What Folks are Saying in September '08

I have quite a few questions and some comments and feedback for the past couple of months that I find very interesting. First off is a very nice note from a gentleman that liked his new Low F whistle. This is the response every WhistleSmith likes to receive.

Dear Sir,

I have received your Flute via UPS. This morning. I was able to play Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo, Malaguena, O Danny Boy, and the beautiful tune Rose of Tralee.

I am more a singer ( light Tenor ) than a flutist but I love the sound of the Tin Whistle, I guess genes inherited through my grand mother Rose O'Neil.

Never the less to tell you, Your Flute is not Good. * It is excellent* you are truly and artisan and I take my hat unto you. The instrument has a mellow sound that is haunting. It has two full octaves, you can not go wrong with it.

Have you considered making them out of hardwood or metal using the same concept? A very innovative design. I only wish it will have a 7th hole to add a lower note.

But, of course then it will not be an Irish whistle. It will be a sophisticated recorder.

The thumb ring is quite an addition as it is the mouth piece, a wonderful concept.. It remind me a bit of the Native American Flute.

Thank you again, Godspeed...

Luis Alberto

Another person who purchased a whistle inquired about obtaining beeswax that I had mentioned for several uses on whistles. Beeswax candles are available in almost every candle shop. Rubbing beeswax on the slide joint of your whistle will make it tighten up, but is easy to remove if necessary by warming the joint with hot water. Rubbing beeswax on the inside edges of the whistle mouthpiece will make it stick in place, but allows fine adjustment if you need to align the mouthpiece. Again the top cap of the mouthpiece can be easily moved by warming with hot water if necessary.

Burt's Bees makes a chapstick type product for chapped lips from beeswax and this is very good for a very tight joint that you need to slip easily, but the joint is too tight to use beeswax. When applying beeswax to the whistle joint, rub the wax on the male part of the fitting and spin the fitting together to distribute the wax evenly. If the fit is too tight, remove a little of the beeswax . Try the fit of the joint until it has a good firm fit, but is not jammed or over tight. I really like using beeswax for joints and you seldomn have to replace it. "O" rings are technically fine, but they tend to break at the wrong time and the right size is often hard to find.

Oh yes! you can share you candle with all your whistling friends as it takes very little wax to do the job. One small candle will last a lifetime if you don't share!

I inform buyers from other countries by Email that the USPS shipping charge to Canada and especially Europe is high, but as low as can be afforded to insure delivery and tracking of the package. I also warn buyers that the Brokerage fees charged are not included for them to get their whistle. Brokerage fees to Canada are very high and are charged by the individual items in the package. The VAT to the United Kingdom is another charge that is expensive. WhistleSmith is not responsible for these charges and can only tell buyers they should be prepared to pay them to get delivery of their items. So much for free trade...

A lady in Florida wrote to remind me of shipping costs here in the States.

" Please remind you customers that you will ship two whistles at a time for the same rate. I forgot to order the thumbring for my Low D on my first purchse from your website. Thank for shipping everything in one package on my second order. When you are retired and on a budget, everything helps out. By the way, I really love my new Low F, very nice sound."

Will you be selling your whistles on ebay this next year!

I recently shipped two Low D whistles that were purchased on ebay to Tasmania and another pair to the Czech Republic. We will be running the ebay store and Buy It Now auctions for another year. The category for WhistleSmith products is Musical Instruments/Woodwinds/Whistles. Prices for all items is uniform here on the website and with those for sale on ebay. Many customers find their way to this website from ebay and it is always good to shop online where you are most comfortable. If you have special requests for your order, it is best to order here on the website and to use the 1-800-675-4206 toll free line to discuss your purchase.

I hope you will read the news on Proto 1, the new slide flute that can be played with just the use of your head. This will allow thousands of folks with disabiltes to play a musical instrument for the first time.

All for now, but please keep writing so I can post your comments, questions and information.

Proto 1 Auto Slide Flute Due for Production

Here I am holding the original Proto 1 auto slide flute. The long tube is the air tube into which you blow to play the flute. The air tube is held in a ring of the wire that goes to the slide rod in the flute. The slide moves back and forth with your head movement to change the pitch and determine the note you are playing.

My Top Secret, keep the lights burning project for the summer has been a whistle project with David Whalen from Scotia, New York. David approached me on the phone with the idea of making a slide whistle that he could play by moving the slide with just the movement of his head. The whistle would also have to be easy to blow, have a nice deep sound, and be easily cleaned and maintained. In addition to that, the cost should be as low as possible so a lot of folks could afford it in all kinds of countries and economic situations.

WOW! You have to love a project and challenge like this!

David further explained that he was quadrupelegic from a skiing accident and wanted very much to play the slide whistle. His idea was to make a slide whistle that many people could play and have fun with, sound good, be inexpensive, be non-electrical, and be portable. He and a group of friends and family had done exploratory work on the music project and knew there would be lots of interest in the whistle if it could be made to work.

I was really excited by the concept of the slide whistle project. I knew from working with my nephew Kevin on the original slide flute, that the number of folks who would benefit from the project would make up a very large and enthusiastic group of people. I told David it was a done deal and I would develop the whistle and he would be the tester. I also cautioned him that it might take longer to get the whistle right and playable than we both could anticipate.

Sometimes you just get lucky and that's what happened next. The Penny Whistle Auto Flute has been throughly tested and played by a large group of folks, many with disabilities that hamper breathing or mobility. Soooo...I turned the flute upside down and made a clip to hold the clear vinyl tube used to blow the flute onto the original mouthpiece. I made a wire bending jig to make a heavy wire loop to hold the mouthpiece tube and an extension to hook it to the fiberglass slide in the flute. All you do then is put the tube in your mouth to blow the whistle and move your head back and forth to move the slide. Now you can play music! I added some clips to hold the flute to an 18" piece of rod that can be held in place by an appliance bar and you can then play without using your hands.

The day David received the slide flute, he called at six in he morning to tell me he had gotten up early and had already learned three tunes to play. And then he played them for me over the phone. What a great feeling to hear him play and know everything had worked out okay!

David has been testing the flute for about a month and a half and it works very well. I dubbed it Proto I (for first prototype) and while David is testing, I have developed Proto 2 which is built on the Symphony Slide Flute. Proto 2 will be tested over the next few weeks and hopefully a production model will be decided on to begin production before the end of October.

Proto I has proven to be reliable and fun to play. Sound is very good. Cleaning is easy and quick. Sets up easily. Windway can be cleared simply and overall the flute works as well as hoped for. With a few changes in geometry and the wire bending apparatus, I feel confident we will be making this model on schedule.

The slide flute does require the care giver to be able to do some easy cleaning of the instrument and some minimal setup with the appliance bar. I am writing an easy to understand set of instructions and the illustrations necessary to take the flute apart and assemble it correctly.

We are very excited about this project and would like to hear what you have to say about the development so far. If you would like to email, send your message with the Subject line on your email as "Regards Proto I" to rodbrewer@jaybrewer.net.

Building completed at the WhistleSmith

Here is the way it looks on the mountain when everything has been put back together again. Mike Michaud is shown putting the last piece on the new building. Jerry and Mike set a new Olympic record in completing the job and it is greatly appreciated.

I am a bit late in getting the final pictures up and posted, but it took a very long time to sort out all the bits and pieces that were salvaged from the old barn. We now have one complete bay available that can be heated in winter and set up just to cut material for the whistle shop. In addition, the tablesaw and chopsaw equipment are now set up on wheels to be usable outside if we want to do projects on the patio section in front of the building. Overall, this new building is more useable than the larger old barn was as far as getting machiney and projects in and out and the patio portion is really great for washing the tractor and vehicles.

Pipe and tubing is racked on some really nice hangers that the folks at Lowes found for us and we would like to thank the folks out there for all the help in getting equipment and supplies to replace those items lost in the barn wreck.

It is always important to remember that good neighbors are more important than all the other goods you have. Special thanks to Gerald and Ed Easler for salvaging our stuff, Jerry, Mike & Derek Michaud for putting everything back together again and Sid and Marilee Smith for all the snow removal during the Blizzard of '08. Thanks to all those neighbors that gave us support and a helping hand.