Maker of Gaita asturiana

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MichaelLoos
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Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by MichaelLoos »

I bought this instrument a couple of days ago.
Can anyone give me an idea about the maker? There is no stamp anywhere on the instrument. It is made from boxwood, with a clear varnish. The turning work looks very professional, an interesting detail are the hollow-turned bits on the drone and chanter head. The overall design is quite basic. The bag is a complete brown-tanned natural goatskin. The drone reed is red composite material with a metal tongue, it has "Muino" (with a ~ on the "n") written on it (at least that's what I read).
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azw
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by azw »

Where did you buy it, Michael?

Muiño is a Galician maker of payones/drone reeds. The Asturian gaitas usually use a synthetic Galician reed these days. The odd thing is that because of the physical differences in the Galician and Asturian gaitas, the Asturian C roncón don't usually use a C payón/drone reed; instead they often use D# payón. I don't know if my payones are from Muiño, but my payón in the C set says "DST" (D#). But the Bb roncón I have uses a Bb payón. (Mine says "Bb".)

It looks like it could be one of El Pravianu's gaitas. Could you show us a photo of the punteru/chanter and roncón/drone in the area where they join the asiento/stock?
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MichaelLoos
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by MichaelLoos »

I got it from somebody who does house clearings and sells all sorts of junk...
The drone reed has "DO' " written on it.
Here's another pic of the chanter head, the drone looks exactly the same.
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Chus Solis told me this instrument was made by Diogenes of Oviedo.
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azw
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by azw »

That is an unusual turning on the stock or chanter. Which piece is it on?

It doesn't look like Praviano's, so maybe it is by Diogenes.

There's no marking at all on the gaita, except for the reeds?
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by MichaelLoos »

It is the chanter head, just where it connects to the stock. The very same turning is on the first part of the drone in the same place. You can see it better on the 3rd and 5th photo. I have never seen this kind of turning on any instrument.
No marking anywhere except for a "3" stamped onto the flat surface of the drone stock, only visible when the drone is removed.
Another interesting feature which I just noticed a minute ago is a return valve in the bottom of the drone stock, I can't imagine what this is good for.
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by azw »

That turning is unusual. Chus knows gaitas well, so he's probably right about it being one of Diogene's.


Contemporary Asturian gaita drones typically have a "válvula" (valve) in the stock. This regulates the air flow. When we used the older drone reeds made from cane, if you let up on the pressure on the bag, the reed stopped sounding pretty quickly because it required a fair amount of air volume or pressure to make a sound. The newer composite drone reeds, in contrast, require significantly less volume and pressure to make a sound, so releasing the arm pressure may not be enough to get the drone to stop sounding. And it may make an ugly squawking noise. The composite drone reeds are much more stable. You can usually set it once and leave it. For years.

The solution for the squawking is to add a valve. One style of valve has a spring that shuts off the air flow when pressure is reduced. The spring is somewhat adjustable. This style's disadvantage is that it can make an audible slapping noise.

The other style is much simpler. It reduces the air flow by limiting the aperture through which the air must flow. It has an Allen screw that can be adjusted if the valve is removed. The screw opens or closes a rather small bore in the interior of the valve. The disadvantage of that style is that it doesn't fully eliminate the squawking if there is a lot of air left in the bag, so you have to learn to reduce the volume of air in the bag before you need to stop the drone. This second style is probably more reliable over the long term because there's almost nothing that can go wrong.

I'd guess that most new Asturian gaitas come with a valve today.
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by MichaelLoos »

Thanks for the information!
As far as I can see looking into the stock, the valve seems to be of the complicated type with spring, and it does make the slapping noise (not very loud). I'm not sure if I want to take the stock out to have a closer look, it is tied in very nicely and perfectly airtight.
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by azw »

The tool usually used to remove them is a small metal hook. It may take a bit of a pull to get it out. The handle on the other end is then used to tap it back into place.
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Re: Maker of Gaita asturiana

Post by azw »

For what it's worth, I wouldn't bother to remove the value if it's working fine.
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