I.ve got a Howard practice set, which is pretty nice, but The maker has just bought in some improvments which are awesome. Firstly is the new ‘Iris’ tuning device for the bottom D note. I had this fitted recently and it makes the hard and soft bottom note both easy to obtain and shift between. It also gives a nice solid bottom D without comprimising the thumb note d. Also the new boring which i had done makes the chanter sing like a bird. Solid, in tune, perfect tone I could go on and on, but will suffice to say I can now jump from high f# to top d in one go, and then go up to the e above! Hard E is easily obtainable after Hard D. The reed is pretty fantastic to. Anyone out there struggling to play the pipes coz of a crappy chanter should check out howardmusic.co.uk and see this lot, as well as the new key system.
I have had the same modifications done and couldn’t agree more! I was absolutely delighted with my half set anyway but when Brian asked if I’d like the modifications done I listened to his set and agreed that it was not just the fact that he coulkd play so much better than me.I watched him do the work and I think it’s witchcraft! So little wood taken away and such a melodic difference. The change to the drones was truly phenomenal.So much so that there and then I asked him to make me a set of the new regulators.The set is wonderful to play and to listen to.I really don’t know why anyone should put up with problems when quality is so easily available.Brian is never satisfied and is now working on different reeds for different climates.Good luck to everyone and the best in 2004
not surprising. mr. howard has years of experience and an excellent reputation. was also one of the earliest to develop affordable low whistles.
in conversations with local makers, many are willing to experiment with devices such as the d tuning iris you are describing. so for those of you who have a relationship with a maker, either a list or a set: just because its not on their web site does not mean its not available.
meir
buskerSean and teirw both sent Howard chanters back to Howard for re-boring and ‘the iris’ modifications and both have noticed a significant improvement in their chanters. Is this correct?
OK Guys… how old were your chanters before returning them for the modifications?
Hi Tony, my chanter was 12 months old.The improvements are all subjective,apart from the tuning Iris.Brian is always searching for accoustic nirvana–when he makes a discovery–like what he refers to as ’ the perturbations’—he lets us know and we can have the mods done, or not.I actually take every opportunity to go and watch him work.I learn so much every time, and he has never charged me a penny for these lessons.He is even working on the situation of these ‘perturbations’ inside the staple.His reedmaking kits include this and I can tell the difference on the reeds I have built using his staples and my own slips. Fascinating stuff.
Re-reaming a chanter will clean up any changes in the bore from shrinking or warping that took place after it left the makers shop.
But that’s not what they’re talking about. The key word is the use of the term, “perturbations,” which is a bore device/concept used originally by Theobald Boehm in the first and still standard thorough treatise on musical acoustics. It’s a way of expanding/constricting the bore at specific points where the wave in the bore itself is manipulated to behave in certain desireable ways. That could mean an easier octave pop, or popping more in tune in the upper octave, or playing E’s in tune etc.
Royce
Right Royce.
So… Brian is ‘adding’ perturbations to finished products?
Hi Royce, You are quite correct.And Tony. no, Brians finished products are all like this now.He has discovered some improvements ( all of which only require small removal of material from the bore) and will make the modifications to any of his older chanters. Hope this clears up any confusion.
Oh, then Brian is ‘adding’ perturbations to finished products.
Yes, it’s perfectly clear.
my chanter wasn’t in bad shape before the latest improvements, it’s just been upgraded as the maker has improved and innovated since I bought the chanter.
by the way
Boehm didn’t discover or invent perturbations - in fact, the techniques pioneered by Boehm which led to ‘modern’ orchestral key systems led, in the long run, to a reduction in the use of bore perturbations as a tuning device in some instruments (notably the flute).
Baroque recorders and oboes made use of very subtle bore perturbations as a means of tuning. ‘Scientific’ tuning methods later led to a tendency to use tonehole placement and size as a more primary thining mechanism - presumably partly because the evolution of better keywork made it less critical that the toneholes be placed conveniently for the fingers. However, these changes did greatly alter the tonal quality of the instruments (though they doubtless improved their suitability for chromatic, polyphonic music).
The importance of bore perturbations has probably been understressed in the ensuing centuries, but ‘scientific’ acousticians are rediscovering it. Certainly there was a period in uilleann piping history when few if any pipemakers were paying attention to the subtle perturbations in, say, a Kenna or Coyne (seeing the chanter as a straight-sided cone), but that seems to have changed.
- Bill
That’s true, but he did I think put it all together including all of his own observations and experiments into a manual so-to-speak that had previously been just loose or “trade” secret-like information.
Michael Burke, the whistle maker is also picking up this sort of exercise on all his whistles. Two particular perturbations that are standard on flutes/whistles with cylindrical bores are constrictions, on I think about just above the C hole and one at the low D or bell note. This Howard “iris” is essentially no different in principle than the old “o” ring or even a card/matchstick U rush in the end of the bell, in that is acoustically constricts or “purturbs” the bore there, which usually strengthens the note, while of course flattening it a bit.
Those of you with low D whistles like the Kerry or Howard, with cylindrical bores can try sticking a wax rim around the low D hole, which will probably strengthen that note, flatten it a bit, and allow you to blow into it a bit. Usually. Try tipping your bell on your knee a bit and see if your low D flattens into good tune and fills out for an idea of what I mean. Also try the octave D this way.
You’re on your own with the constrictive ring up by C there–never measured it out and it’s hard to get at. That one I think helps break the octave smoother and cleaner in octave D.
How this applies to UP is more complicated but you get the idea.
Royce
I’m surprised no-one has brought up all the complexities of varying the taper of the bore. Wooden flutes and UP chanters are not straight cylinders or cones. The diameter changes at different rates over the length. For example, wooden flutes usually increase the taper by about ten percent over the top fifth of the cylinder. Similar changes in bore width are common in UP chanters, with different makers experimenting and coming up with methods that suit their own designs, usually based on the overall diameters of their bores. Couple this with varying the depth and angle of the tone holes and you can see how very complex the design of even a “simple” wooden flute really is, let alone a reeded, closed cone like a UP chanter.
I have been trying to come up with a series of formulas to express the effects of each variation on the other measurements but have yet to find a way to quantify the measurements of the reed design. If anyone knows of a reference where this has already been calculated (for dummies) I would appreciate it.
Thx,
djm
I’ve gota Howard low D whistle (new mouthpiece version) and the D note is quite strong enough without wax or anything else stuck on. Also, why would I want to flatten it when the whistle is in tune?
Have you tried my suggestion with the knee first?
You say it is in tune, but is it really?
Is it in tune because you back off to make it in tune? (Probably)
Or can you really lean into it and blow it from a hair flat to in tune and very strong. You say it’s strong, but is it as strong as when rushed or blocked a bit and then blown harder?
Also, is octave D actually in tune with low D? Really? Or do you actually have to blow it into tune?
Royce