Three different calls

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

Hoping to get some critique here from you guys.

I took all the advice I have gotten from everyone over the past few years and rolled it all into this call.
I will happily accept any and all critique you guys are willing to offer.
I posted these as a private video on YouTube, but in the next few days, I will put together a more consistent calling sequence and try to make the videos a little better.

Thank you in advance for any advice/critique/criticism.
Josh
Grey slate/glass
https://youtu.be/pM-F2SD3oDk
Green slate/glass
https://youtu.be/4Zlg_VP6hFE
Glass/machined aluminum sound board
https://youtu.be/r8P6gU4Dk1c

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

It looks like I may need an admin move this to the "pot call sound file" section.
I guess I was a little fast on the trigger there.
Sorry!!

[Chris O]

Gray slate I liked the second striker a touch better. Good sounding call with both. From what I seen it was a cool looking call. I can only do one thing at a time so I will check your others out.

[Greg Massey]

Did i miss something ? What the pot made of ? .. Your getting there , just need more tuning ..

[Chris O]

All sound really good on your glass over aluminum I liked the 1 st striker a little better but both sound very good . I liked your green slate to. Is that a raw aluminum pot? Looks cool. How much are your calls?

[HookedonHooks]

Sounds like you've made a substantial improvement since the calls you entered last year into Nashville. Not saying those were bad, so don't take it the wrong way. Sounds like it's mellow'd out in a good way.

Those calls last year pierced over everything else in the room . They made turkey sounds but were too metallic sounding, and I feel as if those in the new clips were much better.

[BTH]

Very nice job. I like the green slate the best of all 3.

Nice to see something outside the box.

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

Did i miss something ? What the pot made of ? .. Your getting there , just need more tuning ..

Greg,
Could you provide any guidance or direction on where you think i should go with the tuning?

I am trying a different glue at the moment, just to see what it does.  From what i have seen, you can get a ton of different sounds out of a pot just by changing the glue.

Thank you for your input Greg.
Josh

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

All sound really good on your glass over aluminum I liked the 1 st striker a little better but both sound very good . I liked your green slate to. Is that a raw aluminum pot? Looks cool. How much are your calls?

Chris,
Yes, this is a raw aluminum pot.  The actual calls will be anodized like the ones on my website.  www.alloycalls.com
I will be reworking that website (in case you go there) and removing my first lineup of calls.
My first line up was very high pitched and took a certain "feel" to get a decent sound out of.  I got some great guidance from a lot of guys over the past year and incorporated it into this design.  I think i am finally getting the sound i have been chasing for 7 years.
The aluminum pot is definitely a challenge, but it certainly has some advantages and disadvantages (same as any call).

I have built somewhere around 100 different designs with probably an average of 8 "sub designs" inside of that.  What i mean by "sub designs" is i would design a call, and build a handful with a certain pedestal height, and another handful with another pedestal height. 
I have learned a lot of different things about calls over the past few years, but i don't think much of my info would correlate with wood pots. 

I will probably be selling the first run of calls un-anodized with simply scotch brited surfaces (to get rid of the shine) for $65 shipped with a 2 piece webbwood striker. (i misspoke in the video and said Dymondwood, which is incorrect)

I am yet to get anything anything on this run done by my anodizer because of this COVID-19 mess.

Thank you for the input Chris, and i am sorry for the long winded response.
Josh

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

Sounds like you've made a substantial improvement since the calls you entered last year into Nashville. Not saying those were bad, so don't take it the wrong way. Sounds like it's mellow'd out in a good way.

Those calls last year pierced over everything else in the room . They made turkey sounds but were too metallic sounding, and I feel as if those in the new clips were much better.

Hooked,
I remember messaging back and forth with you after Nashville last year and you helped me a good bit.  No need to justify why you didn't like them at all!!  My calls wouldnt have progressed if it wasnt for critique and direction.

One of my buddies that went with me to Nashville that year sat down with me in the hotel room and helped me design this pot that night.
I honestly thing one of the most positive things that happened that night was i got the perspective of someone that wasnt a machinist/designer.  I was always (subconsciously) drawing pots that would be easily machinable.  My buddy threw that out the window and forced me to think outside the box.
When we got back home, i spent a few days building those new pots, and i wasnt super impressed, so i went on to another design.
A year goes by with somewhere around 15 more designs done and none of them were what i wanted. 
I got to a point where i didnt have anymore storage room in my shop so i started cleaning house.
I found the box marked "Nashville Pot" and pulled a few out and ran them with a new striker design and they sounded great to my ear.
i dug out more and more pots and ran them with my new striker and they all sounded decent.  I felt like such an idiot because my biggest problem had been my striker.  I had been told this by a handful of folks, but i guess the advice didnt set in the way it needed to!!

I started toying with the "Nashville Pot" design again and was able to tweak it exactly how i wanted.

Again, i am sorry for the long winded response but i want everyone to know their advice and critique has helped me tremendously.
If it wasnt for good guys and girls like you all, i would have probably hung this up long ago and took up basket weaving.
I appreciate you everyone that has contributed to my progress.  I will be sure to pay it forward in the near future.

Josh

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

Very nice job. I like the green slate the best of all 3.

Nice to see something outside the box.

BTH,
I have gotten a handful of opinions on these calls locally and via texts/emails and there is no clear cut winner!!  Different folks like different surfaces and sounds which is totally understandable.
I am a big fan of the green slate, but as with any natural material, it is hard to find consistency.
Mike Yingling posted a video of how he "tunes" his striker a few days ago in the call making section, and i am more than likely going to go down that road very soon.  That type of tuning would help some with the inconsistencies of call making.

As far as outside of the box, I have always been one to challenge the norm, and try to build a better mouse trap.  This has cost me a lot  of time and money over the years, but i find it very interesting and fun!!

I appreciate you listening to them for me!!
Josh

[M,Yingling]

Look at bright side all that experimenting with different dimensions The time u can never get back   but at least u can recycle them shavings and pots  that don't work out   ,,, wood just goes to burn pile

[Josh_Alloy_Calls]

You are exactly right Mike!!    Another good thing about the aluminum is that if a call doesn't work out, I can toss it in a pot of boiling water and push out the sound board and striking surface from the back side to reclaim them.
As you can imagine, that is a tricky process, but it usually works out fairly well.