Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi everyone, I have been very busy and did not see an email on this issue, so I apologize for not answering it,but somehow it did not make it to my inbox. I make my whistles as complete designs and each one has a unique upper bore and also many have perturbation inserts that compensate for tuning er...

Hi everyone. Just saw this thread and wanted to clarify the instructions on this point. The rotating bottom joint is lubricated and may not need anything else. It has a no-seize compound in there and if you don't immerse it in water (please do not do that!), it might not ever need lubrication. This ...

Hi, MTGURU, has a very good avatar because he always seems to give wise advice. Please email me and I can have you send me that whistle to be fixed at no charge except for postage and handling. mdburke@burkewhistles.com Also, I will send you instructions for cleaning too by email. I get apoplexy som...

Hi, Michael Burke here: Ballyshannon's explanation is so perfect, I will not disturb a note of it, but agree that different whistles have a different feel to them and it is common for some people to blow using their thoracic muscles instead of using the diaphram. Not a good idea when you are singing...

Just saw that Mike had posted this and also a post by anniemcu, the ultimate maker of whistle pouches and bags and I thought I would chime in. I have been attending the Saint Louis Tionol since 1998 and I must say that it has always been a great event and somehow Mike and his staff manage to continu...

Hi, Michael Burke here. I don't think that I need to justify the prices I charge for my instruments, but I would like to correct a couple of misconceptions that some may have regarding the way we make them. It is true that we make the raw parts using modern CNC equipment and then all the work that i...

I met Joe Madden at Milwaukee Irish Fest a few years ago and within a short time I considered him to be a personal friend. Joe was like that. He had a life force in him and an enthusiasm for life and family and music that was an inspiration to all who knew him. Joe was a wonderful player of the box ...

Hi Everyone, Just got back from Milwaukee and saw this thread. I wanted to say first of all that I recommend that my whistles never ever be immersed in water at all. I recommend pulling a strip of cloth soaked in alcohol if you wish to clean the bore. The water can get under the plastic liner in the...

Hi Craig,
Sorry, I must be losing it and thought you were another guy. His name sounds like yours...I think
Anyway, hope all come and enjoy!

Hi Everyone, As mentioned I will be there with all my whistles and my lovely wife, so hope many people come by and try as many as you like. Bob Midden comes by every year. He is a great guy and an extremely good whistle player, so I try to keep him playing as long as possible, because people stop an...

Hi, Just a quick note. It is indeed a brass session D that Liam plays on the DVD and it is the older model that does not have the black tipped head piece. Liam got it from my good friend Mick O'Brien, I think in about 2002. Those two are my very favorite pipers in the world and they often play toget...

Hi, Nice photo of Matt and Shannon, two of my most favorite people. I got to spend the weekend with Brian McCoy and Kim Rattan since they came to Southern Illinois to play at Southeastern Illinois Junior College and also played Sunday morning at my church. It was heavenly!!! :) . I will be at Dublin...

Hi, Just a quick post here to explain a couple of things. Glad the customer found out that his whistle was ok and his ear needed a tuneup. This is not uncommon and it is nothing to be ashamed of, but one of the things that I have learned is that most everyone of us learns a particular version of wha...

Hi Everyone, Just saw this thread and thought I would give some insight. I make my whistles to tune approximately +-50 cents from concert pitch and aim to have the tuning mark be accurate at between 70 and 75 degrees. When the room is colder than that, say 65 degrees, you will always have to push in...

Hi, I get this question often, so I thought I would just post the answer and some other information on the track that might be instructive The player on my website sample is Brian McCoy of the Kells and that recording was done at an outdoor concert. Some have wondered if the track was post processed...