Has anyone else tried the Fox 40 Caul Fingergrip? Got one earlier this year. It's pretty loud but has a much lower tone. Seems good when at tournaments with many whistles nearby. It's rated at 110db. Seemlingly designed/dedicated to hockey but that never stopped me.
One of the things about getting a clean tone on whistles is to make sure you are articulating properly. (Yes, digging into my-secret-alter-egos as a professional brass player as well as soccer referee, healthcare consultant and a recovering college marching band drum major). When using the whistle, use the tongue to start and stop the tone. Do not just use your breath to do so. - With plenty of breath behind it, use your tongue to produce a "teeeeet" sound - with a hard "t" beginning as the tongue is removed from blocking the airstream, and a hard "t" ending the tone as the tongue is replaced. This also facilitates the many short tones that you sometime need to sound to really get someones attention. - Using just your breath alone gets more of a "heeeee" sound - where the tone takes a moment to build up the pitch and intensity, and then can die out depending on your breath control. - Both of these sounds are more evident when using a pea-whistle, but are noticeable on the Fox as well. With any whistle, as others have noted - you actually should practice and use plenty of air.
Q: What's the definition of a gentleman? A: A man who owns a trombone but doesn't play it. Clearly, I'm not a gentleman.
I got one about 6 months ago and quit using it a few week into the season. I actually wrote a review of my initial thoughts about it on Amazon. Anyway to reiterate, at first I though that it was a good extremely loud whistle with some short comings, but now I think that this whistle stinks. When you blow it it does sound loud, but don't be fooled, it only sounds lout to you not the rest of the field. I was reffing a U12 8v8 game on a windy day in a local league and I blew the whistle like i always do to stop play for a ball going out of touch. To my surprise the players kept playing, so I blew it louder, they still kept playing. I decided to really let them have it and they finally stopped. At half time I asked the AR to find out if he heard my whistle and he mentioned that he barely heard it. This was the game that made me put away my new Caul whistle and never to use it again. Another short coming of this whistle is the fact that when I run full speed it whistles on its own from the movement of my arms. I actually stopped play with this whistle when I was gaining on the players and the ball was passed to the players in my vicinity. I placed one of my fingers over the mouthpiece of the whistle to prevent it from happening again but I always found this annoying. For a hockey whistle to do this is unacceptable. So in my humble opinion, don't waste your money on this whistle, your ears will thank you for it.
Newest whistles. Asics. The red one is a triple chamber pealess beast. Louder than the sonic with higher pitch according to my db meter. (unscientific- 3 second blast at 1 meter with my ear protection on in basement.) Takes very little air to get a good strong blast. The yellow one has a pea. I call them my transformers. Because yes, I am a complete whistle geek. Possibly the club poster child.
Where'd you get the Asics whistles? I like the look of the red one.. As a Sonik lover, I'd love to try it out.
I know how to tongue, (as i played the trumpet for a couple of years) but maybe i just need to start with a strong force of air right out of the gate. Instead, i would remove my tongue and have to push a bit more to get the proper sound. I'm still going to use it for probably 5 more games, and then asses whether or not i really like it. I really like the pitch and crisp sounds it makes so i really hope i can make it work!
OMG (add this to the acronym thread)... I was just talking about this very thing with my wife a couple weekends ago. I told her I can tell who played in the band and who didn't based on whether they had a sharp, tongued whistle sound or a weak, "hu-wheeEEEE" sound. (think Weezy from Toy Story). I've worked with a few centers that really should go back to whistle blowing school. And no, they weren't the newbies. These were seasoned vets. Full disclaimer - I'm a former marching band geek and still current tuba player. Not to brag, but I do think I have the lungs to knock paint off nearby houses with a strong blast if needed. And I use the sonik for good measure. Love it.
I know a state referee who still only uses the plain old whistles with the peas in them. Would that be considered "old school", or just cheap?
There are good pea whistles and there are cheap pea whistles . . . who cares which whistle he uses as long as he can blow it effectively in the games he calls? (There are some who believe a pea whistle is more flexible for "talking" with the whistle.) (I think I have three pea whistles in my bag (two are metal whistles, relics from the 80s) . . . plus a cheap one to give away if someone is whistle-less . . .)
I carry cheap plastic whistles to "loan" to the newbie ref that forgets it thinking they were only going to run lines. I am relatively new but I started with a purple Fox Classic and added a yellow Fox Pearl. I like the Pearl for the small field with Classics on both surrounding fields. I also have a vintage Acme metal pea whistle but I have not used it on the field. I carry the two Fox on a wrist lanyard so I can just let it go while I am writing in my book. I don't normally signal and whistle with the same hand but sometimes it can be a challenge. I need to learn to use my tongue, it's been a long time used I played the saxophone.
Ok, not loud but... Sorry, I could resist. It wasn't loud enough to stop play when you blew it but just running with it stopped play? You must run fast! For the general audience: As many have said (probably in this same thread) the Devastator is a good blend of the qualities of both a traditional pea and the Fox40, while being easy to modulate. If you can't get the hang of using the Fox 40 but want more sound than a pea whistle can provide, I would recommend trying it out.
tomek75 said: ↑ When you blow it it does sound loud, but don't be fooled, it only sounds lout to you not the rest of the field. I was reffing a U12 8v8 game on a windy day in a local league and I blew the whistle like i always do to stop play for a ball going out of touch. To my surprise the players kept playing, so I blew it louder, they still kept playing. I decided to really let them have it and they finally stopped.Ok, not loud but... Another short coming of this whistle is the fact that when I run full speed it whistles on its own from the movement of my arms. I actually stopped play with this whistle when I was gaining on the players and the ball was passed to the players in my vicinity. I placed one of my fingers over the mouthpiece of the whistle to prevent it from happening again but I always found this annoying.Sorry, I could resist. It wasn't loud enough to stop play when you blew it but just running with it stopped play? You must run fast! For the general audience: As many have said (probably in this same thread) the Devastator is a good blend of the qualities of both a traditional pea and the Fox40, while being easy to modulate. If you can't get the hang of using the Fox 40 but want more sound than a pea whistle can provide, I would recommend trying it out.[/quote] I think that the wind had something to do with it not being heard, but my ears always rung when I used this whistle. As for stopping play, yes, the players were withing a few feet of me and they heard my whistle go off. By the way I can usually pass most 16 year old's and keep up with the 18 years old's. Lately however my knees have been begging for some rest. I am kind of glad that the season is winding down so I can recuperate. The pains of getting older.
Wow, those band geeks are everywhere. After everyone has mastered single-tonguing (tee-tee-tee-tee), we'll move on to double-tonguing (te-ke-te-ke-te-ke) and triple-tonguing (te-ke-de te-ke-de- te-ke-de).
rakuten.com Kind of a pain in the butt, but when the kids are looking for something I dont have, they have to do some work!
Found this one, but it doesn't look the same.. http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/sportsguide/item/1518580/?s-id=borderless_browsehist_02_en
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/sportsguide/item/1518580/ http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/sportsguide/item/1518581/ http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/takagisp/item/2011asie13801/ there are more - search isn't english friendly
What is it about Japan and whistles? Valkeen was Japan only for years. Now, the asics one looks cool. Someone with some rakuten-fu buy a bunch and resell them here! I'll buy one!