Chiff and Fipple Forums

Cheers all,

I’m new here. I just purchased my first whistle (Feadog brass) and immediately found it to be ear-piercingly loud. My wife hates it and I do too! I’ve been researching here and YouTube for how to quiet the beast and tried several of the common ways but today, I’ve discovered the one that works VERY well for me anyway.

It’s to use the strip of cardboard method in the wind way BUT.. to taper it ever so slightly and cant it at angle so that nearest the mouth it’s at one edge and nearest the blade lip it’s centered.
This is the only way I’ve been able to knock the volume down to a whisper but still retain clarity, hit each note and octave cleanly and without squeaking etc. I’ve had a go at rubber bands, Blu tack, strips of paper and fiddled with each for countless hours. Now I’m happy and can play in an adjacent room with the door shut and no one hears a peep.

Also FWIW, I’ve had to use the blue tack on the blade method to clean up the sound at full volume but I’m able to completely remove it when the cardboard wedge is installed.

Forgive me if this is old news and I’ve just missed it but I hope this is helpful for another newb like me.

My solution to hating high whistles was low whistles. But your option is definitely a lot more affordable. Whatever works!

O2jmpr would you post a picture of what you are talking about. I'm just not picturing it in my head. Thanks.

Second that. I'm not happy with my present quietening options, so I'm curious, here.

Well…. Let’s just forget I ever posted this. I got ahead of myself. Apparently, I found a mystical, magical wedge position one-time that worked wonders to quiet the whistle until moisture screwed it up and I couldn’t duplicate it.

I’ve been so frustrated with the tinkering that I decided to make my own PVC whistle from Guido’s plans and made a D whistle with a small window and very narrow windway and it’s not only quiet, but plays better all around.

Apologies to everyone for leading you astray, it was an honest goof on my part.

O2jmpr wrote: ↑Sun Apr 09, 2023 3:52 pm Well…. Let’s just forget I ever posted this. I got ahead of myself. Apparently, I found a mystical, magical wedge position one-time that worked wonders to quiet the whistle until moisture screwed it up and I couldn’t duplicate it.

I was wondering about the choice of materials; carboard is bound to absorb water and seemed only like a temporary solution, so I was wondering if plastic could be used instead.

Sure, plastic is the better choice by far. I did soak the cardboard in glue first to alleviate some absorption but… now that I have wisdom from Guido on making PVC whistles, I’ll never go back. It was VERY satisfying to make a whistle with my own hands and tweak and tune it to suit me. I owe that guy a massive debt of gratitude!

O2jmpr wrote: ↑Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:20 pm Sure, plastic is the better choice by far. I did soak the cardboard in glue first to alleviate some absorption but… now that I have wisdom from Guido on making PVC whistles, I’ll never go back. It was VERY satisfying to make a whistle with my own hands and tweak and tune it to suit me. I owe that guy a massive debt of gratitude!

So our question still stands: Could you provide more detailed description, or better yet a photograph, of what you've described? We have no idea about the relative proportions, or the exact placement, of the insert.

No, I can’t and won’t at this point because it’s a dead-end that I don’t want someone to pursue and deal with the same aggravation.

Here's a similar one I made.




Works just fine.

I used the cardboard from a match and trimmed it with cutoff pliers.

By leaving part of the windway open, the pitch-flattening is minimized.

A wrap of cellophane tape made for a snug fit and slowed breath-moisture-softening.

Air requirements are cut in half.

trill wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:45 pm Air requirements are cut in half.

Okay, I've got a similar setup with one of my whistles, using a pared-down bit of bamboo skewer. It's volume-adjustable by moving the protruding bit side to side, which is great, but I guess what I'm unhappy about is the loss of the 2nd octave. Is there a fix for that, or am I stuck with one octave this way?

Nanohedron wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:04 pm. . . I'm unhappy about is the loss of the 2nd octave. . . .

Hmmm. . . Fascinating Captain. . . I get 2 octaves.

Does it make a difference if the bamboo is parallel to the flow or angled ?

A piece of thick acetate works reasonably well, on a low whistle at least. It still plays in tune, though I think the air requirements are slightly higher than usual on the second octave. But it still isn't as hard to hit the top b on an easy blower with an obstructed windway as it is on a hard blower without one, so not much lost. And the width of the turnover at the top (where I bent the end over to stop the thing falling down the windway) probably matters too.

Rubbish photos, as clear acetate isn't the easiest thing to photograph:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/414pigg5yjtku ... .jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/op6dztv1eet5p ... .jpeg?dl=0

trill wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:29 pm

Nanohedron wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:04 pm. . . I'm unhappy about is the loss of the 2nd octave. . . .

Hmmm. . . Fascinating Captain. . . I get 2 octaves.

Does it make a difference if the bamboo is parallel to the flow or angled ?

If the bamboo is parallel to the flow, there's almost no reduction in volume, and I get two octaves. Set at an angle much like as in your picture, volume is greatly reduced, but I get only one octave plus fingered high D. If I wanted to do a 2nd-octave A, for example, it's no dice. I have to imagine it if I want to keep the same overall volume.

There's a basic difference between your setup and mine, though: The bamboo's length is shorter than the windway's; it doesn't extend through to under the blade as in your pic. Could this be the difference?

Nanohedron wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:38 pm . . .There's a basic difference between your setup and mine, though: The bamboo's length ends with the windway, and doesn't extend through to under the blade as in your pic. Could this be the difference?

Possibly. I extended the narrow bit to try and confine the flow, to prevent "spreading+mixing".

But, you never know. Fluids+airflow are black magic.

If I've learned one thing about whistle mouthpieces, *everything+anything* can matter. Any detail. No matter how small. I've been surprised many times.

Here's what the whole thing looks like:



In my first attempts, I didn't trim the extending bit. I noticed a flattening of the tones. That lead to the trimming. Of course, it could be made narrower. Maybe with better material, better tools, and free time to cut carefully.