q tip and was bored so ended up kinda putting different colors of yarn around the head joint for the stability... And this morning I think the Play-Doh has dried in there it hasn't come flying out yet... I used the end of a pen a hair pen and tweezers and whatever I found to shove that in there even the Q tip and I couldn't find the scissors so I grabbed my pocket knife I didn't need any tape or the hot water because when mine came in the mail the heat outside already took the glue off it ended up coming not centered and had to put it back the way it's supposed to be.
Thank you so much ❤
Thanks!
Great video, I bought an inexpensive Eb Generation just for this purpose. Worked great! I couldn't get the head off with hot water though so I tried a heat gun, suggested by someone at Chiff & Fipple. That did the trick. Thanks for the easy to follow tutorial.
I've done this yesterday and I highly recommend this! Instead of blue tack I used dental wax (for braces) which is odorless and can get wet too. Also my Clarke Sweetone wasn't glued on so it was very easy.
Wow! That really made a difference..
My Clarke sweetone has a tiny dent at the very end of it.. meaning it's bottom view is not exactly round.. I'm thinking of fixing it but fear that the seam will separate out.. what will you suggest?
I doubt that it will affect the sound though.. just for the look of it..
I wouldn't think it'll a the sound much, but you never know!
Sounds much better. Also, do I see a bagpipe chanter in the back? Very subliminal ;)
Tip for loosening assembly glue without water: use a rice sock (like a heating pad you can buy/make for your neck shoulders) and microwave it to the temperature you need (usually almost too hot to handle will due).
Excellent video, I had the exact same whistle and it was slightly out of tune, not exact concert pitch,this was noticed when playing along with the guitar, and sure enough when I checked it with Snark tuner it was slightly sharp.
I was hoping you would get to talk about how to actually get it back playing in perfect pitch?
Ger the guitar man, and former whistle player.
@@MrGmooney if a whistle is sharp, pulling the mouthpiece out a little (thus lengthening the entire whistle slightly) will flatten it, as will adding a bit of blu-tack to the blade. Whistles get sharper as they warm up, and a lot of their pitch depends on how much air pressure you put through each note too, so you'd need to start by warming up the whistle well, then playing around with those three variables:
Mouthpiece position - Breath pressure - blu-tack 😁
If you make these tweaks the whistle actually needs less air to hit the same notes, so you might be overblowing the notes a little.
Please do some Lilo and Stitch songs! I’d love playing “he mele no lilo”, on mine
WOW! Thanks!
Great video ! Thanks 😀
Can you make a tutorial of Wander my Friends (Bear McCreary - Battlestar Galactica) ?
Thanks
Thanks!✌️🌞😎🎻
Hm, i did not expect such difference. If it works that good for such a well made whistle, i guess it will be even better on good old Clarke's MEGs. Thanks!
I'm not sure how well the Clarke whistles tweak, I think the mouthpieces are more difficult to remove on Clarke whistles (or so I've heard)
@@CutiepieTinWhistle Yeah, construction itself will make not only removing it quite a bit of 'fun' but then assembling it back will be not easy due to 'rolled sheet of metal' way they were made. But i think it's worth a try, even just for fixing bad fit to prevent so much air leakage around it.
There's Clarke traditional whistles too where the tweaks are different - I've done the first bit of changing the profile of the blowin' end over the wooden block but haven't started straightening out the blade with a metal tool and arguably don't really want to...
Thanks for the tip, QT3.14!
I would like to request a view on the Burke Brand Whistles (Standard and Narrow bores). Thank you for sharing your talents and views. They are highly valuable to me and many others. Best Wishes.
Thank you, very helpful!
world class! Thks!
Jack: from the high country of Colorado
Okay - that's it ... I'm in love. Might even subscribe.
Please do ❤️❤️ trying to reach 100k but the end of the year 🤩
Hi thanks, did not realise the amazing difference this made on my generation whistle. Worried it may shift a bit after finding that perfect spot. Would you re-glue?
You shouldn't need to really, but you certainly could. I haven't bothered. You'll always find the spot again with a bit of a wiggle 😊👍
Hi CutiePie, I've been enjoying your videos lately.
I have enjoyed playing Irish Whistle for years and have amassed quite a collection of them. I use them mostly for accenting original songs while recording but am planning to start bringing them to jams and performances.
Now for my question: I recently bought two Tilbury Whistles, a G and an A. The A plays wonderfully, but the G is unstable and requires a VERY small amount of air to play. Is there anything I can do to improve this?
Thanks, Greg Connor
I'm not sure that there's much that can be done about that. As far I as I know, that's mostly to do with the window size and mouthpiece, but I wouldn't recommend making any adjustments to those. Definitely worth contacting Tilbury about.
I've just found this - thanks for the tips! I have a high D "Meg" whistle that was extremely cheap (I bought it in a tourist shop in Dublin for about £10 I think!). Upon inspection, it seems to have a slightly better mouthpiece than the one you show here. The blade is very neat, and the cavity under the air hole is smaller. However, the actual tube looks very cheap: it's tapered, but it's obviously been formed by rolling and has a seam along it. I was wondering how much success I'd have with improving that sort of instrument? Is it worth doing? The whistle actually sounds surprisingly good, given how cheap it was, but it could definitely be better.
Thanks for the excellent post. When you cover the blade, how deep are you going into the cavity?
Into the actual whistle mouthpiece? Not really at all. You'll just need to experiment a little with what works on your whistle, it's easy to adjust. x
What's the name of the song you play in this video?
Wow that's way better
Thank you for showing that.
Is it not easier (and better) to buy a better whistle :-)
Not everyone can afford one :)
Great! Thank You 😊
Hey lady.where could i have Tony Dixon dx005 master sound please?
Hi, I'm sorry I don't understand 🙁
If you've seen the phrase 'mastered sound' on my videos, it just means that the sound of the instrument has been edited digitally. So the sound has been smoothed, levelled and reverb has been added. You can use the blue-tack tweaking methods in this video to achieve a similar effect in reality. You'd need to play in a room with this acoustics though, like a large concert hall, tunnel, church, bathroom etc.
@@CutiepieTinWhistle sorry.i Want to buy tin wistle ecc magic sound
@@claudioguerra9287 do you want to buy a Dixon DX005 whistle?
What is the name of the tune being played?
I dabble in other instruments and I bought one a while ago and lost it and bought another and found your channel as well as many others. Great community. Your vids are very well shot and easy to understand. +for letting people know about youtube speed controls, etc. Subscribed.
I just bought a generation tin whistle it has only got three holes why would that be?
It's a tabor pipe, not a tin whistle. Here's a video that might help you out:
ua-cam.com/video/rrRTbMF3HH8/v-deo.html
Good day beautiful 😍
Much better!
Thanks for the tutorial~ I'm going to do this to tweak my John Sindt tonight~ Just kidding... I don't have a John Sindt... weeping~
Can you do: spirit of the wild on tin whistle 🙏🏻
Send me a link, I'll check it out 👍
Therapeutic blessings come yer ways,' love to be leave,' dares a crismis 🎄 decorated with different keys of penie whistles going around it with bells in da different keys, butiefull bulb's with da songs,psychedelic 🎶 music boxes playing yer faverot song's,mery x mas Rrrrrrrrrrr...... Me to old an arthertic!'
I have several including a few Burks but my favorite is my Jerry Freeman tweaked Generatiin bluebird in D. Such a sweet tone.
I just bought an Eb Generation. Sounds good except when I go from the low to high registers. It’s a squawker. I’ve been playing Irish tin for many years, so I know it’s not something I’m doing. I can get it to not squawk too badly if I put alot of air through it but who wants to play loud all the time. Just wondering if there’s a way to adjust for that or will this tweak help that problem? Maybe I should I just send the whistle back? Your thoughts? Thanks.
Generation whistles are often hit and miss. But that's the nature of some of the cheaper whistles unfortunately.
Thank you for your sharing. I hope one day to be able to play like you. Could you play the pirate anthem "raise our colors" please. I would love to work on it. Thank you very much see you soon .
Hoist the colours
Sorry 😅
@@astgal1359 it's coming in October 👍
Thanks for the video. How long did you let it soak in the just-boiled water?
As long as it takes to soften the glue without ruining the plastic of the mouthpiece.
I have the same whistle but with a coper body. Are they precautions to have while polishing the metal and removing oxydation ?
Ideally, use something that's non toxic, just to be in the safe side, and of course, suitable for the metal 👍
For the blade, could you just sand it SLIGHTLY so it's smooth? Seems like an easier way to do it, and when I mean sand it, it'd only be enough to smooth it, so hardly anything at all. They make small flat files that could easily get in there.
@@RainforestFarmer I wouldn't recommend that at all. You could easily ruin the whistle.
So, what are the real and best tin whistles? Which brand is already tuned and tweaked when purchasing it? Thanks from Canada!
Most affordable, low end whistles (under $20) will benefit from some adjustments, as they're mass produced. If you're looking for a higher quality instrument, you're better off spending a little more money and choosing a whistle maker that hand finishes their whistles, makes them in a small workshop, and has dedicated many years of experience to creating a quality product.
I have lots of whistle reviews where you can hear better quality whistles 😊 for example, Dixon, Carbony, Lir, deQuelery, Setanta, Killarney and many more!
Very good tips, tho a rubbish whistle is still a rubbish whistle. great for beginers
And for those who can't afford better whistles 👍
I know this is an older video… but I figured I’d try to ask: I purchased a Jerry Freeman tweaked, but I don’t see any similar adjustments made to my whistle. I’m just not too happy with the overall sound (lots of squealing and sqwaking) I’m still working on proper air pressure and scales, upper octave etc- but are you familiar with this whistle or have any suggestions?
I have some freeman tweaked whistles, and a review for one of them. The tweaks aren't going to look as obvious as if you do them yourself, but if you're not happy with the whistle, you could connect Jerry.
Can you use playdo instead of sticky tack
Should work 😊 chewing gum works too 🤣
Suggestion- For about the same price as a Generation whistle one may purchase a impressive handmade PVC whistle form James Becker, Becker Whistles. I have 10 whistles from James and very much like them.
Alas, he has retired.
I am not quite convinced con the result...It seems now it is more obscure, less bright, but tuned as before... but I am not an expert ;)
What was the tune?
The tune was Da Lounge Bar. Cover and tutorial here: ua-cam.com/video/IEOLG5vyTdI/v-deo.html
That's a very helpfull video, but I suggest something even better. I did it to my Generation D sharp whistle but I used bee's wax instead. It does exactly the same job but it is healthier. It is not so good idea to have glues and chemicals very close to your mouth. Great video though, keep up your excellent work and stay safe.
What about a clarke whistle?
You can still use the bluetack technique 😊 I experiented on the Clarke original with narrowing the windway and filling out the block a little to stop air leaking from the fipple, but they don't really need much tweaking.
I’m older now I played a recorder in highschool ..I don’t remeber much will a penny be easier with my hands older.
There are many makers of those cheap tin whistles with plastic mouthpieces, most of them get fairly consistent good reviews for what they are, and here we have Generation as the one brand that by far, is the one that people feel a need to "tweek" because the whistle as sold, whistle to whistle, is predictably of inconsistent quality or flat out defective. So since the whistle is ~ $10 and you must then spend an additional $20 on supplies and tools, and spend time learning new "repair technician" techniques and spend an hour attempting to "tweek" a defective bad purchase, logic and self-respect of the consumer demands of logic to stop buying Generation whistles and buy whistles that play properly at the time of purchase. Why agree to being repeatedly and predictably scammed? What other items of any kind, would you agree to buy and have to go through this process? There are many whistle brands not any more expensive than Generation, that will play well out of the box.
I agree generally. Though from what I understand, Generation whistles are often easy to get in countries where other whistles are not, as they can be bought in bulk. It's definitely better to buy a better quality whistle, bit it's certainly worth trying to improve the crap whistles you have, especially if you have a bit of bluetack 👍
It’s the only whistle I can buy in South Africa. So, mods here I come.
I have this exact tin whistle lol!
Maybe I should buy a huge bulk from Amazon to practice 😂😂😂
A bagpipe practice chanter and a lyre? Whoa!
The lyre features in a few videos, though I haven't had chance to play it for a while. As for the chanter, it's a definite no 😆🤣
Ah go on! The Highland Pipe fingering is really easy! 😳 Just joking! Having played pipes for over 30 years I know it’s not, probably the most complex fingering embellishments of any wind instrument, most likely because it’s a single octave! Especially when you get into Piobaireachd. Enjoying your videos though Steph having been on the whistle about a year. Following this video I’ve ordered a Gen Bb to try this on! Many thanks!
@@CutiepieTinWhistle I'd be intrested to see the chanter in one of your 60sec reviews, or maybe in one of the longer group introduction/review videos. People always talk about why they chose an instrument, why it works for them and why they think it's awesome. But we rarely hear the flip side. I am curious about your reasons.
@@antoniahammer it's old, I was given it by someone who was throwing it away, so I didn't really have an interest in playing it. It sounds like a dying duck and is impossibly difficult to blow 🤣
Hello Cutie ☺️🙆🏻♂️
TMW your favorite tin whistler calls your favorite tin whistle cheap trash ...
осмотрел свою дешевую пластиковую Dixon, и не настолько уж она и "дешевая" оказалась)
What song are you playing in this?? I love it!
Da Lounge Bar 😊 lovely little tune. Tutorial here: ua-cam.com/video/IEOLG5vyTdI/v-deo.html