Bass regulator reed incident

[Steampacket]

Whilst playing my pipes the the other day I noticed the bass regulator wind cap had worked itself loose and was on the verge of falling off. I tried to quickly grab it with my left hand before it fell on the floor, and in doing so broke off the blades of the reed. It was a very good reed made by David Lim so I was very disappointed, I thought ok, now I must attempt to make a reed for the regulator. I've made drone reeds before, but not a regulator, or chanter reed. I've always managed to keep my chanter reed, and regulator reeds adjusted and playing since 1998.

So, I looked through some old Dave Williams chanter reeds, from the 1980s and early 1990's, and found one that crowed. I put it into the bass regulator just to see what would happen not really expecting it to work, but to my surprise it played perfectly in tune, straight off, without even any adjustments to the bridle. Very happy to have the bass reg. going again. I shall try to make a regulator reed though. Using the broken reed blades as a template.

[rorybbellows]

It's great when things like that happen.
RORY

[an seanduine]

I´ll not say this is always the case, but it is often the case. On the Sean Reid website it was noted that R. L. O´Mealy used the same reamer for his Bass Regulator as he did for his chanters. IIRC Kenna did something like this as well, with perhaps only a secondary reamer for one section of the bore.

Bob

[Steampacket]

I´ll not say this is always the case, but it is often the case. On the Sean Reid website it was noted that R. L. O´Mealy used the same reamer for his Bass Regulator as he did for his chanters. IIRC Kenna did something like this as well, with perhaps only a secondary reamer for one section of the bore. Bob

Yes, I think I had some vague memory of reading somewhere that chanter reeds can work in regulators. Perhaps even in baritone regulators. I don't suppose in tenor regulators as they are so much smaller.

David Lim made the bass regulator so I'm not sure if he uses the same bore measurements as Dave Williams did? It's possible though. I think David has, or had, a Williams full set at one point. The Williams chanter reed I used was one of two I got from Dave Williams around 1994-96, when I needed a replacement reed at that time.

I have cane, a gouge, sanding block, and the necessary reed making stuff, and also the time now, so I'll have a go at making a regulator reed and if that turns out well, then a chanter reed just to see if I can.

Wasn't it Craig Fischer who made chanter reed that worked in both concert pitch and flat chanters?

[an seanduine]

Ah, the ´magic reed´! Sort of like a ´silver bullet´. It came out of ´A South Australian Piping Horde.´

Bob

[Mr.Gumby]

Yes, I think I had some vague memory of reading somewhere that chanter reeds can work in regulators. Perhaps even in baritone regulators.

It works both ways. There's the recording from Bettystown 1968 of Ennis telling how while he was doing a concert in Venice, his chanter reed, one he played from 1936 to 1949, went. He pulled the reed out of the middle regulator, stuck his spare chanter reed in the reg and finished the concert with the regulator reed in the chanter, playing 'like a jolly little boyo'.

[Steampacket]

t works both ways. There's the recording from Bettystown 1968 of Ennis telling how while he was doing a concert in Venice, his chanter reed, one he played from 1936 to 1949, went. He pulled the reed out of the middle regulator, stuck his spare chanter reed in the reg and finished the concert with the regulator reed in the chanter, playing 'like a jolly little boyo'.

I wonder who made Ennis' reeds. Surely not Leo? Perhaps Sean McAloon or Dan Dowd?

[Mr.Gumby]

I don't know who made the reed he played from 1936 to 1949 (around that time he worked with a reedmaker whose name I can't think of at the minute) and I would assume over the years he had many people making reeds for him. At some point he favoured McFadden reeds, or so I was told. I have heard him discuss reeds with Dan. There were some horror stories too, from his later life, but I don't know how true they are.