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When did their calls become so sticky? The only "newer" call I have is the Diablo DC and it sounds good but eventually gets sticky if you aren't careful.

My cousin got the 40th anniversary timbre and complained (I thought it was just him) . I got the same call ordered with engraving as a gift and that thing shouldn't have even left the shop. I finally tuned it myself to sound half decent but you can about bet your left nut that about the 5th quack in a cadence is going to lock it up. Anything bottom end wise will lock it up fast and feed calling is about impossible. Even when you retune it you have to baby it big time to make it not stick. I don't know who tuned the one I got but it definitely was a terrible job out of the box.

I have only blown the DC Diablo and Timbre and a reg daisy cutter of a friends and they are nothing like the old ones??? Is this just something they do now to make it easier to blow for people who can't blow one? If you treat it like a soft double reed or just do a bouncing hen it maybe won't stick. All my calls are prob from around 2004 or 2005ish (maybe older bc some were used when I got them) I have noticed the tone board on the new Timbre is not even the same as the old one? I put them side by side and even the blind eye could tell it's not the same. Also the new calls are all smooth on the tone board all my old ones are rigged and you can run a nail on them and it sounds like a zipper? I know that can't be why the old ones sounded so much better but what gives???

If your calls are sticking, rub some Jet Dry on the reeds. That stuff does wonders.

Old calls were made differently, from a jig I believe, hence the ribbing. New calls are made on a lathe.

I could be wrong but that's what I was told.

Gotdayum Chinamen.

That's why I only buy from harbor freight.

Most, if not all, acrylic and wood calls made today are turned on a CNC machine, spec'd out to exact measurements.

Everyone now are making their calls easier to blow to sell more calls. They aren't sanding the toneboard enough. 95% of the calls I pick up in-store these days are tuned super light for a reason.

There's not a whole lot you can do to a poly insert because it's molded. Those pretty much have precut reeds thrown in them and put in a box as is with no sanding of the toneboard. Sanding the toneboard determines the tone and rasp the insert will have. Also the amount of back pressure that'll be required to blow it.

The more I look at the new ones the more I think those ridges on the old ones were the key to the sound and also not sticking.

I've only owned a few RNT's, and this problem is why 2 of the 3 I currently have are wood. I don't have near the trouble with the wood calls sticking, unless of course they are soaking wet and it's freezing cold. I have the Short Barrel and the Timber Hawg in wood, and have the Daisy Slayer in acrylic. The Daisy Slayer will be stuck almost regularly on the 1st time I try to blow it. I'll unstick it and it'll blow fine for the run. If I set it down and pick it up 10 mins later, I'll have to unstick it again. This is regardless of conditions or use.

On the other hand I used to own an acrylic Original as well and it stuck worse than the Daisy Slayer. It would stick mid-run quite regularly.

All calls stick unless you have spit grooves cut out of the toneboard on the insert, ie Doc Hull, Buck Gardner, Stinson's.

The more sanding of the toneboard, the higher the reed sits on the "plane" of the toneboard. Wider the space, less sticking. But also more sanding affects the sound too. One swipe too much and you can toss it.

I just ordered one of the 40th anniversary timbre calls when they were on sale the other day. More less thinking worse case I could mess with the tone board if it stuck. It's numbers 6 of 76 and sounds insanely better than the other new one I tried. It's not exactly like the old one but my other is wood also but is very close for sure.

I've got an old acrylic timber echo, sticks if you look at it.
I have an old olt, my main call. It never sticks.

Well put me in the sticky call club too. I bought a Cocobolo original a couple years ago just because of the Cocobolo ban coming. Sounded great, looked great, but stuck badly, Butch was working the front, he sanded it a lick or two, dunked it in the barrel, blew it and sent me on my way. Hunted it the next day but still wasn't right. I just accepted this nuisance.

This year I'm staggering through Macks in an exhausted sleep deprived delirium, 40th Anniversary Acrylics were on sale, picked one up, blew it, gave the gal a $100 bill and moved on. The call sounds great but sticks worse than anything.

So yesterday I boxed them both up and sent them back to Stuttgart with a lengthy explanation.

I'm eager to see if there is a good solution that retains the sound. I normally tinker with stuff myself or just accept it, but this was just too aggravating. I'll give an update when I get them back.

My meat call is a Gaston, the thing NEVER sticks.

The "ridges" are not really from the calls being jigged, as much as from the old style CNC mills that were used to mass duplicate the calls. If a call does not have a "jig mark" from the set screw essentially on the back end of the cork slot, its not "jigged." Those are no longer the "state of the art" for speed/efficiency. The newer CNC machines have more axis, and the tone boards no longer have those distinct horizontal ridges that you can feel with your nail.

I have a rnt original jigged in teal and it could be for sale but its going to cost you A LOT