Bass drone "puck" resonators

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PJ
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Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by PJ »

Do we know where the "puck" resonator comes from? The earlier "union pipes" (upto early 19th century) seemed to be based on Pastoral pipes with straight slide-sections and tulip-styled ends. The earliest "puck" resonator I've seen was on the Vandaleur set (1835). I haven't seen puck resonators on any other type of bagpipes.
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by geoff wooff »

Early Pucks were not Resonators. They were just solid disks with an IN and an OUT.

I assume the 'Resonator' was a developement that arrived with the Taylor or 'wide bore' pipes around the turn of the 1900's. The idea must have been to get more noise out of the Bass drone , a noise I do not care for!
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by ausdag »

When I received my first set of drones from a prominent maker in Ireland back in 1990, the bass drone had a solid disc. Not knowing any better, I thought the maker had taken a cheeky short cut and didn't bother to make a 'resonator' proper. I didn't question him though as I couldn't be bothered hand writing a letter, driving to the post office to buy a stamp and then wait three weeks for a reply to ask about it (no email in those days) and the sound was very nice anyway. A few years later I realised he was just following a long tradition, as Geoff states above, of solid discs with an in and out. It's basically how I make mine now these days too. I tried doing the resonator thing, but didn't care for the sound.
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by reedmasters »

The puck end on the bass drone is my favorite one though. It's about looks as well as sound.
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by m4malious »

PJ wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 1:23 pm Do we know where the "puck" resonator comes from?
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by Madpiper13 »

Anyone with a brass resonator puck? Solid or hollow?
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by booms8 »

I used to have a half set with a hollow brass puck. It always sounded fine to me; the tone was much more heavily affected by what kind of reed I had in rather than what was on the end of the drone.
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by Jeff Cullen »

Anyone with a brass resonator puck? Solid or hollow?
I have a Denis Crowley set with a silver-plated brass puck. It is the puck of Gondor.... just huge. It has an ivory ring insert as well.
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by PJ »

Other than acting as resonators, I've seen a few "pucks" and "tulips" which have apertures that are smaller than the air in-takes. I presume that this is to create some back pressure on the bass drone?
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by reedmasters »

Here is one from Spencer Hamann that combines beauty as well as function. It does a lot more than any other bass drone I've seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3W3yK_4U1c
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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by reedmasters »

Think this demonstrates the function of a puck quite well.

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Re: Bass drone "puck" resonators

Post by geoff wooff »

Perhaps it says more about the size of the exit hole .

An interesting demonstration never the less.
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