My chanter reed thinks it's wintertime

[seisflutes]

It's doing what it did last winter, breaking the C# and back D. The weather is warm and not too dry(as far as I can tell). I don't get it. I opened it up with the bridle a bit, that helped for a couple minutes and then it went back to breaking. I put a few drops of water in the bellows(this helped last winter) and that helped for a while too. That seems to indicate that humidity has something to do with it. I think the humidity here right now is about 40%. Is that dry enough to be a problem? Oh, and the bass drone reed was closing up a bit too. Thanks, and sorry if this is a stupid question.

[Joseph E. Smith]

Ideally, you want the humidity to be no lower than 60%, or so. I am thinking that at 40%, you reed may be thirsty. Put a kettle on the boil.

[srfmowman]

Real men don't need humidity Joe

[Joseph E. Smith]

Real men don't need humidity Joe

Are you suggesting that I am an artificial man? Or that real men only live in Utah?

[ausdag]

Ideally, you want the humidity to be no lower than 60%, or so. I am thinking that at 40%, you reed may be thirsty. Put a kettle on the boil.

Is perception truth? If so, then what I am about to say makes me right and you wrong

If you make your reeds according to that old and straight forward manual by Dave Hegarty you'll have no trouble with your reeds and humidity. That's the method I've been using for the past decade. In winter, the humidity goes down below 40%, in summer it goes up above 90%. My reeds demonstrate only slight changes in tone but are in no way rendered unplayable, or even slightly unplayable, or even playable but beauty is in the ear of the listener-type unplayable. Add a bunch of rain, or playing on-stage outside in the cold night-time dew, THEN we might start thinking about packing them away for the evening.


Conclusion: 'Live Music Is Better' bumper stickers should be issued. (Bernard Shakey).

Cheers,

DavidG

[Joseph E. Smith]

I'm not sure I agree with you David. Cane will always respond to changes in climate to one degree onr another. There are a variety of ways to minimize this including the thickness of gouging, but not 100%... or near 100%. It is the nature of the material reeds are constructed of. IMHO, reeds are living things and are subject to changes in their environment.

I have made quite a few reeds now (somewhere around 3-400 or so), and have played them in several different environments. My findings so far regarding their behavior bear out the humidity issue I have referred to in my previous post.

I have yet to try soaking the slips in Neetsfoot, and there are many who swear that this method greatly reduces the sensitivity of the reed to humidity changes. I just have to get up off my lazy butt and buy a tin of it.

[ausdag]

I'm not sure I agree with you David.

So, what you perceive from your experience and what I perceive from my experience are different. That means perception is not truth because how could my experience be truth and your experience also be truth?

Conclusion: Rust never sleeps. (Bernard Shakey)

Cheers,

DavidG

[Joseph E. Smith]

I'm not sure I agree with you David.

So, what you perceive from your experience and what I perceive from my experience are different. That means perception is not truth because how could my experience be truth and your experience also be truth?

Conclusion: Rust never sleeps. (Bernard Shakey)

Cheers,

DavidG

Truth is not always a concrete thing. Truth can be grey. Truth is fleeting. Truth can cover a broad spectrum of ideology. I see no reason why, though we have a difference of opinion or truths, that they cannot both be correct.

Conclusion: My head hurts. (Me)

[seisflutes]

Okay....thank you guys. I'll try humidifying more.

[DarthWeasel]

You guys are missing a whole ton of stuff.

You've failed to consider the effects of environmental phenomenon such as Sun Spots, fluctuation in both earth’s gravity and magnetic fields, and not to mention pulsars in deep space!

I also believe that there are other metaphysical elements that play a role, however, it would be extremely difficult to measure the effects of the spiritual world on reed quality as science is currently lacking in this field.

[Rick]

Ideally, you want the humidity to be no lower than 60%, or so. I am thinking that at 40%, you reed may be thirsty. Put a kettle on the boil.

Is perception truth? If so, then what I am about to say makes me right and you wrong

If you make your reeds according to that old and straight forward manual by Dave Hegarty you'll have no trouble with your reeds and humidity. That's the method I've been using for the past decade. In winter, the humidity goes down below 40%, in summer it goes up above 90%. My reeds demonstrate only slight changes in tone but are in no way rendered unplayable, or even slightly unplayable, or even playable but beauty is in the ear of the listener-type unplayable. Add a bunch of rain, or playing on-stage outside in the cold night-time dew, THEN we might start thinking about packing them away for the evening.


Conclusion: 'Live Music Is Better' bumper stickers should be issued. (Bernard Shakey).

Cheers,

DavidG

I'd have to agree with David on this.
My reeds always behave, unless there's a monsoon or something indeed.
I have been playing till the water litterally ran out of my drones, very late at night, outside when the dew started to form, ok then it was time to stop.

I also know someone who makes reeds for over 25-30 years and he plays his set everywhere and in any condition, never any real problems.

It's what you want to believe really, some sick people get better because someone puts their hands on them...

[Donald E Baltus]

Just threatening. Had some insight. Would take too many syllables. Too much perspective to be useful for the combatants involved.

Me just read and giggle.