With my duck calls I've been getting good low end and mid range for a while but had been lacking the ringing hail. I had tried everything that made sense to me and it just wasn't working like I wanted. To date I showed my calls to people with pride, but lacking the confidence that they'd really love what they hear when they really put the air to them. They'll certainly hunt, but I wouldn't charge $80+ for them. I often make excuses like "they're not quite there yet, I'm still learning" as some sort of disclaimer when people blow them.
Stumpjumper and I were on the phone the other night working out the particulars of an acrylic trade, and started talking calls. When I told him my calls weren't quite where I want them he started asking questions. One thing he suggested was to look at the length of my inserts. I'd never thought about how that might affect the sound...I was focused so hard on the toneboard, even though I had fiddled around with reaming the exhaust out to different diameters to little avail.
So yesterday I turned a cocobolo call and shortened my insert by a good solid 1/4" (haven't measured it exactly yet). They were a tad long-looking anyhow. Tonight I put a reed in it and gave it a run......And giggled like a little school girl. Tonight I finished the duck call that has exactly the sound I'm looking for. That ringing hail that makes the hair on your neck stand up, good mid range duck, and good low end and feed chuckle. A call that doesn't lock up or squeal when you hammer it.
Sometimes all it takes is talking to somebody that knows what they're talking about so you look at things from a different angle. I was so close for the last few months but would've probably never got there without having someone else's experience and perspective given to me..."Try a shorter insert". Simple. Callmaking isn't like turning bowls or pens where you can easily go to the local turning club meeting and take advantage by learning with the hands-on experience of others, so for many of us sites like THO and CCO, and the people you find on them, are hugely valuable.
So thanks to everyone who's bits of knowledge helped me get here, and a big thanks to Stump for helping me back up and see the big picture and what I was missing. I've helped a few guys on the phone with turkey calls the way Stump helped me, but the duck calls have presented a much greater challenge than the turkey calls ever did!
