TRYING A TWEAKED WHISTLE | THE MELLOW DOG HIGH D JERRY FREEMAN PENNYWHISTLE REVIEW

Today I'm trying out the Jerry Freeman Mellow Dog - part of the 'tweaked' whistle collection that aims to bring that classic, traditional tin whistle sound back to life! You'll find my brief overview, thoughts and sound samples to help you decide if this might be the next whistle for you!
Purchase this whistle:
www.ebay.com/sch/freemanwhist...
Learn The Tune:
• @AdrianvonZiegler - A...
00:00 - The Story Of This Whistle
01:20 - Details
03:06 - First Impressions
03:30 - Sound Sample
04:52 - Observations
05:40 - Tuning Test
06:32 - Sound With Reverb
07:04 - Links
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[@JerryHFreeman]

Thanks, Stephanie, for this wonderful review. For any who are interested, here's more information about how I tweak a whistle ... Here are some of the issues with mass produced whistles: 1. There are shapes that can't be made with a mold. If there are "undercuts," the molded part will lock inside the mold and it will be impossible to open the mold without damaging the part. Because of that, compromises have been made so whistleheads can be mass produced using injection molding machines. 2. Also, the hollow underneath the windway is not there for a functional reason. It is there because an injection molded plastic part must avoid large variations in wall thickness to prevent "sinking," which is the distortion caused when hot plastic cools and thicker areas shrink more than thinner areas. 3. The "step" is never correct in these whistles. The step is the position of the soundblade relative to the windway floor. If the bottom of the soundblade is above the windway floor, that is a positive step. If the bottom of the soundblade is exactly even with the windway floor, that is zero step, and if the bottom of the soundblade is below the windway floor, that is a negative step. Here's what I do when I tweak a whistle: ~ I remove the whistlehead. With some keys of whistle, I enlarge the socket so it fits the tube correctly to be more easily tuned. ~ I fill the cavity under the windway. This helps stabilize the whistle’s response and clean up the sound. What material you use matters, I've found. Some materials that people often use (e.g., poster putty) can deaden the sound. I fill the cavity with a lattice I've developed that is acoustically transparent, but that the air stream encounters as a solid surface. That preserves the resonance to retain the birdlike brightness while reducing turbulence in the airstream. ~ In the mass produced whistleheads, where the windway floor connects with the voicing chamber, there is a square edge. That is necessary because an appropriately chamfered or rounded edge would be an undercut that would make the whistlehead impossible to remove from the mold. I correct that by working a radius onto the end of the windway floor. Different keys and models of whistles require different radii. ~ I laminate a thickness of plastic underneath the soundblade to correct the position relative to the windway floor. I also place the lamination differently in different whistles to achieve the different voicings that distinguish Bluebirds from tweaked Generations, etc. I've modeled the tweaked Generation's voicing to match as closely as possible the classic voicing of the Generation whistles that were produced between the middle 1950's and the early 1980's when Generation replaced their tooling and the whistles changed. ~ I press a brass ring around the whistlehead socket to protect it from cracking from the pressure of the tube inside. That has always been the demise of these mass produced whistles. Occasionally you see a performer playing an old Generation whistle that has electrician's tape wrapped around a cracked socket. ~ Depending on the key and model of whistle, I remove some material from one or both ends of the tonebody to bring the bell note into tune and increase the range the whistle can be tuned. Mellow Dog and Bnat, alto A tenor G, low F and low D Generation tonebodies I make myself. It bears mention, some of these adjustments are interrelated. If I change one of them, another adjustment will need to be modified to make it work correctly. If you were to only do one or two of the tweaks, even if you could duplicate them exactly, you would not get the same result. I hope that makes sense. Best wishes, Jerry Freeman

[@manicmarauder]

Cool, thank you for the knowledge.

[@justadjimmi6613]

The first custom whistle I purchased was your Mellow D/C combo off of Ebay around 10 years ago. I always brought that whistle to play session stuff with (sadly I haven't played with others since Covid). A few years ago I really got into low D whistles and play them at home instead of my high Ds. This video inspired me to see if you are still selling the Bb Generations (for playing at home) and I see you are selling a low D Generation. How could that even exist? I might need to get one of those.

[@JerryHFreeman]

@@justadjimmi6613 I was somewhat amazed myself when the low D tweaked Generation experiment actually worked (finally after 15 years of trying). It uses the largest diameter tubing a Bb Generation whistlehead can be adapted to fit and tweaked to suit, which results in a very narrow bore for a low D whistle. It's a very nice, quiet whistle with an interesting, characteristically "Generation-ish" tone, as I've described in the eBay listing: This is a quiet low whistle with comfortable air requirement and a rich, velvety tone. Nicely balanced between octaves. Many have commented that the upper register is especially pleasing and easy to play. "It has a unique tone, nice in the bottom notes and extraordinary in the upper reaches. The narrow tone body and Bb head make much longer phrases possible. It should capture a unique place in the low D market." ~ F.C., Iowa Here's Nathaniel Dowell demonstrating and commenting on the Freeman tweaked low D Generation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWjdkGpsfdJpr9E And here's the eBay listing: www.ebay.com/itm/284895206034?hash=item425513da92:g:to0AAOSwy0xizsiI

[@ninakaiser2930]

Thank you for the additional information!

[@swinxfee]

​@@JerryHFreemanhey. As a dutch person, shipping from ebay will cost me just as much as the whistle itself. Is there a better way to get your products here in europe?

[@VedicLegacy]

Love this instrument. Just bought a D pennywhistle from Jerry's online shop. Clear, pure tones and very precise tuning. A playable instrument, light and fun. What I noticed most was the innocence of the sound. Uncomplicated and as such, ancient and very human - very connecting. An honest, pure sound. The instrument is well made - no rough edges, no signs of a mass-produced gadget. I had never played one before this. First time out of the box I was whistling melodies. This is one of those instruments you play and understand immediately why it's been around for a long long time. Salute Mr. Freeman and his pennywhistles.

[@timothyseaman]

I have about 25 D whistles, and this is one of my favorites! I do often take it with me when hiking in the mountains.

[@RedZeshinX]

The Freeman is my go to whistle for playing whenever I get the itch, incredibly easy to pick up and play while being very clear and sweet sounding, a favorite in my modest collection for sure.

[@ninakaiser2930]

Great review and explanation! The sound seems to be so pure and clear. And the concept behind these whistles - really interesting!

[@markfoley2602]

I bought my mellow dog about six years ago, and have played it almost every day since. This is my favorite whistle!

[@lowwhistle3178]

Wonderfully insightful, articulate and comprehensive review of Jerry’s wizardry and mastery with the humble tin whistle. Great job Stephanie 💯👌

[@BillOwens315]

Great review, and lovely playing! I own two Mellow Dogs, they're my favorite whistle and the only ones I use in performance. I also play one of Jerry's tabor pipes on occasion, and have three more whistles on order right now...

[@ah4furnishings348]

Thanks Stephanie for a great detailed description of this whistle You rock 😎

[@jantonisito]

Lovely - you sold me another whistle ;-)

[@manicmarauder]

Nice video. It does sound so much better than what comes out of the original box these days.

[@tylerdelgregg9398]

Wonderful review! I have multiple Freeman whistles. They are excellent instruments.

[@mccypr]

Thanks! Happy holidays! 🌞🎅🏻🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@davidvanvranken9303]

This was one of the first whistles I ever bought. It's still my favorite.

[@jamesking-cj3zm]

Thanks, I’m fairly new to whistles and your videos have been helpful

[@zarrir]

Cutiepie never disappoints

[@Ira108]

Impressive and charming. Thanks.

[@bntaft5133]

Thank you, Steph. We'll Done.

[@wade4452]

Just made a Chinese Dize and the film is a pain but I did find plastic that was strechie enough to vibrate correctly. Thanks for the video and you have a wonderful weekend too beautiful. 😊🌹

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video 👍🏻

[@fario335]

Thank you for all your videos. I learn Whistle with my teacher and you. BUT... I am french and my english is not perfect so could you speak more slowly, it is not always easy to translate... You are the best !

[@atomicgunpla]

I have a Freeman it’s amazing!

[@mosbysmen]

i have two of his whistles ,they are great .

[@dominiclapinta8537]

So, it's not because, after playing one, you feel more mellow and howl like a dog?

[@chrismiller9611]

I wonder how this compares to the original Walton Mello-D?

[@marciacunningham5877]

It looks like he did something to the splitter. Did he sharpen that tiny 45 degree angle at the edge? Thanks, Michael

[@jeanettevictoria]

This was my first whistle

[@unclecode]

Hello beautiful people! 😊 Quick question - I'm torn between the "Freeman Whistle Tweaked alto A Generation" and the "MCNEELA Wild Irish Whistle - Key of A" due to high ebay shipping costs. Ebay charges high while McNeela store is almost zero. This makes these two whistle have almost same ending price. Any advice on which one to go for first? Thanks in advance for the help!

[@Melissa-pb6wv]

LoL. I clicked on this because I thought it was a tin whistle that would be easily tolerated by the dog's ears. I love tin whistle but it gives my puppy a headache. 🙃😔🙄🤔 Happy New Year

[@mandolore19]

What's that tune from the sound test? love it!

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

It's an Adrian von Zeigler tune called A Celtic Lore. I've linked the tutorial in the video description 🙂 x

[@valeriac6112]

Are you planning on making a video with freeman’s arabian whistle? Would be interested to see that!

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

The Klezmer? Yes, I have a review coming for that very soon 😊

[@valeriac6112]

@@CutiepieTinWhistle Oh awesome, thank you! can’t wait ❤️

[@gerrywalsh4413]

Unrelated but would you do tutorial for an Ali Levack tune? Debut is quite playable but whatever!

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

Which tune? 🙂

[@gerrywalsh4413]

@@CutiepieTinWhistle he has a great tune called Norman Mackillop. Just search for it. Plays it with Craig Irvine. There's also a belter titled dileas jig. Would be amazing if you done either. I'm almost done with lunchtime boredom at last👍

[@woodygranger2126]

Do you have a Tilbury whistle to review? Just a thought.

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

I haven't tried one yet!