Which Synth Drone reeds to fit a Pakistani half-set?

omarawatch · Post by **omarawatch** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 1:58 am

Please withold all the 'don't waste your time' comments,
i'm reworking a set of Pakistani pipes until they function.
I have them ready and functioning except the drones, the reeds
appear to be garbage as I understand to be common.
I'd like to switch to some no-hassle drone and chanter reeds.
I'm not familiar with drone use yet so I'm looking to get away
from these garbage Pakistani reed before banging my head into
a wall.

My chanter reed is functioning reasonably, however I'm
most concerned about my drone reeds.

I was browsing at http://www.songsea.com/pipereeds.html
and see synthetics such as "Ezeedrone" and "Crozier" Drone
sets..... will these function, or are they specific for Highland
pipes? Am I better off with a set of Childress reeds? If so,
where do you suggest I obtain them?

Thanks for your help everyone!

~Brendan

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 3:10 am

Those drone reeds are speciffically for GHBs. To contact Bruce Childress, go to his website... http://www.bcpipes.com/

PJ · Post by PJ » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:43 am

Brendan,

Can you let me know how you get on with this. I know someone who bought a P-half-set. All reeds were simply useless. I fitted a chanter reed that is in tune for the first octave. The drone reeds were completely closed. I recommended that he change them for synthetics as they require less maintenance. I'd be curious to know what reeds you eventually get and how they work in your drones.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:31 am

I used a set of synthetic reeds from David Boisvert in my Pakistani 1/2 set and they have worked well. I believe Bruce's are very similar in construction.

The Sporting Pitchfork · Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:52 am

Don't waste your...oh, sorry.

Nevertheless, I can't help saying that I have a feeling your endeavor is doomed to be quixotic. Depends on what you define as having a "functioning" set of pipes, I suppose. If you mean a set where all the reed make noise when air of a sufficient pressure passes through them, sure, that'll probably work out alright. If you mean a set with an in-tune chanter and steady drones that's comfortable to play, I'm afraid I'm pretty skeptical.

Your best bet would be to contact the uilleann pipemakers listed above. Reeds and other such components cannot be bought off the shelf like GHB reeds. You should also maybe contact Tim Britton who has considerable experience in taking Pakistani-made sets and making them reasonably playable.

One thing to bear in mind, though: I can't speak for any of the makers listed above, but some makers are not always amenable about servicing pipes they didn't make themselves; often times if they do work on other makers' pipes, they charge a hefty rate by the hour. The rationale behind all this is "you went and bought something that's not very good and now you want my reeds because you know it'll make it sound better. Well, tough. If you wanted something that sounded nice, you should have ordered a set of pipes from me in the first place." And who could really blame a pipemaker for having such a sentiment?

simonknight · Post by **simonknight** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:18 am

I bought a set of drone reeds from Bruce to fit in a (good quality) set from another maker. Bruce was clear - justifiably - that the reeds were sold with no guarantee that they would work. A drone reed needs to match the design of the drone bore. These did work just fine.

I have read that the Pakistani pipes have some major dimensional inaccuracies, so don't expect them to be stable and tunable to D just because you put new reeds in. If the drones are leakiy that will also cause you problems.

Good luck.

misterpatrick · Post by **misterpatrick** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:07 pm

I have a Lucky Ganesh set and the drones actually sound quite nice with some good reeds in them. The regs on the other hand...

I had our very own evil moderator bang me out a set, but I think pretty much any good set of UP drone reeds will sounds nice. Be sure and measure the diameter of the reed seat - I discovered that my tenor is quite narrow.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:16 pm

There are good books on reed-making available, and drone reeds made with synthetic materials (versus cane) are probably the easiest to make. Why not start there and find/make the reeds that best suit your set?

djm

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:29 pm

Try David Daye's website or look up Neverstop Drone Reed on Google.

WannabePiper · Post by **WannabePiper** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:32 pm

http://www.songsea.com/syndronestopvalveplans.html

These are easy to make and can be very steady.

CHasR · Post by **CHasR** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:04 pm

Give me the old-fashioned cartoon 'Burger-King' any day! This new masked one JUST WIGS ME OUT

BC 's composite UP reeds are very versatile, they may just be your best bet to fixin up yer pile o'...errr, your Pakistani 1/2 set.

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:26 am

Easiest thing to do is to get some drone reed cane and crank out some reeds. The composite reeds are easy enough to make, too - brass tube, solder end shut, file the "lay," attach tongue. Those were the first reeds I made. Even better would be wood bodies - Brendan repairs watches and part of the gear is a tiny lathe. You could turn some little hardwood bodies in a snap.
I make elder wood reeds but that's a bit more time consuming.
Your reeds may work, though - have you given the tongues a few snaps? Are the bindings on the drones snug? They look like good reeds in the pics you sent me.