Why did my Back D go sharp?

Uilleann Pipes
1

Hallo,

I’ve a question concerning fixing a flat back D. All the literature/posts I’ve read seem to suggest that one method of fixing a flat back D is to unbind the reed and PUSH the staple further into the reedhead.

Why then did my flat D get remedied when I PULLED the staple out a good 2mm from the reed head? Or is that a commom cure for flat back Ds as well?

Thanks,

DavidG

2

Hello,

While setting the staple further into the seat is a more direct method, I find that when I make my reeds, I try not to deviate more than 28mm from the bottom of the cane or higher than 3mm further than that.

But, if your reed if sharp ( a long as ) not too sharp, my experience now having a chanter/reed combonation that is 25c sharp; I used a “G” string from a fellow banjo player about 50mm long to flatten the notes near the high D. Shaped like a j-hook, and inserted it into the bottom of the reed but…no longer than 50mm.

Also, I had to insert a wire-rush, same type, into the bell of the chanter.

This works for me, but it is better than messing with a half-decent reed, because due to time constraints and availablility reedmakers may not be able to fit a reed right away, after someone messes with reed, unless your reasonably experienced in taking apart a “good” reed.



Hope this helps???

upiper71
Montreal

3

Thanks upiper71. I’m actually not worried about having a sharp reed, in fact that was my goal. What I’d like to know is why dismantling the reed and retying it but with the staple withdrawn about 2mm from its initial position has fixed my flat Back D problem when I thought the way to fix a flat back D was to dismantle the reed and insert the staple further.

Cheers,

DavdiG

4

David,

It’s taken for granted, generally, that withdrawing the staple from the reedhead sharpens back d, and inserting more, flattens back d. At a wild stab, it’s possible that as one of the effects of withdrawing the staple, is that it appears to flatten your upper 8ve. perhaps, it is that the lower 8ve is in fact being sharpened or the 8ve being ‘spread’ apart (D getting flatter and d going sharper simultaneously). I’ve heard talk about staple length causing ‘spreading’ the octave, the longer its is (eg, if you find your B is flat, you can try a shorter staple to bring it down a little). A little can go a long way here, if you change a 50mm staple to 54mm one and withdraw the staple 3 mm from 22mm to 19mm, say, then you may have raised the back d in relation to the rest of the tuning, but your pitch would probably have dropped so considerably that you would then have pitch problems that might only screw up what your trying to achieve when you use other methods to correct the pitch. etc., etc., I hope this isn’t too way off the mark, it may be something entirely different… This doesn’t answer your question does it??

Alan

5

I agree with Alan, Withdrawing the staple increases the spread or spectrum of notes, and brings the reed closer to the desired aperture.

But experimening is not so bad if you only feels comfortable with it.

Good luck.

upiper71

6

Or maybe what you did simply changed how well the reed was sealed. I am told that a poorly sealed reed can make the back D troublesome.

7

Thanks Alan, Upiper71 and Wolvy. I had suspicions that that was what was going on. I’m not a physisict by any stretch of the imagination but I sort of figured that lengthening the read over all by withdrawing the staple may have some sort of counter effect on the spread of the notes and you have basically confirmed if not added another dimension to my suspicions.
Thanks,

DavidG

8

With reedmaking, your suspicions will become paranoias… :wink:

9

Is that a hunter reed there Alan,54mm staple, withdraw the staple 3mm from 22mm to 19mm insert, :smiley: , 21mm the most I’ve ever had to insert the staple in to the reed head to bring it in tune, a lot of Rowsome
concert D chanters work a 48mm staple, with a 16mm insert thats what found, there a few things that can course the back D to flatten, best thing is to eliminate each one in turn till you find the one courseing you the problem, but slowy your sanity will leave you and medication is needed. :confused: :smiley: