Just a quick note about my whistle. I bought one too, also because of Peter Laban's review, but i wanted to be different, so i got a wide bore one. I was interested in just intonation too, but i decided to try something else, and Gary was willing to oblige, so now i have the first whistle in the world that's been made using a Werkmeister III tempered scale. Not even Jessie has one! (yet)DADGAD wrote:A few days ago I received a Humphrey narrow bore D whistle (yes, because of Peter Labin I had to try the just temperament!). I’m crazy about this whistle. After I opened up the package and played my first tune, my wife popped out of her office and asked what whistle I was playing. Usually, upon receipt of a new whistle I’m in for several hours of mockery and ridicule. However, instead of derision, she told me that she absolutely loved the sound (this coming from a harp player who is not a great fan of whistles).
To explain: Herr Werkmeister invented a system for tuning pipe organs, way back in the times when the music was young. It's a compromise between just intonation and equal temperament. Many such systems exist, but Werkmeister was the one most often used for organs, so i thought it would work fine for whistles too. The orginal tuning system is centered in C, but we changed it so it's centered in D. Paul Fremantle from the flutemakers Yahoo group helped me with the data.
So how does it sound? As a wide bore should, it has a large sound, and pleasantly fat bottom end. The second octave requires some push, but nothing too bad. All in all, a very balanced whistle, pure sounding, loud, efficient. The closest i have to it in feel is the Silkstone aluminum alloy, which has always been one of my favourite whistles. But the Silkstone's sound is mellower than Gary's.
The tempered scale sounds very sweet; sometimes i even think it's too sweet. All notes, up to the top of the second octave, are pleasant sounding. Both the F# and the B notes are a little flatter than in equal temperament, as expected, although Werkmeister is closer to equal than to just temperament.
I'm hoping to use it in session tomorrow night, and that will be the first opportunity to see how this whistle's scale blends with the other instruments. More on that later.
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