HuntingNet.com Forums - Any help with the diaphragm purr????

It took me three months of persistent effort to get the purr, after two or three years of ability to use the mouth diaphragm to cluck, yelp, cutt, etc. I found that getting a single reed diaphragm was the best place to start, rather than with my favorite Primos stacked frames. Initially, I would "purr" by flapping my lips as I made a cluck on the diaphragm, but I felt that this was both inconsistent/unpredictable and unrealistic sounding. So I tried to use my tongue, rather than my lips.

I would trill my tongue without the diaphragm in place, then put it in and try to trill with the diaphragm in place, over and over, trying to get the same sound/feel/effect with the daiphragm in as without. I learned that if I put the diaphragm just slightly (1/32nd of an inch or so) farther back in my mouth when I tried to purr, my tongue would trill and be unaffected by the diaphragm in place. Once I got the first few sounds, it got easier and easier, to where, now, I can purr an aggressive (loud, angry-sounding) purr, a soft, contented purr, a cluck and purr, a purr and cluck, a curious or questioning purr and purr going up in pitch and purr going down in pitch. I still prefer a single, high pitched reed for purring, because many ordinary reeds make a purr that sounds too low in pitch, to me, when I use them. Even though I can purr with them, I just don't think they sound "turkey-like."

Another thing I think helps is to get a lighter weight diaphragm when learning. I don't use it now, because I don't like the pitch, but I started on a "Ghost Lite" diaphragm. (Once you learn the technique, you can substitute for the Ghost Lite with any other call that you prefer/think sounds better/is more consistent.) You can also cut SOME of the tape from the call. Just a little, maybe 1/16th of an inch or so, to make the call feel smaller than your regular calls, too. (But it is easy to "lose" that smaller call in your mouth.) I have a smaller call that I use to make "barks" and "whips" and other aggressive, fighting sounds, on occasion, when I'm screwing around with my diaphragms, but I haven't used it in a hunting situation (yet).

So my advice is, trill without, then trill with, repeat. Try have the diaphragm a little farther back in your mouth, just a slight bit. Try a lighter weight, tight, single reed, high pitched diaphragm. Plan on 1/2 hour/ day for 3 months, and if you don't have it by then, get a squeeze box call and use that as your purr. Good luck and let us know if you master it!!