Tweaking a whistle with a dirty/harsh sound

[Mr.Gumby]

Hmmm, had a quick look around to see if I could find other images or videos from the factories of commercial whistle companies. Nothing so far. Any leads?

[Terry McGee]

Well that's certainly a bit more confidence-inspiring, thanks Mr Gumby. So, a David Le Bas, manufacturer of the Clare Tin Whistle, formerly set up in Ennis but now based in Dublin. And unless I'm interpreting it wrongly, we appear to be looking at a form of gang punching - where all 6 holes are punched out in one go. You can see the next victim poking out from the machine at about the level of his right hand.

The big green machine it's based on has a number of names - an eccentric punch or press, a shaper, a slotting machine, depending on the application. In typical applications, an electric motor turns the big wheel via a flat belt. On this side of the machine, there is an eccentric cam, with a yoke over it. As the big wheel and therefore the eccentric cam go round, they driving the yoke up and down in the vertical plane, pushing and pulling whatever tool you attach to it. In this case it's presumably driving 6 punches to punch 6 holes.

Since punching even 6 holes in thin brass wouldn't normally require multiple strokes, I wonder if he's driving it with a motor or by some other means. Anyway it doesn't matter for the purposes of this discussion - it's just reassuring to see an image of a real manufacturing operation rather than just assembly.

It also hints at his intended throughput. You're not going to go to all the trouble and expense of making a rig like that unless you plan to knock out a lot of whistles!

And in the background, we can see a typical bench grinder, possibly used for resharpening the punches, or perhaps normally fitted with cotton buffing wheels for buffing and polishing the tubes. (The lack of guards and guides suggest the latter rather than the former!) Typically one firm sewn wheel is used to apply Tripoli, a cutting compound, and on the other end, a softer loose wheel is used to apply a polishing compound. That's how flute makers like me polish up our keys.

It would be interesting to know where he gets his heads made or if he makes those as well.

Any experience of "Clare Tin Whistles", Mr Gumby or others? His prices seem very reasonable.

[ecadre]

I have a Taktell Piccolino metronome made by Wittner ... allegedly in Germany for I can find no pictures or video of a metronome factory online. My suspicion is that they are actually made by whistling Gnomes in the mountains of Afghanistan.

btw. Look up the EU "Rules of Origin"; no I don't understand them because they're not as trivial as some seem to think.

[Mr.Gumby]

Well that's certainly a bit more confidence-inspiring, thanks Mr Gumby. So, a David Le Bas, manufacturer of the Clare Tin Whistle, formerly set up in Ennis but now based in Dublin.

Not sure about confidence inspiring, I have yet to find a Clare whistle I would like to play. I bought a two piece one in 1981 or so and ditched the head. Another one from the early naughties is standing in the reject vase.

And their website saying something about tin whistles made in Clare for 200 years is clearly taking the Mickey as well.

That said, as far as I remember Le Bas died years ago. I don't know who is in charge of the business since. They supply schools and retail.

You can search the forums for history. Pat Sky set up Feadán whistles in Ennis during the seventies, likely the first whistle made in Ireland. At some point he sold the machines and tools to Le Bas who set up Clare whistles. Sky posted that on the forum, several times, if you want more detail.

So there you have it.

[Terry McGee]

Oh dear, disappointing, our first glimpse of a possibly plausible factory, but dashed by reality. But thanks Mr Gumby, the truth is more useful to us than the dream. Oh well, keep looking!

Fascinating that the web site makes no mention of new owners and still features the image and history of the late David Le Bas!

[Mr.Gumby]

As I said, I don't know who is running Clare whistles but they appear to be still around, even if the website hasn't been looked after for a decade.
It appears Le Bas died in 2015 : death notice

Pat Sky' s story of the whistle making. There was a step in between Feadán and the Clare whistle that I didn't remember: Sky sold to Michael White who later sold the business to Le Bas.

Look up the EU "Rules of Origin"; no I don't understand them because they're not as trivial as some seem to think.

We have been over that as well, in the context of the Killarney, when it first came on the market. They appeared to have bodies that could be taken as the same as the Feadóg tube (a feature shared by several makes). There was some speculation tubes were bought in (and what harm, if it keeps prices down). But it's a fuzzy area, standard example is Irish produced chicken, the majority of which is reared and slaughtered in Thailand. As long as there some finishing done it can still claim the 'produced in Ireland/EU' label.

[Terry McGee]

Oh dear. The poor man is eight years gone and no change to the website. Ah well, it doesn't pay to rush these things, does it.

And Pat Sky. Even I have heard of him! And what an interesting story he tells.

And yes, the "Rules of Origin". In Australia, we had Woolworths selling "freshly baked bread rolls". Until it was confirmed that they were baked up from yeasty sticks made in Ireland and exported frozen halfway round the world to Australia! If we'd thought about it in time, we could have got them to slip a few whistles in among the rolls....

[Moof]

I can't even recall coming across Clare Whistles as a brand. It's hard to remember exactly what was in the shops decades ago when I bought some of my whistles, but I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any for sale recently, at least from British suppliers.

To go back to OEMs, alibaba.com has plenty of Irish whistles. A typical listing:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ ... 407aqW19wN

This firm specialises in making musical instruments, but another company offering what appears to be the same whistle apparently has 5 - 10 employees and its main products are baby strollers, kids toys, trampolines, artificial lawns, and kazoos.

One has sacked old Tom in Quality Control:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ ... 407aqW19wN

This is a version of the whistle that's different to what is on sale in Ireland. It appears to have thicker walls and the matte finish looks like an aluminium alloy of some kind (scroll down for close-up photos):

[Edit - sorry, posted wrong link and I now can't find the one I meant!]

It's possible not all the companies offering whistles via alibaba.com actually make them, they could be part of a chain of resellers, distributors, and other middle-people. The range of unit prices might hint at this.

Finally, this is the luxury version, but it can still be had for $8.50 US:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ ... 407aqW19wN

[Terry McGee]

Good work, Moof. Anyone recognise any of these whistles under other names? Or had any experience with them?

It would be fascinating to experience whistles from an entirely new direction. One hopes that they wouldn't turn out to be cheap copies of already bad instruments!

[Moof]

One hopes that they wouldn't turn out to be cheap copies of already bad instruments!

I wondered whether it's possible some of them actually are those already-bad instruments, and the only difference is that they're sporting a different label.

It's hard to know without having an example to look at and compare, though.

[Moof]

PS: In a few weeks I shall be the owner of a Wizard whistle. I have great hopes for it.

https://tinyurl.com/3cftbcyy

And if all my dreams are dashed on the rocks when it finally gets here, at least I'll die a martyr.

[Terry McGee]

Ah, I see they use the Irish pronunciation: Triditional Irish Whistle.

From the Wizard Ebay site:

The flute is melodious,Easy to play with pitch,A flute instrument used in prelude.
The quality of craftsmanship is both inside and outside,dbaoThe whistle is exquisitely crafted,
and each finger hole is digitally tuned. The tone is sweet and sonorous, sensitive to breath and
well balanced in both high and low notes, making it a good choice for beginners and professionals alike.

And from Alibaba site:

The flute is melodious,Easy to play with pitch,A flute instrument used in prelude.
The quality of craftsmanship is both inside and outside.
The whistle is exquisitely crafted,and each finger hole is digitally tuned.
The tone is sweet and sonorous, sensitive to breath and well balanced in both high and low notes, making it a good choose for beginners and professionals alike.

[The Lurking Fear]

Those descriptions certainly have the flavor of a Chinese to English type of wording. Bit o' experience reading such,tho' maybe I'm wrong.Tastes like it tho'.

I had a Clare from the later 90s,I think.Became a car whistle. Didn't get played much except when stuck at train crossings,which wasn't infrequent. Didn't care for Clare. Eventually was replaced in the glove box by what had become my standard vehicular whistle choice,an Oak. Don't know about the plastic they use now but it was the only car whistle ever to have the head start splitting,and not from the bottom edge but starting a bit above there and going lengthwise for 3/4 inch or so.

Always wonder why no one has made an extended socket like the Feadan since on any "cheapies". Shouldn't be that much of a deal to machine the tubes to be tuned to the socket being pulled slightly out,to whatever spec needed.Still have my Feadan and did try to live with it for a bit but never really cared much for it.Suppose I should hype the "vintage,original tuneable whistle" on Ebay for a ridiculous price after seeing what people are charging for old late 1800-early 1900 models.

[stringbed]

Does anyone know where the Wild and Mullan whistles are made? They are also nearly congruent in measurable detail and have interchangeable mouthpieces (tested on their D’s), suggesting the possibility of another OEM nexus a bit further up on the price/quality scale.

[Terry McGee]

I've never heard of Mullan flutes or whistles. And can't work out from their website where they are. But their brass D whistle looks incredibly like my Killarney!

And the Wild whistle looks very similar, other than the black body. Claims to be "Made in Ireland by Paraic McNeela".

Hmmm, curiouser and curiouser....