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Low Whistle Clogging

0 CommentsFriday • September 10, 2021 • by Mk Admin

Clogging can be an issue for some whistle players.  Because of this we have spent a lot of time creating whistles that are as ‘clog-free’ as possible.  Even still, it can occasionally be an issue for some people – please get in touch with us if this is you! Everyone carries moisture in their breath, but some more than others, and this can condense in the airway forming moisture droplets which interrupt the air-stream and cause air noise.

How do I know the issue is clogging?

Usually it develops over the course of  a few minutes after starting to play.  So if the whistle plays fine when you first pick it up, but then you start getting air-noise after a few minutes, then this is almost certainly because the moisture has been building up.  Temperature may also have an affect.  If the airnoise is more consistent i.e present every time you blow from the moment you pick-up the whistle, then the source of the issue may lie with something else.

What can I do about it?  

The good news is that there are a few things you can try.  A watery solution that we can provide, called ‘anticondense’, can be sprayed onto the surfaces at the end of airway (please see photo).  We don’t have this available to buy at the moment but please get in touch ( info @ mkwhistles.com) if you would like some.    This causes the moisture to form in a thin layer, rather than a droplet (for those with technical know-how this is releases the ‘surface tension’).  It should be applied when the instrument is dry and then allowed to dry before playing.  In most cases this does help a good deal, and it is worth experimenting with.

The problem may improve over time

Do bear in mind that some whistle makes are better than others for clogging – so it may be with experimenting.  It’s also true that players tend to push more moisture through the airway when they are in the early stages of learning.    We have worked very hard to make mk whistles free from clogging – with clever design of the airway.   If you do still get clogging issues then please get in touch !  It is so rarely we come across someone with clogging issues that we’d love to hear from you and work with you to resolve the issue.

 

Posted in: MK MUSIC BLOG, tips & tricks, Whistle instrument care

Tagged with: anticondense, antikondense, clog, clogging, Low Whistle, moisture, penny whistle, tin whistle, whistle

Prices

0 CommentsTuesday • October 28, 2014 • by Mk Admin

We’re expecting some prices to rise a little around early 2015.  Although price increases won’t be massive, if you’re looking to buy an MK Whistle you may want to do so before then!

Posted in: MK MUSIC BLOG

Tagged with: mk, prices, whistle

Is Purple here to stay?

6 CommentsSunday • June 17, 2012 • by Mk Admin

We needed extra security to get the Purple low whistles back from the anodisers without loosing a few to anyone with sticky fingers.  Everyone who saw them had something to say.  It’s probably true purple isn’t everyone’s cup to tea  … but whichever way, it seems you’ll still stand back and marvel at these.

When I checked the to see who had placed an advance order for one I found that the waiting list stretched back to 2007!  making it the longest anyone has had to wait for an MK Whistle (not including the keys we aren’t making)

The question however is are they here to stay?  The Blue Low Ds were run as a limited edition about this time last year, and we haven’t done any since, despite occasional enquiries.  From my point of view keeping even three colours (red, green & black) in stock in quite a challenge, but these more exotic colours (the red, blue and purple particularly) do have something special about them – an extra magic.  Sometimes one comes off the workbench and I just stand there looking at it.  Even before it’s first breath it’s singing, and I languish for a few seconds before going back to filing, cutting, setting, gluing, etc etc.

What do you think? should purple stay?

 

Posted in: MK DESIGN BLOG, Mk developments, MK MUSIC BLOG, New Developments in Whistle Making, the buzz

Tagged with: coloured whistles, purple, whistle

Stuck low whistle tuning slide

0 CommentsSunday • June 10, 2012 • by Mk Admin

How to fix a seized whistle tuning slide

(please note this applies to metal tin whistles and low whistles -not wooden ones).

A seized tuning slide has long been a problem on many woodwind instruments.  I thought I’d take the time to talk through the ins and outs of seized tuning slides – an age old curse of woodwind musicians including low whistle players.

First I feel it’s worth mentioning that the best solution is to prevent the tuning slide seizing in the first place – as obvious as it might be to say so!   Contrary to popular belief tuning slides rarely, if ever, seize as a result of dirt getting trapped in the slide.  The two parts actually get stuck because the surface of metals corrodes as it reacts with air – in a similar process to steel rusting.  This reaction on the surface of the two adjacent and touching parts causes the parts to fuse together.  Some metals suffer more from this phenomenon than others.  Aluminium or steel are quite reactive in air and therefore fuse relatively quickly.  Brass and titanium are relatively stable (or ‘inert’) in air and will therefore take much longer to react.

The simplest way of stopping the two parts seizing together is to stop the reaction at the surface of the metal.  This is where tuning slide grease (or cork grease) comes in very useful – it coats the surface of the parts and creates a barrier between them and the air, hence stopping the reaction.  The handy thing is that putting a little on can last for long time.

So you have a seized tuning slide?

The tuning slide on your prized music instrument is seized – what should you do?  The first thing to remember is don’t panic!  …or start twisting it with massive pliers or hitting it off things in a blind rage!  The trick is to break the bond which has developed from the corrosion.

Rather than reaching straight for a huge wrench, it’s best to try more gentle methods first and build up from there.

One of the first things to try is a little lubricant like WD40.   Leave it for a while to penetrate after dropping a few drips down between the two brass parts of the slide.  Any excess can be cleaned off with a alcohol based cleaner – e.g. IPA or Meths – before trying to rotate the parts.

If this hasn’t worked then applying some heat may work.  By far the best way of applying heat is with a heat gun, but this should be done very gently so as to avoid any damage.  It can be better to start with a hair dryer which will be a more gentle source of heat, and work up from there.  In any case care should be taken not to burn your hands.   We really only want to heat the outside tube so that it expands and breaks the seal.   The seal can be checked by rotating, using fabric or gloves to protect your hands.

In extreme cases, where you don’t have access to a heat gun, using a blowtorch at a distance and sparingly will break the seal, though many would prefer to send the instrument to an instrument maker before reaching this point!

Of course once you’ve unstuck the tuning slide, make sure to keep some grease on it so it doesn’t happen again!

 

Posted in: MK DESIGN BLOG, MK MUSIC BLOG, Notes from the workshop, Whistle instrument care

Tagged with: cork grease, grease, low, sieze, siezed, slide, slide grease, stuck, tin whistles, tunable, tune, tuning, tuning slide, tuning slides, unstick, whistle, whistle players, whistle tuning slide, woodwind instruments, woodwind musicians

Here they come

0 CommentsFriday • June 1, 2012 • by Mk Admin

Posted in: MK MUSIC BLOG, the buzz

Tagged with: mk pro, purple, violet, whistle

Fruit on the G Tree?

2 CommentsSunday • October 23, 2011 • by Mk Admin

Posted in: MK DESIGN BLOG, Mk developments, MK MUSIC BLOG, New Developments in Whistle Making

Tagged with: G, low, low whistle makers, mk, New Developments, prototype, Scotland, whistle, whistle-maker, workshop

The Whistle at the End of the Universe …by Ian Nicholls

0 CommentsWednesday • August 11, 2010 • by Mk Admin

The West Coast of Scotland has to be one of the most amazing places in the world. All year I had been looking forward to another few weeks exploring it on a very special little ship, The Hippo-owned by a friend. Sailing ensures that things aren’t seen to quickly and the world goes by a sensible natural pace. The sea is not our natural habitat, and this is brought home effectively when whales would overtake us, and dolphins would come and go as if my magic.

Our destination this year was to be St Kilda, right on the edge of the Scottish West Coast, and having assembled a mix bag of sailors and musicians, we met in Castlebay on Barra.

Our experiences were mad, beautiful and mystifying. In my mind recording these is all part of journeying. In this modern world the click of a digital camera is now the accepted norm. Not always. For years traditional music told stories of joy, happiness, shipwreck…the list is endless. For me I wasn’t going anywhere without my fiddle and my MK Low D.

St Kilda had a profound effect. A new tune “Village Bay” tries to conjure up the wild eyed sheep, the incredible cliffs and amazing struggle of St Kilda, however trying to fit it all in is still very much work in progress…I’m not sure a single tune will suffice…

Posted in: Mk Stories

Tagged with: music, Scottish island, st kilda, whistle

Stuck up a water tower in Timbuktu by Misha Somerville

0 CommentsThursday • October 22, 2009 • by Mk Admin

I decided to climb a water tower.  Half way up I started to question my plan; perhaps unsurprisingly ladders always seem to get more difficult as you get higher.  I avoided looking down until some locals started shouting at me.  I looked up to see how much further I had to go and spotted four or five owls higher up on the ladder where it was enclosed by the water tank.  Just at that second a volley of owl shit rained down on me.  I laughed at the absurdity of the situation – covered in owl shit and stuck half way up a water tower in Timbuktu – I had just wanted a good view from the top of the Water Tower.  In any case it became obvious that climbing back down would probably be a good idea.
Such was Timbuktu – you’ve got to make your own entertainment.  Fortunately I had good company; I’d met a French guy Damien on the cargo boat, and had been sharing laughs and hassles since then.  Later on I was playing some music – a few tunes on the whistle, out on the roof of one of the village’s mud houses.  As it turned out Damien was a really good juggler and there was soon a crowd of people watching us.  They stood keeping a distance, watching us like we were some sort of wild animal, until one little boy plucked up the courage to come closer.  He walked slowly, stopping every so often until he was up on the roof and a few yards away from us, and there he stayed – mesmerised – while the others dared not come any closer.   Although interesting to me at the time, I didn’t realise how much this little experience might influence and inspire ideas in the future.

I decided to climb a water tower.  Half way up I started to question my plan; perhaps unsurprisingly ladders always seem to get more difficult as you get higher.  I avoided looking down until some locals started shouting at me.  I looked up to see how much further I had to go and spotted four or five owls higher up on the ladder where it was enclosed by the water tank.  Just at that second a volley of owl shit rained down on me.  I laughed at the absurdity of the situation – covered in owl shit and stuck half way up a water tower in Timbuktu – I had just wanted a good view from the top of the Water Tower.  In any case it became obvious that climbing back down would probably be a good idea.

Such was Timbuktu – you’ve got to make your own entertainment.  Fortunately I had good company; I’d met a French guy Damien on the cargo boat, and had been sharing laughs and hassles since then.  Later on I was playing some music – a few tunes on the whistle, out on the roof of one of the village’s mud houses.  As it turned out Damien was a really good juggler and there was soon a crowd of people watching us.  They stood keeping a distance, watching us like we were some sort of wild animal, until one little boy plucked up the courage to come closer.  He walked slowly, stopping every so often until he was up on the roof and a few yards away from us, and there he stayed – mesmerised – while the others dared not come any closer.   Although interesting to me at the time, I didn’t realise how much this little experience might influence and inspire ideas in the future.

Extract from Bamako Boom Boom by Misha Somerville.

Posted in: Mk Stories

Tagged with: Africa, whistle




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