Super Mellow Sets?

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Feb 02, 2002 4:08 pm

Tansy,
Both reeds are nearly the same length. Here's a picture of them side-by-side with the (slightly thinner) B reed at the top
http://www.angar.net/chanter/childress_reeds.jpg
And another picture of the chanters side-by-side with wind caps removed.
http://www.angar.net/chanter/PIC5.jpg
The (larger) B chanter is at the bottom. Sorry for the poor images of the chanters. I took them in natural sunlight and I had problems adjusting the contrast.

Joseph · Post by **Joseph** » Sat Feb 02, 2002 4:59 pm

Tony, thanks for the info and very cool pics. You are a blessed man to have the variety of chanters that you do. I think that if I got a C or B chanter that the stretch wouldn't be a real problem because I play a Chieftan Low D whistle. I find that the Low whistle is a longer stretch than my O'Grady concert pitch chanter. I have learned over time how to play the low whistle relatively fast (of coarse it doesn't hurt being 6'7" and having big hands). Have you ever seen a picture of Seamus Ennis? His fingers are so long. It almost looks like he had an extra knuckle or something....crazy looking.
Thanks
Joseph

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Sat Feb 02, 2002 10:10 pm

thanks tony,
i kind of thought they might be pretty close in size.i have one of bruces D chanters that he built for me. his reeds seem to work well in a hughs chanter also. do you know of any other makers reeds that work well in childress chanters or any methods of reed construction which might be applied to his method of reed? i am learning reed making and find his so very thin,i have to show great patience and reserve to approach those tolerances without another shattering. it must build character.

best,tansy

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sun Feb 03, 2002 3:00 am

Tansy,
Actually I find the Childress reed to be as strong as my others. The intent is to sand the reed to the perfect diameter so it plays with little or no adjustment. By doing this, you have a minimum amount of stress from the bridal. This can help with longivity and less need for tweaking.
I'm lucky enough to be able to switch any of my D reeds reeds into any of my chanters.
I did find it unusual how Bruce instructs you to 'make the scrape' before cutting the slip onto halves... but it apparently works fine for him.
If you have problems with the slips splitting then check the blade. It must be really sharp and free from any scratches or nicks. Also, use the curved sanding block as support behind the slip when you cut it. Gallagher suggests you pre-score the back side of the slip before cutting from the face side.
Take an old slip (one that split already) and practice cutting it several times to develop the skill.

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Mon Feb 04, 2002 10:47 am

thanks tony,
i understand your advice and will apply it next time i am pchyed up for the "delicate twiddlings".i have had great success in my droad reeds, i know there is no comparison to double reeds but i have the brass-plastic and natural down pat. also i have an especially nice baby droan reed from some cane that grows up the creek where i live,it is thick walled and the tongue must be shaved down but it is of very pure tone and seems more moisture stable then the arundo,which by the way is quite common in alabama.
best,tansy

p s i am amazed that bruce is able to make reeds without having the chanter there to fit them to.i have a friend who always seems to be sending his chanter back to a "popular maker" to be "reedad".i wouldn't want my chanter in the mail.
cheers

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Mon Feb 04, 2002 11:44 am

Interesting thought Tansy...
I once inquired to a Pederson C chanter on eBay. The chanter didn't have a working reed or specifications, so I contacted the maker in California who wasn't sure which type of reed fit his chanter either as he had been through several revisions. I ended up passing on the deal.
I can't recall if he numbered his chanters, but that would seem like a way to tell which one it was.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Mon Feb 04, 2002 12:50 pm

On 2002-02-04 11:47, tansy wrote:

p s i am amazed that bruce is able to make reeds without having the chanter there to fit them to.i have a friend who always seems to be sending his chanter back to a "popular maker" to be "reedad".i wouldn't want my chanter in the mail.
cheers

Offcourse some makers send reeds without the chanter, it is not course of action I would recommend.

jqpublick · Post by **jqpublick** » Mon Feb 04, 2002 4:03 pm

Hey guys;

How should I go about getting new reeds, then? The fella who made my set got his reeds from O'Grady; does this mean I should only order from O'Grady?

I've read on other threads that people change the setup of their reeds (seemingly) quite often. There's advice on the web about pulling hemp off the bottom of the reed to improve the chanter's tuning, for example, which would surely change the chanter's grip on the reed.

Also, how will I know when my reed (the only one I currently have) is blown? Although I've read on this site that reeds can last for years, I've also read that one can easily ruin a reed through all manner of mishaps, including (so I've been told off this site) simply overblowing, something that happened pretty frequently for me while learning. I haven't noticed any major changes or anything like that, but that doesn't mean there haven't been any.

Mark

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Mon Feb 04, 2002 6:08 pm

Mark,
Relax... having a spare reed or two wouldn't hurt. If an O'Grady reed is working than you shouldn't have a problem getting another O'Grady reed to work without any fuss. If the older reed plays without forcing it... keep on playing it.
Adding and removing hemp for fit and tuning is considered normal.

jqpublick · Post by **jqpublick** » Tue Feb 05, 2002 5:07 pm

Hey Tony;

I didn't mean to sound...uh...shall I say frantic? about the reed thing, but all this discussion about chanters and their relative sweetness/mellowness has made me think about things I haven't yet, so I've been eager to get as much info as I can as quickly as I can.

I'm still wondering how I should be able to tell if my reed's off; are there obvious cues, or is it more just a feeling and an increasing conviction that something's wrong?

I won't be running out and getting fifty new reeds or anything like that, primarily because it's winter here and therefore very very dry, which means the reed I'm playing has gotten much more finicky over the last month, and will probably stay that way until spring. So I'll be patient, and practice carefully.

Mark

seamus clark · Post by **seamus clark** » Sat Feb 09, 2002 7:17 am

if your looking for a narrow bore D chanter,
you may want to contact kevin scott. He made me a narrow bore D chanter out of ebony that's really nice- very quiet though. i've compared the chanter to one made by geoff woof and I must say they run neck and neck.
i'm sure kevin scott's waiting list will not be anything like woof's 12yr ???? list, so you might just check him out.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Feb 09, 2002 9:59 am

Seamus,
I couldn't find Kevin Scott listed on NPU, Uilleann Pipe Information List, or Patrick D'Arcy's website. Where is he located and how can he be reached ?
=============
Correction... Kevin IS listed as a pipemaker, my search for him on the UPIL was under piper (my mistake).
added notes:
I did more research on Kevin and found him listed a few places on Yahoo's search engine. He was linked by a few people as having a website but it appears offline. Looks like he's published some pipes specifications from one posting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bellowspipes/message/205
He's listed on Song of the Sea's website (halfway down) as a maker and experimenter of pipes and reeds http://www.songsea.com/guestbook/ca.html
and has pissed off at least one customer:
http://sunflower.com/~trombley/ but that was several years ago.
I'm not saying it's impossible for a relatively new pipemaker to make an instrument that plays closely to one made by a living legend, one of a handfull of full-time pipemakers with 30+ years of experience... but I would like to know more.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tony on 2002-02-09 14:32 ]</font>

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Feb 09, 2002 10:07 am

On 2002-02-09 08:17, seamus clark wrote:
i've compared the chanter to one made by geoff woof and I must say they run neck and neck.

Can you elaborate on the comparison? what di you look for a nd what did you find in either chanter, were they reeded by the maker or did someone else stick his best effort in? Also materials used etc would be helpful.

seamus clark · Post by **seamus clark** » Sat Feb 09, 2002 4:57 pm

this is an attempt to answer both previous questions. first to peter, I compared a fully
keyed woof chanter in ebony in narrow D kevin
scott chanter was also in ebony- both look like madagascar ebony- solid black-little brown streaks. first the chanter length,hole-
size as well as spacing and inner bell diameter were almost identical. I cannot speak for the dimensions on the woof reed but as far as scotts reed,the staple is very narrow and the head of the reed looks
about the width of a Bb reed. narrow D is
not my favorite,but both mentioned chanters
filled the bill just fine. As far as contacting kevin- I know his e-mail is
piobaire@concentric.net. the tom trombley
episode is a sad and pathetic one, this guy
purchased one of kevins chanters, botched the reed,sent it back to kevin, back to trombley botched another reed, sends the chanter to several other makers, now that the chanter is a mongrel with several makers
handiwork, it become un-reedable and trombley then cries because kevin won't refund him the money. would any reputable maker offer a refund after the purchaser
let's several other makers have a whack at it? hell no

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Feb 09, 2002 6:53 pm

Fair enough response.
Seamus, do you still own the chanter?? Had you heard any others by Kevin prior to placing your order?
The Trombley story still doesn't sound quite right. Was the chanter hard to reed? why would other pipemaker modify someone elses chanter... re-reeding is one thing but changing the bore or hole locations??
I don't know about that.