I currently have a Primos Ole Betsy slate call, and can work it pretty good. My question is (to the experts):
Will I be able to make any better sounds with a custom glass call (matched with striker by call maker), or is a call only as good as the user?
First you need to be proficient on the call, if you have that skill then Yes a better quality call will sound "better". You can take the best call made and put it in unskilled hands and it won't sound like squat, take someone who has mastered the call and they can take a "basic" call and make it sing.
MK M GOBL
Quote from: MK M GOBL on March 02, 2017, 03:47:52 PM
First you need to be proficient on the call, if you have that skill then Yes a better quality call will sound "better". You can take the best call made and put it in unskilled hands and it won't sound like squat, take someone who has mastered the call and they can take a "basic" call and make it sing.
MK M GOBL
So, probably a waste of money until I master pot calls with the one I have?
Guess you would need to judge your calling skill level, I guess when I started with a slate call I had a Primos "Battey" Slate, used that call for a few years until I came across a Cody World Class Slate, I heard that call at the Deer & Turkey expo just because a guy showing other product had one. That call sounded great! thought the guy was selling them, when I asked him how much for the call? he said not for sale, wouldn't sell it for nothing but he did give me the info on where to buy one! Have had mine for over 20 years now and it has been the demise to a lot of turkeys :)
If I were you and you heard a call you like the sound of go for it, just take the time to master it.
MK M GOBL
Good advice. My opinion is you can never be great w a bad call. A friend of mine bought some production calls. I brought over a couple customs. The sound dif was very obvious to him. He got some custom calls n now is a maniac!! The sound dif is pretty extreme. Just use a good call maker. They're not all created equal, some are worse than others
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on March 02, 2017, 03:39:51 PM
I currently have a Primos Ole Betsy slate call, and can work it pretty good. My question is (to the experts):
Will I be able to make any better sounds with a custom glass call (matched with striker by call maker), or is a call only as good as the user?
It's a lot like building a $3000 custom rifle to shoot better. If you can't shoot, the gains may only be marginal. You'll probably notice they're easier to run id personally never look back. Spending the money on a custom will probably give you the determination to improve your calling either way. Just a thought.
Question: Cabelas had calls out to play, and one of them was a glass pot call. It was not conditioned, so the striker made absolutely no sound. I am assuming that if it were conditioned, it would have worked?
In my humble opinion I find custom calls from reputable makers easier to play than the off the shelf mass produced commercial stuff.
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on March 02, 2017, 09:21:51 PM
Question: Cabelas had calls out to play, and one of them was a glass pot call. It was not conditioned, so the striker made absolutely no sound. I am assuming that if it were conditioned, it would have worked?
Yep. When I got my first crystal call I was like "wtf?" whenever I tried using it without conditioning. Looking back I feel like an idiot but it was the first call I'd ever seen like that.
Quote from: compton30 on March 03, 2017, 01:08:42 AM
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on March 02, 2017, 09:21:51 PM
Question: Cabelas had calls out to play, and one of them was a glass pot call. It was not conditioned, so the striker made absolutely no sound. I am assuming that if it were conditioned, it would have worked?
Yep. When I got my first crystal call I was like "wtf?" whenever I tried using it without conditioning. Looking back I feel like an idiot but it was the first call I'd ever seen like that.
That made you feel like an idiot? Heck, I bouht a Primos wingbone (plastic) call at one point and blew on that thing for 2 months trying to get a sound out of it before I gave it away. The other fella figured it right out. At the time, (13-14 years ago) I'd never seen one and didn't realize they ran on suction. Lesson learned.
I have heard mass produced calls that sound better than some custom calls. Just because its custom , does not make it better. I have a ton of calls that i have collected over the years . Some are mass produced calls but would hunt them in a second. Example - last year hunting a heavily pressured bird for over a week . I thew all kinds of calls at him over that time. ended up killing him with a preston pittman copper call in a plastic pot that i paid 30 bucks for in the 90's. You just never know what they want to hear.
Quote from: wvmntnhick
That made you feel like an idiot? Heck, I bouht a Primos wingbone (plastic) call at one point and blew on that thing for 2 months trying to get a sound out of it before I gave it away. The other fella figured it right out. At the time, (13-14 years ago) I'd never seen one and didn't realize they ran on suction. Lesson learned.
:TooFunny: :TooFunny: laughing with you, not at you! We ALL have our "ghosts" 8)
Yep, buy a call you like the sound of and you will be much more confident with it. I have some productions calls that sound a lot better then some custom ones. Listen to real hens and you will soon realize cadence and rythym of you calling is more important then the sound of the call. That is what I have experienced but this is my opinion only.
I guess one thing for me is I have never bought a pot or box call I haven't heard in person or run myself first, I will tell you from the store when you are in a building, store, convention those calls will sound different to your ears than once you have it in the field, this is because of what the calls sound is reflecting/rebounding off of, same as early season to late and how tree/brush cover changes the "sound" of a call. There is a limestone valley I hunt and the way those call reflect off that surface is different than when I'm on the ridge.
MK M GOBL
IMO, it's all about confidence! I also run an Ole Betsy and she is my GO to call. I love the sound it produces with a laminated or hickory striker and so do the birds. My hunting buddies have told me on numerous occasions that this slate sounds fantastic. I also have other custom slates and glass calls that I run as well as the Ole Betsy but she is what the turkeys like and I like playing it. You can spend hundreds of dollars on calls but if you don't have that confidence in them they will never make it to your vest.
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on March 02, 2017, 03:49:39 PM
Quote from: MK M GOBL on March 02, 2017, 03:47:52 PM
First you need to be proficient on the call, if you have that skill then Yes a better quality call will sound "better". You can take the best call made and put it in unskilled hands and it won't sound like squat, take someone who has mastered the call and they can take a "basic" call and make it sing.
MK M GOBL
So, probably a waste of money until I master pot calls with the one I have?
No not necessarily. I kinda agree with 357Magnole about custom/better calls being easier to run than crappy ones.
I figure as long as you are decent, you will sound better on a better call.
My first pot call was a higher end call and that's what I learned on. I think what MK M GOBL was trying to get across was that if you don't have the technique down, you will sound crappy on a crappy call as well as a nicer call.
And as its been said many times, there are store-bought calls that are good and there are custom ones that are crappy. It helps knowing the manufacturer/call maker's reputation. Also, a lot of pot calls that are sold in big box stores have packages that can be opened without tearing up the package so you can at least try it.
The call that I am looking to get is the Dead End Game Calls Roadblock Cedar Glass Call.
http://www.deadendgamecalls.com/store/p33/Roadblock_Cedar_Glass_Call.html
Not sure if anybody has experience with this call, but this is the particular call I am looking at.
I don't have any knowledge or experience with Deadend...
But my advice - as others mentioned - go with a proven call so at the end of the day, if you don't sound "good" - you"ll know it's you and not the call.
The nice part about a custom call, most times you'll get to hear the call before you buy it (next best thing to hands on playing). Here is a link to calls that Mike Yingling has made:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CallerTurkey/videos
You can scroll through his video files and listen to the different calls and find something you like. Other calls you can find in the sound file section, and some you can just "trust" as they are time tested and proven from callmakers.
Contact a callmaker on this forum. tell them what you are looking for and ask them to play a call for you. That's the other cool thing about customs. You'll have a call made for YOU.
Quote from: scoot12 on March 03, 2017, 11:44:54 AM
Listen to real hens and you will soon realize cadence and rythym of you calling is more important then the sound of the call.
The sound of a call only gives a user confidence, the better you like the sound of it, the better you'll play it.The sound of a call will make no difference if you can't run a call decent, as long as your cadence and rythum is spot on you'll fill tags no matter what the call sounds like, BUT, calling is only a small part of it. It takes a combination of a lot of things to be an effective turkey hunter, set-ups, woodsmanship, knowledge of the lay of the land all play a big part. You'll get 100's of opinions of who's calls you need. Pick a call you like the sound of and learn to use it correctly, no matter what surface is in it. Everyone likes a certain sound, and to them that's the best call to use.
I
Quote from: WillowRidgeCalls on March 05, 2017, 10:45:54 AM
Quote from: scoot12 on March 03, 2017, 11:44:54 AM
Listen to real hens and you will soon realize cadence and rythym of you calling is more important then the sound of the call.
The sound of a call only gives a user confidence, the better you like the sound of it, the better you'll play it.The sound of a call will make no difference if you can't run a call decent, as long as your cadence and rythum is spot on you'll fill tags no matter what the call sounds like, BUT, calling is only a small part of it. It takes a combination of a lot of things to be an effective turkey hunter, set-ups, woodsmanship, knowledge of the lay of the land all play a big part. You'll get 100's of opinions of who's calls you need. Pick a call you like the sound of and learn to use it correctly, no matter what surface is in it. Everyone likes a certain sound, and to them that's the best call to use.
:z-winnersmiley:
Will a custom glass call sound better than your Primos Ole Betsy slate call?
Well, absolutely, probably and maybe.
It all depends on the sound you like, the sound a call can make, what striker is used and the way the call sounds when you play it ( how you play and condition it and the striker).
I have many custom calls in many price ranges that I think sound fantastic, I have also had many custom calls that I thought sounded terable. The same can be said for production calls. Though there are production calls that I think sound good and will make great hunting calls, very few production calls will have that special sound I like.
This can be said for each type of pot call, glass, slate, aluminum, copper, ect...
Good luck with finding calls you really like. It may take some time but it sure is a lot of fun.
Steve