I think I got a "legendary" GOOD GENERATION.

[ninjaaron]

I'm a lowly paddawan in this wonderful whistle world, so maybe I just don't have disserning taste, but I got a gernation that sounds pretty good.

I went to the musci store today to rent a Cello (first time!), and noticed they had a box of whistles. I didn't even know they carried whistles. Anyway, they had Walton D's, and Generations for like every other key. I didn't have a Bb, so I got one. A nice nickle plated Bb, after checking for no danging plastic in the fipple. I brought it home, did just a touch of filing in couple of spots, filled in that stupid space with some wax, played it a bit.

Now, I'm not in "whistle tone heaven" or anything, but it doesn't sound bad at all. It's got good tuning all the way up, even the crossfingerings Ab and F# (though because of the large holes, you can't crossfinger a D, by the same token it makes it very easy to half-cover).

So two good sounding, in tune octaves, with fairly good volume balance... but this thing really shines for articulations. It bends really nicely, and all the other little chirps are real easy to get as well, so it's fun as all hell to play.

Is this one of the "Good Generations"?

PS. Scotty Pippen was at work today and yesterday. That's fun.

[fearfaoin]

I'm a lowly paddawan in this wonderful whistle world, so maybe I just don't have disserning taste, but I got a gernation that sounds pretty good.

You don't need discerning taste. If it's bad, you'll know it.

It's got good tuning all the way up, even the crossfingerings Ab and F# (though because of the large holes, you can't crossfinger a D, by the same token it makes it very easy to half-cover).

OK, I followed you up to crossfingering Ab (same as fingering Cnat on a D whistle)
but I don't know a crossfingering for F#... (or Bb/A# on a D whistle)
and D on a Bb whistle is just XXX XOO

[Wanderer]

It's my understanding that it's easier to get a good Generation in Bb than in D. By the same token, nearly all of the Generation F's I've ever gotten were quite playable. But I've had abysmal luck getting Generation D's that could be played in tune.

[ninjaaron]

I'm a lowly paddawan in this wonderful whistle world, so maybe I just don't have disserning taste, but I got a gernation that sounds pretty good.

You don't need discerning taste. If it's bad, you'll know it.

It's got good tuning all the way up, even the crossfingerings Ab and F# (though because of the large holes, you can't crossfinger a D, by the same token it makes it very easy to half-cover).

OK, I followed you up to crossfingering Ab (same as fingering Cnat on a D whistle)
but I don't know a crossfingering for F#... (or Bb/A# on a D whistle)
and D on a Bb whistle is just XXX XOO

Yeah, I just named the notes wrong. These flat keys always rack my brain (I don't play them much on guitar either. We like sharp keys, I suppose that's true of most folk instruments)

Anyway, The D should have been an E.

The crossfingering for Bb on most of my D's (or F# for the Bb) is either X0X XX0, or more often, X0X XXX. They are both usually a few cents off, but one is usually better than the other (I kinda seems to depend what key you are in, which I guess makes sense).

And as for the Ab (C natural in D), Don't you have to crossfinger that note all the time? OXX OOO?

[fearfaoin]

Anyway, The D should have been an E.

Oh, OK. Now I follow.

The crossfingering for Bb on most of my D's (or F# for the Bb) is either X0X XX0, or more often, X0X XXX. They are both usually a few cents off, but one is usually better than the other (I kinda seems to depend what key you are in, which I guess makes sense).

Hm. I didn't know about that crossfingering. I've always half-holed Bb (on a D whistle).
I'll have to try those out.

And as for the Ab (C natural in D), Don't you have to crossfinger that note all the time? OXX OOO?

Either half hole or crossfinger, yes. I agreed with your Ab comment.

[Henke]

It's my understanding that it's easier to get a good Generation in Bb than in D. By the same token, nearly all of the Generation F's I've ever gotten were quite playable. But I've had abysmal luck getting Generation D's that could be played in tune.

I know many people who would dissagree with you on this one, even though I tend to agree based on my experience. I think the quality control problems excists in every key they make, and allthough I'm not doubting that Bb's might be better more often than D's, some people will tell you that it's impossible to find a good Bb based on their experience. On the other hand I've had huge problems finding a good F, but I have never had any problems finding good Eb's, which is often considered a 'bad' key for Generations. This really is an impossible question to answer.

[Pat Cannady]

Re: Gen Ds that will not play in tune.

You absolutely MUST remove the top (see the tweaks page) on a Gen D in order to get it to play in tune. The factory tends to put the tops on too close to the toneholes for some reason.

Other than that, if you can find a D with no dangling plastic crumbs in the windway or on the blade, you probably have a good whistle - all you really need to do is tune it. It may or may not need the sub-windway space filled, that depends on the player's preferences.

[Wanderer]

I posted a long time ago (though I cannot find the post now) a series of Generation D tunings from a box of 10 that I had.

Many were impossible to play in tune, meaning that when A=440, some notes were impossible to get closer than 10 or 15 cents of where they should be with any sort of breath gymnastics. And it wasn't the same notes on every whistle. Their tuning, at that time, could best be described as "random". I haven't bought a box of 10 since then, so I don't know if their quality control has improved.

next Google check I get, I swear I'm going to repeat the experiment, just to see how things have changed, since it has been a few years.

Now, I do know that some people have expressed that having a whistle a little out of tune is part of the "charm" of a folk instrument. And if that's what floats your boat, there's nothing wrong with that. And if you can't hear 10 or 15 cents out of tune, that's ok too (well, unless you're playing with folks who get bent out of shape about that sort of thing).

But I'm thinking that some folks may be interested in an in-depth experiment. I know I certainly am interested in seeing if their QC has improved since the last time I did it.

[PhilO]

I have 2 Generation Bflats that are pretty old and they're both really fine whistles. All for at the time something like $7 or $8 a pop. Can't beat that.

Philo

[twistedfingers]

I went to the musci store today to rent a Cello (first time!), and noticed they had a box of whistles. I didn't even know they carried whistles. Anyway, they had Walton D's, and Generations for like every other key. I didn't have a Bb, so I got one. A nice nickle plated Bb, after checking for no danging plastic in the fipple. I brought it home, did just a touch of filing in couple of spots, filled in that stupid space with some wax, played it a bit.

As a brand new forum visitor (and poster), I hadn't seen the details of the tweaks for the Generation whistles here. All I new was that my recent purchase of a nickel Bb was very hard work (almost impossible to keep in the top register etc.). Imagine my excitement when I stumbled across the tweaks mentioned here. Now all cleaned up and filled with blue tacky stuff it plays beautifully and I'm playing all sorts of tunes that sound better than any of the D's I've got.

I live about 15 miles away from the Generation factory. Anybody want me to go and visit their QC dept with a big stick?