Sometimes I find that my pipes are a bit bright, and I would really like to be able to cut off some of the higher frequencies.
I have heard said that the reed is a major part in the sound of the uilleann pipes. Would it be possible, if one wishes to, to adjust the frequency spectrum of ones pipes by making a reed in a certain way?
Let me be a bit more clear and specific. In digital audio editing, you can use an EQ tool to adjust the range of tones that are heard. You can for example cut away a bit of the high frequencies of an audio file, or the low frequencies if you want to as well. Would it be possible to achieve a similar effect by constructing a reed in a certain way?
I’ve heard people say the reed is a major part of the instrument, but I disagree when we’re looking at something that consists of less that 20% of the length of the bore. But it does influence. You may get some of the results you seek by making a reed that has a slightly rougher scrape . . . instead of say finishing with 800 grit sandpaper, try stopping at 400, or even 200.
Firstly, if you have a reed that is playing well, even though you don’t love the tone, then don’t touch that reed. Make a new one, or get a reedmaker to make one for you. I have ruined more than one good reed by trying to get it exactly where I wanted it to be - trying to squeeze the last 2% out of it.
What type of chanter are you playing? If it’s a concert D chanter, a bright tone is what many pipers strive for. On the other hand, if you have a flat chanter (C, B, etc.), then a bright tone may not be what you’re after.
The tone is a combination of the reed and the chanter. Different woods will give you different tonal qualities. Also, a cane reed will give you different tonal qualities than a spruce reed. I prefer cane reeds in my D chanter, but spruce in my flat chanters. Also, some reedmakers will make a “tone chamber” in the reed. I’ve never had any luck with these, so I don’t know how they impact the tone.
Also, the tone (and tuning) can be altered by opening/closing the reed, by manipulating the staple. It can also be altered by tighening or loosening the binding.
You could try making a reed with a wider head, I find this gives more ‘wood’ in the tone and the sound is somewhat darker.
A softer cane or as PJ suggests Spruce or even an Elder reed may soften the chanter tone. Of course , making a sharper pitched reed and using a ‘rush’ in the chanter to bring the pitch back down may also have a cutting effect on the upper partials.
From what I’ve read (I’m not a pipemaker) in reed instruments in general and bagpipes in particular you get a brighter (more higher harmonics) tone with a wider cone, that is, a greater difference between the narrowest and widest parts of the bore.
The narrower the cone, that is, the closer the bore comes to being parallel, the less higher harmonics and the “darker” the tone.
About the width of the reed head, that’s really interesting! I don’t know about with uilleann chanters, but with cylindrical-bore Smallpipe/Highland Practice Chanters a long narrow reed gives a nasal thin tone and a short wide reed gives a dark rich tone. (Both types of reed having straight or nearly-straight sides.)
thank you all for such well articulated advice. I really could not find much information about such a specific question, very cool to see that that knowledge is just present on this forum. Sorry for the late reply, I posted this, then didn’t see any activity for 2 months and assumed the thread was dead.. :\
As for extra information: I play a D practice set made by Marc van Daal. Except for tone preference, I can say I am generally pretty happy with the performance of the reed. So I am taking the advice to heart and will probably never try to mess with it.
I am mostly a nylon-string guitarist, and I just have a deep appreciation for warm sound quality. I also really love the uilleann pipes, so I am trying to see if I can bring those two a bit closer to each other, and if it is worth diving into reed-making in the future to see if I can get out of that what I am looking for.
I guess it would make sense to buy a flat set, but I really do not have that kind of money lying around to just buy a second set. Also I like to option to easily play with others. So I will just try to get out of my D set what I am looking for, even if it is not the perfect way to approach it.
I think I see an echo of Geoff Wooff’s ‘butterfly’ scrape in his sketch of the “old school” reed. And perhaps that’s no coincidence:
He continues “The size and shape of the tone holes is also quite different. On the baroque oboe, these are
much smaller and proportionally longer. This causes a greater resistance in the general
response of the instrument, so that reeds must be scraped softer and freer. The resistance that
the modern oboist often consciously creates in his reed, for the sake of tone quality, is auto-
matically built into the early oboe. Softer reeds allow more of the dynamic nuance and tonal
range demanded by baroque music.”
Not sure any of that is of use to you, but who knows, it might be of use to somebody at some point!
Also, perhaps a whole flat set is out of the question for you now, but maybe you could consider getting just a flat chanter for a start and see how it feels to live at a lower pitch for a bit? ‘B’ is a very nice place to spend some time!