Humphrey Whistle (again)

DADGAD · Post by **DADGAD** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 8:50 pm

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).

What I particularly like about this instrument is how easy it is to play. The two registers are the most evenly matched of any whistle I’ve ever had and I can hop back and forth between octaves without the hint of a squeak It’s quite responsive and the ornaments seem to pop out quite easily. The tone has a beautiful presence that’s hard to describe.

To tell you where my ears are coming from, I prefer the more traditional, Generation type of sound. I’ll try to compare my Humphrey to three other whistles from my vast (only according to my wife) collection: Sindt, O’Briain and Generation (Freeman tweaked)---all whistles I like a lot. I find the O’Briain to have the brightest sound of the four, followed by the Humphrey, the Sindt and the Freeman/Generation. I love my O’Briain, but find I really have to think about my wind support and work the whistle as I play, particularly going from higher to lower octaves (so that I don’t split notes). The O’Briain takes very little air and is always a challenge to play well. I love the playability of my Sindt, but it does have a slightly duller sound than the O'Briain and Humphrey. It feels like a wonderful set of old shoes that I’ve worn for years. They’ll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands before I give it up. My Freeman/Generation has the quietest sound of the four, but is very easy and enjoyable to play. From my perspective, the Humphrey, Sindt and Freeman/Generation all seem to have about equal back-pressure--- the O’Briain has the least.

I did notice small differences in the just temperament, but not a lot. Possibly I am unconsciously adjusting wind pressure etc. to produce the tuning that my ears are more used to (equal temperament). The f# seems flatter, but pleasantly so. I was tempted out of curiosity to order two tubes, one in each temperament, but my innate cheapness won out in the end. It feels beautifully in-tune, however and I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to buy another just like it. By the way, the C natural is comfortable both with the half hole and cross fingering.

It’s gonna be great fun to show this whistle to all my musician friends (Boston area). I'll can't wait to see what their reaction is. At any rate, I feel it’s a great whistle that will go right to the top of my collection. I can’t wait to buy a C whistle. That however, will have to come after we buy a new set of harp strings. Don’t even ask me how much those things cost! They make even whistle purchases seem rational.

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:23 pm

I too got a Humphrey whistle this week. I'd like to add how impressed I was with the finish of the holes on the tube. They've been sanded very smooth making slides easier. I also like how light the whistle is. It is most like my Freeman Tweaked Generation in weight and style. The mouthpiece being acetal has a lot to do with the lightness. I was going to write more but so much has already been written in SirNick's post and by Peter Laban and Jessie Driscoll and now in this post by DADGAD I don't think I can add anything. I agree with Peter Laban that this whistle has become my new favorite. I think Gary has done a great job.

SirNick · Post by **SirNick** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:19 am

I've thought of something for Gary to add! The name or company symbol on the whistle! Any type, from a "Jerry Tweaked" style sticker to a cool engraved style of Alba. A great whistle like a great automobile should be able to be recognized by the companies identification tag. That way, even the people other than obsessive whistlers like us could identify where that great sound is coming from.

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:46 am

Well, I got the first one. So I think he should call it Gary's Patented Vomit Whistle. In honor of me. Plus it's a catchy name.

SirNick · Post by **SirNick** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:49 am

I was wondering what that smell was

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 9:01 am

I asked this in another thread and I think I lost track of the thread and never saw an answer.

What is 'just temprament' and 'equal temperament'

I promise to check back here this time.

Thanks

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 10:54 am

Here are a couple of good sites:

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/scales.html

http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/

--James

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 11:02 am

DADGAD wrote:I did notice small differences in the just temperament, but not a lot. Possibly I am unconsciously adjusting wind pressure etc. to produce the tuning that my ears are more used to (equal temperament). The f# seems flatter, but pleasantly so.

These would be the most noticeable differences: a flatter major 3rd (F#) and also a flatter major 7th (C#). But the C# is a such a wonky note that it may be harder to see the difference there.

g

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 11:50 am

thanks

DADGAD · Post by **DADGAD** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 12:03 pm

Here's my understanding of it:

Temperament refers to the way the individual notes of a scale are divided up in relation to the octave. There are many ways of doing this. Some of these solutions sound really beautiful with monophic music, but are terribly out of tune when you go to a different key or scale. As I understand it, the whistle with just intonation will sound great in certain keys, but if we try to play an exotic scale (Db for example) it will sound terribly out of tune. Most traditional Irish music restricts itself to certain basic keys, so this isn’t a problem. If we do need to go to a “strange” key, we pick up another whistle to match the key (does this sound like a rationalization for Whoa behavior?). Furthermore, most Irish trad music isn’t concerned with chords and harmonies as much as the melody or tune. It’s often when you start stacking up different notes simultaneously (chords) that you start to hear these differences. Keyboard players need the ability to modulate to different keys within the same piece of music. Without equal temperament, a piece by Chopin or Debussy, for example, would sound horrendous once the player veers off the original key-path in unusual harmonic directions, a feature of music starting in the 19th century. So, blame it all on the piano players of the world. Now, if only I could find a similar slam against loud, arhythmic bodhrainists.

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:26 pm

So is your average Generation usually 'just' or 'equal'?

DADGAD · Post by **DADGAD** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:49 pm

I would assume that a generation is in equal temperament since the f# sounds sharper to me than the Humphrey one I ordered. But hey, I can spout (mangle?) the theory behind the various temperaments but as to any practical application, I'm as lost as the next person. I wish my buddy Pythagoras were here for consultation.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 4:08 pm

FJohnSharp wrote:So is your average Generation usually 'just' or 'equal'?

I think the average Generation is "just"...you know, like this:

"hey, that bloody whistle is out of tune!"

"Nah. It's just the way this one's tuned!"

Actually, according to Peter and someone else (sorry! I don't remember) Generations evidently have a slightly just bias over a large population. I can't verify, as I gave all of my big box of 10.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 4:37 pm

Wanderer wrote:Actually, according to Peter and someone else (sorry! I don't remember) Generations evidently have a slightly just bias over a large population.

*cough*

I can't remember either.

I've been preparing a batch of tweaked Waltons Mellow D's (actually, these would more properly be called Mellow Dogs, since I've replaced the Waltons whistlehead with a tweaked Feadog C head).

These tubes, even more clearly than the Generation D tubes I've checked, seem to be set up for something close to just intonation. However, to discover this you first have to adjust the horribly sharp bell note. I've found that increasing the length of the Mellow D tube by about .210 inches is about right.

In case you're interested, I do this by hitching the tubes, in batches of 10 at a time, one end to the trailer hitch on my pickup truck and the other to a big stump, and stretching them the correct amount. I connect the tubes end to end using duct tape. I've been able to calibrate this procedure by determining the exact engine RPM's and number of seconds I need to maintain while pulling to get exactly .210 inches of increased tube length consistently.

Best wishes,
Jerry

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:08 pm

Jerry Freeman wrote:In case you're interested, I do this by hitching the tubes, in batches of 10 at a time, one end to the trailer hitch on my pickup truck and the other to a big stump, and stretching them the correct amount. I connect the tubes end to end using duct tape. I've been able to calibrate this procedure by determining the exact engine RPM's and number of seconds I need to maintain while pulling to get exactly .210 inches of increased tube length consistently.

Jerry, even if that was so I wouldn't believe it.

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Humphrey Whistle (again)

Humphrey Whistle (again)

Re: Humphrey Whistle (again)

temperament