Reed making - success vs failure

[djones]

There are no good reeds. We just learn to play the bad ones.

There you've hit the nail on the head. This becomes especially evident when playing more than one chanter/reed combination.

There are so many adjustments the player can make - even while playing - I think it means there is a wide range of "good" in judging reeds.

I think this is unique to this instrument. I'm also thinking of P Sky's post some days ago where he discussed adjustments the player makes and how an excellent player will be out of tune at first when playing someone else's pipes.

I bet I'm judging my new reeds by how they compare with the one I'm used to playing.

Dave Jones

[AlanB]

I bet I'm judging my new reeds by how they compare with the one I'm used to playing.

That's exactly why I don't have a spare reed for my chanter, because I keep trying to get it like the one I'm happily playing, I have to need a reed to satisfy myself (pipingwise that is!!).

When I reed up someones chanter, I set it so,hopefully, it is stable in response and tone and volume as much as is possible with the given instrument. I am fastidious about my set being airtight, some are not so, so there's little I can do about judging the set up for the owners personal taste, unless they are present.

But.... if you have drones and regs., once you play the new reed, you will have to adjust all the reeds to get a good balance or suffer the consequences anyway.

Reeding up a chanter is a process that can require more than 1 reed to get it sorted, so success in constructing each individual reed is not really important. As long as the player is happy with their reed they get, I deem my work a success, otherwise *shrug*.

To follow on from Uillman, a reed is only as good as the chanter it's in.

p.s. what's with all the shark avatars??

[Joseph E. Smith]

p.s. what's with all the shark avatars??

Shark avatars? What shark avatars?

[patsky]

I don't really know my "success" rate. In terms of good looks and a well made reed I get 9 out of 10. That said, out of those 10 reeds I can expect 1 or 2 very good reeds...at this point it really depends on the cane. Cane is inconsistent under the best conditions. All reed makers have had the experience of making a reed out of a tube of cane that is just great only to have the others, out of the same tube, turn out poor.

All of this depends if you are making the reed to fit one specific chanter. Once you find the right reed then it is easy to copy. If on the other hand, you are reeding a strange chanter you might make 20 reeds and not get it right.

Years ago when I first started, I thought I knew everything about reeds and considered myself the worlds greatest reed maker. I was so confidant that I put out the word that I would guarantee to make a reed for $15.00. ..BIG MISTAKE! People would send me chanters that I would spend 2 days trying to get one reed to fit only to finally give up in frustration.

Your aim should be to make one great reed...then leave it alone. Liam O'Flynn's reed is over 50 years old.

All the best,
Pat Sky

[Lorenzo]

I keep wondering what people mean by "good." I think that may vary widely. Some pro reedmakers disgards may be another's pride and joy.

[Joseph E. Smith]

A good success rate, in my book is not necessarily meassured by the amount of good reeds one makes, but the amount of chanters that are well reeded.

Still, the amount of good reeds one makes can still be very high. I cannot stress enough how important it is to take the time to do it right, beginning with slip and staple preparation. I know of more than a few people who feel the need to rush through the process and as a result, the staple will not be correct enough, or the slip will be flawed or too thick/thin etc. etc. etc.

It is also important to remember that what may not work so hot in one chanter, may be an absolute beauty in another. I have run across this many times with the reeds I make, and as a result I never throw them away or recycle them too soon. You never know when somebody may just walk up, look at one, stick it in their chanter and it turns out to be a good match.

[Pipewort]

Good information to compare with, from some reputable reeders. I have made at least my first two hundred, and probably more.

The batch before last was one beaut and five duds. The next batch (still experimenting and rushed) was o/6. I got one good, 2 Ok's and 3 duffers in the last batch. But I learnt a lot and got the beaut back into playing condition. I make for need, and when the playing has gone stale for practice, and there is a long way to go.

Patrick Skyes info on Liam O'Flynn's reed was very interesting. I would be interested to know how long other peoples reeds last. To some extent it may depend on how often you play, of course. I play a lot - two hours and more a day. The reeds seem to give up between 6-12 months, with a few very gentle and as non-invasive tweeks in between.

JES - any chance of some photo's of your staples? It's an area I need to work on. Your reeds certainly do look good.

Pipewort

[Paul Reid]

I've never failed at making the finest reeds. In fact I've never made one!

[Joseph E. Smith]

JES - any chance of some photo's of your staples? It's an area I need to work on. Your reeds certainly do look good.

Pipewort

[myrddinemrys]

Now all you have to do is frame and matte it, put a nice brass label on it and give it a name and it will be art.

[goldy]

I think that the level of perfectionism will determine a reed maker's perceived 'success rate'. I make playable reeds with reasonable tuning about 80% of the time and get something with good tuning about 60% of the time. However, due to an endeavour to get the reeds playing outstandingly well with both good tuning, a mellow tone and easy playability, I have generally stuffed the reeds up, bringing the success rate down to 0%. I have since started learning when to stop with a reed and accept that my playing ability will have to make up for any reed inadequacies, which I hope will lead me to the success rate that Joseph experiences.

I once made what I beleived to be the "Perfect Reed". I declared that my reed making days were over and decided that the wire bridles, that many reed makers rave about, would help to maintain a nice shaped eye opening for longevity's sake. However, since I had never used a wire bridle before, I did not have the experience in making them a nice tight fit. Stupidly, in my utter glee with the perfect reed, I didn't think to have the sense to practice on an old reed and cracked the reed. I now know how good a reed is possible and will probably be striving to recreate this for the rest of my life. I'll wipe my brow and keep pushing through.

[Brazenkane]

yes Seth sez 1 in 4 and Reed guru Michael O'Donovan reports about the same. If you're making reeds for Paddy Moloney, Jerry O'Sullivan Eric Riegler, and especially that pain in the bum Kynch O'Kaine etc. then the standards are going to be slightly different then
"hey..this one plays pretty good!"

[simonknight]

I'd be interested know people's wastage rate. How many slips get messed up / crack to produce 10 working reeds. I seem to have good and bad patches: sometimes I make a batch and have no problems, other times I have a few crack at various stages in the process. I also reject some if I notice flaws in the cane after I've gouged it.

[Joseph E. Smith]

JES - any chance of some photo's of your staples? It's an area I need to work on. Your reeds certainly do look good.

Pipewort

These are three examples of my staples: the copper one is a rolled concert, next to it is a concert (not rolled), and next to that is a flat (not rolled).

[Pipewort]

JES

Thanks a mil for the photos. Very interesting. Mine are not uniform as are yours, but that is getting better.

As you mentioned to someone else on this thread, "take loads of measurements and record them". I have been doing this for a while, and it is that that has got my reeds 'playing'. I now know what I have done, and can (try to) repeat it, as well as improve on it when things have worked.

Pipewort