To the experts and makers:

[marcpipes]

I don't know if this has been covered before or not but here goes:
A lot has been said about the difficulty of re-reeding and tweeking reed pressure in various sets. Is this purely a matter of reed making ability or is there something that could be changed in the bore of the pipes themselves(wider,narrower, longer). What improvements would you suggest to pipemakers to improve the reeding and stabilty of there sets?
Not just suggestions like pipes that play themselves, get you a date and buy you pints either
Marc

[fancypiper]

Ah, if that were known, you could play The Gold Ring without practicing it, I would wager.

Only the good folk know that secret.

[djm]

Marc, thou seekest the Holy Grail! There are so many variables, from secret knowledge garnered from years of experience, to scientific principles buried in complicated formulas.

More specific to your question, there are the many different bore designs of both past and present makers. There's differences in opinion about what sounds good, what's easiest to play, what is acceptably in tune. And then there are the less controlable things like how one piece of wood ages versus another. How one piece of cane behaves versus another. The list goes on and on.

There are several books on reed making, and all will get you to roughly the same point, but from then on, its up to you to scrape and scratch and break and start again until you find out what your individual chanter wants in order to sound good to your ears.

Beyond that, the answer is no.

djm

[marcpipes]

Ah..... thank you.
Perhaps to put it another way, what specific qualities in drone bores have you noticed that make them more tolerant of the great variety of reeds.
I know I can't find the Holy Grail, especially if I beat the horse to death and can't make the ride.

[djm]

Now that you've specified drones, I think that the significant design element is the reed, both its construction and materials. I don't think you will get consensus on this either. I am using maple dowel with a sugar pine tongue, which doesn't have the best sound, but is consistent and never cuts out on me.

Some reed versions produce a soft purr, some a buzz, and some have a very high-pitched clicking like a ciccada which drives me nuts, but others don't seem to mind.

Some people just accept that their drones will cut out in certain types of climate. They accept this because of the nice sound they get when the drones do work.

Others never seem to get the balance right, so that the drones pick up and drop constantly. This is usually fixable with correct set-up of the tongue and better pressure control.

Then there's the &#%@s that never seem to have any problems with their drones and wonder what all the fuss is about. These people should be shot (and their drone reeds absconded with).

djm

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

Maybe a pipemaking contest. O'Meally won a prize for pipemaking about 100 years ago. Harrington sold a £50 set back when, that was a heap of money then. I don't know who would adjuticate, or exactly how adjutication would work. Perhaps no official consensus, just close examination of pipes and discussion of what should go into a good set.

[Lorenzo]

Then there's the &#%@s that never seem to have any problems with their drones and wonder what all the fuss is about. These people should be shot (and their drone reeds absconded with).

That could be any number of us.

Last weekend I took my C. Roberts pipes from the hot inland desert out to the ocean (Tillamook-to play for a wedding and reception). The only thing I had to do to the drones was extend the baritone tuning slide by about a quarter of an inch.

Yes, get some good cane reeds for your drones. From talking to a well know pipe maker, I understand that the size of the bore of drone is critical. Just for fun, try sticking some wire up inside a tenor or baritone drone (to tune it down). The reed may stop working.

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

Tillamook? Did they have cheese or ice cream at the reception?

The further out the sliders are the more trouble you can have, especially with a bad design. Try putting some weight on the ends of the drone tongues, to tune them closer to the stock. Carefully snap the tongues and then roll them in your palms to get them working better, too.

[Lorenzo]

Tillamook? Did they have cheese or ice cream at the reception?

No, the locals get pretty bored with all the gourmet ice cream and cheeze. To simplify, they just put one big bowl of pure 100% cholesterol on the tables.


EDIT NOTE: For some vibrato assistance on those beautiful airs you might try this sometime:

(becomes effortless)