Flat sets easier to reed?

[ennischanter]

I just ordered my first chanter, a flat chanter. I am scared to go into the world of reed-making...

And I've hear this somewhere, that flat sets can reed more easily. Is this true?

[Mr.Gumby]

Nothing in life or piping is quite as black and white.


Depends a lot on the who, where, what and how.

[geoff wooff]

I just ordered my first chanter, a flat chanter. I am scared to go into the world of reed-making...

And I've hear this somewhere, that flat sets can reed more easily. Is this true?

Getting into reed making is the quickest way to find true humility, and a fine respect for anyone who can make decent reeds and no respect for anybody else....

There, that is black and white, and thus as Mr.Gumby says nothing is quite that way.

If you have ordered a flat chanter from a good maker and if you don't fiddle about with the reed that comes with it, the way many Session players do with their Concert chanter reeds, then it should last for many many years with out you having to learn how to make your own.... some of the 'famous' pipers did not /do not make reeds.

[ImNotIrish]

I just ordered my first chanter, a flat chanter. I am scared to go into the world of reed-making...

And I've hear this somewhere, that flat sets can reed more easily. Is this true?

Getting into reed making is the quickest way to find true humility, and a fine respect for anyone who can make decent reeds and no respect for anybody else....

There, that is black and white, and thus as Mr.Gumby says nothing is quite that way.

If you have ordered a flat chanter from a good maker and if you don't fiddle about with the reed that comes with it, the way many Session players do with their Concert chanter reeds, then it should last for many many years with out you having to learn how to make your own.... some of the 'famous' pipers did not /do not make reeds.

I cannot believe that there are pipers out there who never have to 'mess' with their reeds. perhaps if you keep your pipes in a controlled environment and never stray from that environment, but for the rest of us who venture out a bit, no way!
arbo

[Lorenzo]

Messing with reeds can be valuable in many ways. It's good to know what to do when certain problems arise. Learning WHAT NOT TO DO is even better. It accounts for about 50% of successful reed making (or more), and about 95% of successful playing (IMO anyway). I've had 3 sets now (all flat) that didn't need much messing with, but that was only after years of messing around with other sets. One in particular, a half set in B, never ever needed a thing. I seldom took it out of the room though. I do think a stable climate helps as does being extremely careful, respectful of others work, and getting everything tight so nothing moves around or leaks.

[ImNotIrish]

Messing with reeds can be valuable in many ways. It's good to know what to do when certain problems arise. Learning WHAT NOT TO DO is even better. It accounts for about 50% of successful reed making (or more), and about 95% of successful playing (IMO anyway). I've had 3 sets now (all flat) that didn't need much messing with, but that was only after years of messing around with other sets. One in particular, a half set in B, never ever needed a thing. I seldom took it out of the room though. I do think a stable climate helps as does being extremely careful, respectful of others work, and getting everything tight so nothing moves around or leaks.

Cool. I have two sets in 'D', and a recent set in 'C.' been an adventure trying to get reeds to play in all of them. I suppose, there's nothing better than getting into the thick of it with respect to reed making. learning to adjust and alter your reed is a necessary evil I suppose. Since most pipe makers seem to be located far away, and in different climates, I think it is absolutely necessary to be able to adjust and care for your reed. Does this involve some experimenting, and some often reckless moves? Sure! That's all part of the learning curve. Don't let it deter you from making slight adjustments. Get on board. It is after all, the path to enlightenment.
Arbo

[Lorenzo]

Don't let it deter you from making slight adjustments. Get on board. It is after all, the path to enlightenment.

Well said. It might be good to qualify "messing with reeds" as only messing with questionable/mediocre reeds. Leave good ones alone till you've already ruined or learned on the others. Uilleann pipes just aren't like other instruments. You just can't expect to take them anywhere you want and have them work okay.

[ennischanter]

Humidity and climate here in Alberta is ALL over the place (One day 20-30%, another day 50-60%!!!!) This year a cold winter, last year in 2012 a lovely and mild spring-like winter (Good for my seasonal anxiety though! ), Schizophrenic I tell ya!!! Winters here USUALLY last for months, the winters are freezing, and in the summers the sun is brutal and show no mercy ! I plan to sometimes (ONLY in the summer) go to places outside, like to a nearby park, or my backyard of my house with the set, would putting a sponge by the bellows work, or when in the house, playing on a bathroom after a shower? I'll never give up on the pipes, I may on tuning 'em though, heh heh heh!

Would my reed survive, do I have to let it settle in with this environment, or do I have to make one for this bi-polar climate?


I heard pipers like Seamus Ennis never made his own, and had his reeds made by other people. Who made his reeds in the 70's? Pat Sky or McFadden? I wouldn't want someone messing with my chanter though if they do not know how to make a right reed for it, someone here said Ennis' chanter had his back D tinkered with several times, and after that they even go as far as having someone ream the chanter's throat out!

[learnthegrip]

Story goes that Liam O'Flynn, if he's having trouble with his chanter reed, will take the cap off, stare at the reed for a bit, and then put the cap back on. Have no idea if that is true, but many, many chanter reed problems can be managed by letting it be and seeing how it plays tomorrow. I made my chanter reed in about 30% humidity and it's pretty happy in anything from mid-twenties to, maybe 60%. If it's drier than 30% I put a Dampit in the bellows and hope for the best. If it's more humid than 60%, I just play until I can't control pitch any longer and then reach for a whistle. Often, the problems associated with too little or too much humidity can be controlled through attention to how you use your bag pressure, but sometimes there is just nothing you can do. Drones are another story. When mine get too dry they are totally unmanageable.

[ennischanter]

Fortunately the humidity doesn't get that high!

[Mr.Gumby]

I wouldn't want someone messing with my chanter though if they do not know how to make a right reed for it, someone here said Ennis' chanter had his back D tinkered with several times

The back D on that chanter was severely diddled with during the early seventies (and we know stories that say who did it too! Not that that will be mentioned here ofcourse). In fact the back d nearly lined up with the C# hole. I know, I tried it, it was awkward as anything (especially trying it in a room full of pipers).

A lot of people made reeds for Ennis but some will say he never sounded right after the McFadden reeds ran out. I also remember Alain Froment telling me (after his restoration of the set after Ennis' death) that he thought the reeds were glued in, hard to get out and looking like they had been there forever, black and grimey. So who knows what the man actually played in there. He may well have been collecting spares.

[ennischanter]

I think Sam L said somewhere the back D hole has been drilled lower down.

And I noticed when I listened to his best of Irish piping CD in 1973 it says, his bottom D sounded dull and uninteresting, sill amazing to listen to though. And in the Wandering Minstrel which was I think in 1977 it said, and the Termonfeckin recordings in 1974 (Except the sort out of tune drones of course in Termonfeckin) they sounded much better, maybe he had spare McFadden reeds?

Or maybe he would use different reeds on different occasions? I also heard that his drone reeds were fitted in with beeswax.

Do people wax their reeds in still?

[Ted]

Some still wax their reeds. I use cobblers' waxed hemp as a wrap on the reed which stops air from leaking around the reed and keeps them from falling out. I just saw a Hamish Moore set of SSP that had the drone reeds glued in place.

[Cathy Wilde]

Getting into reed making is the quickest way to find true humility ....

If I was to have a tombstone, that would go on it. Right alongside "She Meant Well."

[Brazenkane]

Nothing is "easy to reed!"