Hey guys. I bought a crystal mistress from David halloran and it came with two strikers. I can't seem to get them to do anything but squeak. I tried rounding them, flattening them and a combination of the two. What's a good angle for striker tips?
Are you holding too low on the striker.
Maybe halfway up?
Do they work better fully rounded? Fully flat? Polished? 80 grit?
i like them rounded maybe try condition the call ,, on the tip of striker would try a 150 grit paper depending on wood types strikers are if glass call try hiting it with 80 grit
I prefer to dress the glass/crystal with a stone. Rounded tip on the striker. Everyone has different holds and angles. Just try and find what works best and practice consistency with that. Don't be afraid to play thru the dust after dressing the glass. It helps with the striker movement.
Here's a video of one of mine.
https://youtu.be/jvNMmQqrCsI
it should have played right out of the box..if you got the call from your mail box and it was cold and then brought it in your house and it was warm to might be the cause but some sand paper on call and striker should fix it..
I can't imagine any of Halloran's strikers needing much more work than scotchbrite. Also can't imagine any of his glass calls needing conditioning right out of the box.
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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on January 05, 2022, 07:03:43 PM
I can't imagine any of Halloran's strikers needing much more work than scotchbrite. Also can't imagine any of his glass calls needing conditioning right out of the box.
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I agree with you 100 percent , if he's already sandpapering those strikers, more than likely he has bigger problems...
It's not something I can't reverse with quick sanding. By flattening the tip I just mean I took the round bottom off. When I first got the call it sounded great. Now, all I seem to get is squeaks and high pitched yelps. I've conditioned the call and striker tips and tried to change the striker tips slightly. At first I thought it was the moisture in the air when hunting but playing it at home it sounds the same.
Wood has cupped. The surface isn't making contact with the wood properly
Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 05, 2022, 08:14:59 PM
It's not something I can't reverse with quick sanding. By flattening the tip I just mean I took the round bottom off. When I first got the call it sounded great. Now, all I seem to get is squeaks and high pitched yelps. I've conditioned the call and striker tips and tried to change the striker tips slightly. At first I thought it was the moisture in the air when hunting but playing it at home it sounds the same.
... No reason for you to take those strikers and sand on them like that, David makes some fine strikers and the strikers weren't your problem ... now you have some missed up strikers in my opinion.. I've been using strikers for years and all i do is rub the end on a piece Scotch brite if needed. All your doing with the Scotch brite is cleaning the tip. I have never sanded one to change the striker. Good luck
:blob10:
Quote from: mmclain on January 05, 2022, 08:29:28 PM
Wood has cupped. The surface isn't making contact with the wood properly
This is why I thought reshaping the tips would help... I can always buy new strikers. This issue arose Before I decided to be a rebel and sand them. I can get sound out of the call but it's very high pitched and or squeaky. Before this issue it has a VERY nice sound to it. I'm stumped.
Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 05, 2022, 09:09:38 PM
:blob10:Quote from: mmclain on January 05, 2022, 08:29:28 PM
Wood has cupped. The surface isn't making contact with the wood properly
This is why I thought reshaping the tips would help... I can always buy new strikers. This issue arose Before I decided to be a rebel and sand them. I can get sound out of the call but it's very high pitched and or squeaky. Before this issue it has a VERY nice sound to it. I'm stumped.
Did you ever use just straight green scotchbrite on them when the sound changed or did you move straight to altering them?
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Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 05, 2022, 08:14:59 PM
It's not something I can't reverse with quick sanding. By flattening the tip I just mean I took the round bottom off. When I first got the call it sounded great. Now, all I seem to get is squeaks and high pitched yelps. I've conditioned the call and striker tips and tried to change the striker tips slightly. At first I thought it was the moisture in the air when hunting but playing it at home it sounds the same.
If you "flatten" the tip, you will have shortened the striker which will change the tuning of it.
Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on January 05, 2022, 09:35:20 PM
Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 05, 2022, 09:09:38 PM
:blob10:Quote from: mmclain on January 05, 2022, 08:29:28 PM
Wood has cupped. The surface isn't making contact with the wood properly
This is why I thought reshaping the tips would help... I can always buy new strikers. This issue arose Before I decided to be a rebel and sand them. I can get sound out of the call but it's very high pitched and or squeaky. Before this issue it has a VERY nice sound to it. I'm stumped.
Did you ever use just straight green scotchbrite on them when the sound changed or did you move straight to altering them?
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Yes. I thought maybe the tip of the striker had built up some crystal or had a smooth spot, but it did not help.
Quote from: West Augusta on January 05, 2022, 10:03:18 PM
Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 05, 2022, 08:14:59 PM
It's not something I can't reverse with quick sanding. By flattening the tip I just mean I took the round bottom off. When I first got the call it sounded great. Now, all I seem to get is squeaks and high pitched yelps. I've conditioned the call and striker tips and tried to change the striker tips slightly. At first I thought it was the moisture in the air when hunting but playing it at home it sounds the same.
If you "flatten" the tip, you will have shortened the striker which will change the tuning of it.
I'm using a high grit paper, I'm not literally reshaping the tip.
Will any other striker work on the call as it is now? If not, then it sounds like you have an issue with the pot, not the striker.
Quote from: mmclain on January 05, 2022, 08:29:28 PM
Wood has cupped. The surface isn't making contact with the wood properly
I would be looking into this....
Quote from: gergg on January 06, 2022, 07:11:13 AM
Will any other striker work on the call as it is now? If not, then it sounds like you have an issue with the pot, not the striker.
That's plausible, but what could go wrong on a pot?
Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 06, 2022, 09:24:57 AM
Quote from: gergg on January 06, 2022, 07:11:13 AM
Will any other striker work on the call as it is now? If not, then it sounds like you have an issue with the pot, not the striker.
That's plausible, but what could go wrong on a pot?
My suggestion is to contact David and get you another pot and strikers so you will have some replacement strikers.
If all you have are those two strikers and you're convinced it's either the strikers or the call I can mail you a couple strikers. I've got strikers coming out my ears and at that point you'd know if it was strikers or call. Either way it's absolutely fixable. Could've possibly ruined the strikers sanding on them, but strikers are cheap and it'd take something crazy to have flat ruined that CM.
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Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 06, 2022, 09:24:57 AM
Quote from: gergg on January 06, 2022, 07:11:13 AM
Will any other striker work on the call as it is now? If not, then it sounds like you have an issue with the pot, not the striker.
That's plausible, but what could go wrong on a pot?
Parts come loose, happens.
Wood moves enough that the playing surface doesn't have good contact, or the glue didn't hold
If we're talking about a playing surface or the soundboard coming loose from glue failure that's an entirely different can of worms and on a Crystal Mistress that ought to be plenty easy to discern.
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I agree with mmclain's comment above.doesn't sound to me like a striker issue. I've had a CM do the exactly same thing. Playing surface issue...
Quote from: PEte_A on January 06, 2022, 07:52:54 PM
I agree with mmclain's comment above.doesn't sound to me like a striker issue. I've had a CM do the exactly same thing. Playing surface issue...
Easiest thing to do, contact David directly. He's still small enough he tends to answer personally and in my experience has excellent customer service. If it's a problem with the pot he'd be the one to correct that problem.
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Yes, he replied. He told me he would send a Purple Heart striker for me to try. I asked how much and am waiting on a reply. Free is fine with me but I don't mind paying either. I'm going to make a call to somebody who knows what they're talking about when I get a minute!
A pot should play with any decent striker. If the new striker doesn't work call Dave.
Quote from: suzukigs750ez on January 06, 2022, 09:24:57 AM
Quote from: gergg on January 06, 2022, 07:11:13 AM
Will any other striker work on the call as it is now? If not, then it sounds like you have an issue with the pot, not the striker.
That's plausible, but what could go wrong on a pot?
What could go wrong with a pot. Plenty.