Chiff and Fipple Forums

I wonder if we can quantify a kind of optimum for head bore reduction, Tunborough? I don't think we can give definitive percentages, not at this point at least, because so much depends on the shape and the position in the bore. Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for answering! So we keep going w...

I wonder if we can quantify a kind of optimum for head bore reduction, Tunborough? Optimum for me would be a reasonable good tuning of the octaves, without choking the voice. Is an 8% to 9% reduction of the bore cross-cut area over a length of 8% to 9% of the length from blade to end, starting just ...

I do wonder if part of it has to do with how smooth the surface texture of the windway interior is, and this varying from whistle to whistle. I think some just aren’t as smooth inside and it allows the moisture to bead up more easily. I totally agree, the smoother the better, I'd say. The aluminium...

Hmmm, interesting, Hans and Tunborough. A sort of Boehm approach - a small reduction at the blowing end, rather than a big reduction over the full length of the fingering end? Not really a Boehm approach, Boehm used tapering in the head. It is also distinctly different from a Fajardo wedge design. ...

But I wonder if flat windway whistles have rather given way to curved, just because the curved ones are easier to make using round tube, unless perhaps when using the moulded plastic head approach? That may indeed an important reason, it certainly was a reason to start me into whistle making. But t...

Terry, a just intoned scale with a sharp major third is just not sweet. It is perhaps a phythagorean tuning. My own deliberations I once wrote down here: https://music.bracker.uk/Music/Just-Intonation.html and came to these figures of deviation from ET in cents, for an optimised just tuning of a D w...

Terry, that is a strange graph, without further explanations as to what kind of tweaking you did! And I don't understand the "Just intonation" curve at all. To me the F# and C# should be "flat" compared to ET for a sweet tuned whistle. Thew red line looks fairly good, even though...

I guess I'd be interested in comments as to whether tapered bores on treble D whistles are warranted. What improvements do players note compared to a good cylindrical whistle? Better balance between high and low notes? In what terms? Volume? Easy speaking? Tone? Nicer feel? Better tuning overall? W...

And, Hans, what in your experience constitutes "a good chamfer" on a High D whistle? Say 1mm of chamfer, at around 45º? And left as the angle, or any smoothing of either or both of the transistions? Ahh, I wrote "good chamfer" so I don't need to commit to particular measurements...

Interesting topic I just read now! Coming back to the points about chamfer and block: By making whistles from industrial alu tubing and using a curved windway and blade, and a block OD cut to the ID of the head tube, the air stream exiting the windway will hit the blade on the high side, if the blad...

Hi Terry, is your list online? Here some more measurements from high D whistles I own, all are cylindrical: Bracker narrow D aluminium: 13.9mm OD, 12mm ID, 7x4mm window Bracker standard D aluminium: 14.8mm OD, 12.8mm ID, 8x4mm window Burke Session D brass: 14.2mm OD, 13.5mm ID, 8x4.5mm window Löfgre...

[Thread revival] Turns out, there is no optimum bore. A whistle is balanced when performance at the top end is the same as at the bottom end, and it looks like the Q factor is a great measure of that balance. A wide bore favours the Q factor at the bottom end, and a narrow bore favours the Q factor...

Awesome change, seems to work well. This way if someone is using drill bits for holes and stuff, or for tubing size, can just type the fraction and it automatically enters the right number. Which is much better than having to whip out a calculator to figure out what 35/64 is then typing in or pasti...

Awesome, thanks for updating it. Will save a lot of time! you're welcome! Just done more improvements: one can enter now also fractions, like 3/4, or enter integer and fraction, like 1-1/8 (with minus between integer and fraction part). Input of fraction is converted to decimal number. But no displ...

Thank you! Brain did not melt quite doing coding on the calculator, which is good! So now I've got whistle calculator enabled for working in inches and mm, and some things hopefully improved. See https://music.bracker.uk/Music/Whistle-Calculator.html You may need to enforce a browser refresh to see ...