Reeds on trial: who gets the axe?

[djones]

To reed makers:

I make a batch of, say, around 6 reeds at a time. They all have their little quirks: this one needs a rush, that one has a flat D, the other one needs a rush and A taped, with tape over back D when Jupiter aligns with something. .. I dunno ...

Anyway, none perfect, but a lot playable.

I have been sending the imperfect reeds to the gallows either through overworking them seeking perfection or just knowing I have a pile of cane that could do better.

I grade them (I'm a teacher, so this comes rather instinctively) and anything below B+, well, gets recycled. (I am, of course, much less harsh with my middle schoolers ...)

My question is: Which reeds do you save? Do you only save the perect ones? Or do you give your C+ and D- reeds a spot in the pipe case in case they may be remediated later with a little extra help after school?


I have a pile of cane dust and not a lot to show for it...

Dave Jones

[snoogie]

My question is: Which reeds do you save? Do you only save the perect ones? Or do you give your C+ and D- reeds a spot in the pipe case in case they may be remediated later with a little extra help after school?

Anything below B+ gets taken apart, bridle saved, staple saved, waxed thread saved, cane slips in the bin.

I have a pile of cane dust and not a lot to show for it...

Not true, you have a ton of experience in that cane dust. If you made 60 reeds, you know about 60,000 times as much as you did before you started.

Keep it up.. the fact that you have made B+ and better reeds is a great sign.
-g

[magroibin]

Personally I save quite a few of the duds. Mostly so I can take periodic looks at them to see where I went wrong.

I guess I'm taking literally that saying that "an expert is someone who has made as many mistakes in a given field as can be made!". If that is the case I have many, many more mistakes to go.

At least I'm now noticing a big improvement in the scrape on my reeds. It's still the fine points of the geometry of the reed that I'm finding most elusive. They say the reed is "in the shapes"....you just have to know what those shapes are for your particular chanter.*

I don't find myself going back and actually playing many of the older reeds which is at least a sign of minimal improvement. Again...many more mistakes to go!

Paul

*P.S. Anyone out there have good measurements for Chris Langan chanter reeds???

[simonknight]

Anything below B+ gets taken apart, bridle saved, staple saved, waxed thread saved, cane slips in the bin.

Same here. I've got fairly quick at making slips so if the reed's not looking good the slips end up in the trash.

I do tend to adjust quite a few reeds to destruction which i suppose is part of the learning process.

Since I'm not making reeds in commercial quantities I don't need more than a couple of good players for each chanter, so I do look at the investment in time and dust on the floor as a worthwhile learning experience.

[upiper71]

To reed makers:

I make a batch of, say, around 6 reeds at a time. They all have their little quirks: this one needs a rush, that one has a flat D, the other one needs a rush and A taped, with tape over back D when Jupiter aligns with something. .. I dunno ...

Anyway, none perfect, but a lot playable.

I have been sending the imperfect reeds to the gallows either through overworking them seeking perfection or just knowing I have a pile of cane that could do better.

I grade them (I'm a teacher, so this comes rather instinctively) and anything below B+, well, gets recycled. (I am, of course, much less harsh with my middle schoolers ...)

My question is: Which reeds do you save? Do you only save the perect ones? Or do you give your C+ and D- reeds a spot in the pipe case in case they may be remediated later with a little extra help after school?


I have a pile of cane dust and not a lot to show for it...

Dave Jones

Hi Dave,

I, myself, usually gauge 1 out of every 100 as a well made reed. There's always the "one" which will sounds tremendous but seldomly occurs, due to the fact of humidity rises and falls of where I'm at, hence that "one" is almost always more volatile than the rest due to the more perfect dimensions I've created, as well as cane continuity, scrape, density, quality,etc,etc,etc..

So, to answer your question..I do save all of them as a 'just in case' scenario, but only the best playing are a well kept secret. Basically, my B+ reeds and higher..

[Dionys]

I think it depends on where you are in your reedmaking. If you're at your beginning, it's not a bad idea to judge your reeds a little less harshly. If you have something like ten spare reeds for each reed, though, it doesn't do harm to judge them more stringently and dump all but the truly spectacular ones as they are made.

As you progress, you'll find yourself more and more critical. You'll also find yourself with fewer and fewer low-grade reeds (as long as you're paying attention, keeping a sketch/measurement book/notebook).

Keep practicing! Every single reed brings you closer and closer to your perfect reed and teaches you something new. Don't forget to experiment. Don't gouge your tips? Try gouging them. Sand only with no scraping? Try scraping with less sanding. Use only thin, waxed linen? Try the thicker, synthetic boot-hide that T. Britton reccomends. Always use a thin bridle? Try different sizes. Try different shapes for your reed. Experimentation teaches you a lot as well.

Best regards,
Dionys

[glands]

Well, if you are a member of the teachers union.....all reeds are good and have great potential ....give them all a pass...graduate them to the next step despite their limitations and inadequacies. After all, no one reed wants to hear that it is inferior to others.....that somebody might be better.....

[djones]

Well, if you are a member of the teachers union.....all reeds are good and have great potential ....give them all a pass...graduate them to the next step despite their limitations and inadequacies. After all, no one reed wants to hear that it is inferior to others.....that somebody might be better.....

I don't know many teachers who think like that. Those who don't know enough surely never pass my course.

cheers,
DJones

[goldy]

On the "which to save" note, I used to fight to get really bad reeds to work and only met frustration (understandably). I can't remember who said it, but years ago when I was wanting to learn about reed making, there was a document on the net that said: "don't get emotionally attached to a reed". I think that this is very true as it is easy to develop an invested interest in a reed since we put such care into creating them from scratch.

I have gotten to a point where I can make a judgement about which ones to bin, which are usually blanks that collapse at the edges due to the edge thickness being too small for the cane (I have never been able to revive these).

However, overscraped reeds can usually be untied and the head moved up before trimming the lips and having a second go. This scenario can often achieve good results as the re-tying can add more curve into the reed and the moving up of the head creates a little more internal volume above the staple as there is usually a tiny tone chamber where the staple previously bedded itself into the cane.

I guess, on the grading scenario, this means: bin the B-, work on the B's and above, and nurture and protect the A's. I've heard of proffessional pipers being very precious about their reeds and can understand it since those 'near perfect' reeds are few and far between for most of us and should be protected for the sake of getting the longest life out of them.

[glands]

I don't know many teachers who think like that. Those who don't know enough surely never pass my course.

Glad to hear it. Don't lose sight of what is right with regards to delivery of education.

Pardon my comments earlier today.....I had just finished seeing a patient who was kicked out of school in 12th grade for "weed." He could not read and is in a facility for eval of his mental retardation and IQ of 75.

The classroom cannot learn but just a little faster than the slowest kid in class.

And people wonder why I send my child to private school!!

Enough about that.....good luck with your efforts and kudos to you for deeloping a system.

[David Lim]

The classroom cannot learn but just a little faster than the slowest kid in class.

Many professional and dedicated teachers, myself included, would find that remark insulting and badly constructed.

David

[Joseph E. Smith]

On the "which to save" note, I used to fight to get really bad reeds to work and only met frustration (understandably). I can't remember who said it, but years ago when I was wanting to learn about reed making, there was a document on the net that said: "don't get emotionally attached to a reed". I think that this is very true as it is easy to develop an invested interest in a reed since we put such care into creating them from scratch.

I have gotten to a point where I can make a judgement about which ones to bin, which are usually blanks that collapse at the edges due to the edge thickness being too small for the cane (I have never been able to revive these).

However, overscraped reeds can usually be untied and the head moved up before trimming the lips and having a second go. This scenario can often achieve good results as the re-tying can add more curve into the reed and the moving up of the head creates a little more internal volume above the staple as there is usually a tiny tone chamber where the staple previously bedded itself into the cane.

I guess, on the grading scenario, this means: bin the B-, work on the B's and above, and nurture and protect the A's. I've heard of proffessional pipers being very precious about their reeds and can understand it since those 'near perfect' reeds are few and far between for most of us and should be protected for the sake of getting the longest life out of them.

Never toss anything out... at first. Rather, dissect the reeds you know are bad and hang onto their components to study where and what you may or may not have done that impedes their functioning. This is especially true (and perhaps one of the biggest issues with most 'learner reeds') with staples. Nine out of ten times the staple can be reworked if it is hobby tubing, and its shape corrected.

In all things with reed making, go slow and steady. There is no need to rush making them, or to rush binning them... as David points out in his post above.

[glands]

Many professional and dedicated teachers, myself included, would find that remark insulting and badly constructed.

Your response clarifies my point about the current state of teachers in public schools in general...at leat the ones around here. Heads in the sand.

What is the true distribution of grades in your class? does the average kid get C's. Do as many people flunk as do make A's. Probably not. If not, your tests are easy and the grading system is flawed. Everybody wants a make me feel good A or B. Teachers give 'em out as it makes the parents feel good and keeps them out of the school moaning about their childs inadequacies. These youngsters go off to college, on lottery supported scholarships as they had a "B average," and fail miserably.

Its true my friend. I've been educating for 15 years and know it to be a fact. If you are not seeing it then you are not sufficiently challenging the classroom.

[Joseph E. Smith]

Reeds, reeds, reeds. This current deviation from the original topic sounds like an excellent debate/discussion (being the offspring of an elementary teacher and an anthropologist I am intrigued by it...) to continue on the Political thread.... if you don't mind my saying...

[bagpipe_bomb]

hmmm...these deviations seem to often come from the same fek-wit too... doesn't seem to have the courage/intellect to take it to the politics forum...hmm.

what is the policy on continuously posting controvertial/political replys to piping threads?