the israeli experience of my chanter...

[nadav]

today, the humidity here dropped to less than 20%, and the reeds have lost it!
i dont blame them to much though- i would have done the same thing if i could...
the chanter is out of tune so badly, that the only way to know which note i'm playing is to look at my fingers!

maybe i'll do that whiskey trick (dont worry - on me, not on the reed!), probably it will sound better!

cheers!

[Joseph E. Smith]

today, the humidity here dropped to less than 20%, and the reeds have lost it!
i dont blame them to much though- i would have done the same thing if i could...
the chanter is out of tune so badly, that the only way to know which note i'm playing is to look at my fingers!

maybe i'll do that whiskey trick (dont worry - on me, not on the reed!), probably it will sound better!

cheers!

Yes, desert-like climates tend to have that affect on reeds. My advice would be to learn the dark art of reedmaking, it is a worthwhile venture.

[PJ]

You can also try a humidifier or, a good trick I've heard of, keep half an apple in your pipecase.

[nadav]

that's a good advice, but first i want to master the art of "not annoying your neighbours and friends by playing an instrument that sound like a dead goose being violated by a mime"...

[sturob]

I don't think humidifying the case in the desert will help with anything but perhaps giving you some kind of buffer for the timber. Any time you play, you're going to be forcing low-humidity air through the bellows into the pipes. Any retained moisture will just flit away.

Probably JES's advice is the best . . . you may have to learn to make reeds in the desert for them to play in the desert.

Stuart

[Joseph E. Smith]

Probably JES's advice is the best . . . you may have to learn to make reeds in the desert for them to play in the desert.

Stuart

Or, you could fly a reedmaker in and have them make a batch for you. I've never been to Israel, but I have always wanted to visit there someday.

[djm]

You might want to get rid of that big red X tattoo on your butt before flying over.

djm

[BzzzzT]

I am also a desert piper. When I started there was almost no one around in my vicinity. I had to learn to make reeds out of pure necessity while learning to to read music, play, stay in tune, and figure what a properly set up chanter "felt" like. I did get some truly selfless and priceless info from some very generous pipers that helped me move on, and my reedmaking skills are still progressing. Being isolated and in the desert with the pipes is definitely a challenge most pipers do not have to face with an already complex instrument. It truly takes some work under these conditions.

PM me if you need some reeds and I will try to make some reeds for your chanter and drones when I get some freetime. My climate is very similar to yours.

- Jason

[nadav]

humidty is back to normal, thank god, and is now more then 40%...
The area I live in is not a desert though, but the summer is coming, and it's gonna get warm... much wormer than england, where the set has been built.

and JES, you are always welcome to come, and if you can't afford it, well... hitch-hike. i'll put in a falafel to make this trip worth-while!

[Joseph E. Smith]

and JES, you are always welcome to come, and if you can't afford it, well... hitch-hike. i'll put in a falafel to make this trip worth-while!

I'm not above hitch hiking, but I am weary of being picked up by a massive Bull Shark or Rutger Hauer or both.

[onearmfrog]

Well hello hello Nadav!

I thought I knew all the desert players around here!
I'm also having horrible humidity problems, the only thing I can
do is just put the set aside and relax..

We're slowly forming an "Uilleann Piper's Union" here
so it would be great if you'd like to join!
onearmfrog@gmail.com

[eran]

wow, it surely is surprising...

now i can think of ,ummm........

8 pipers in israel. or maybe 8 people with pipes

let the world know!

cheers.

[Joseph E. Smith]

I confess there seems to be more of you guys than I first thought. Y'all ought to form a club and throw a tionol.

onearmfrog, contact me.

[nadav]

Well.. tried to follow the dark lord advice (altough he dont look so dark, and he goes by the name Joe - worth checking about the dark thing!) and tried to make some reeds from what Chris Bayley thought me. I've been drying some cane for 2 months now, and this one was pre-dried.

Israeli cane sucks.

well.. at least from where i've picked it. it has a hugh fibers. even with the softest sanding paper i couldn't get a fair result.
I have few cane slips that Chris gave me, and they look really diffrent from what I've tried to work with

3 reeds and about 8 hours thrown to the garbage. didn't passed the sanding\scraping stage.

I was afraid to waste the 2 slips Chris gave me, so I tried to work with a local cane and practice on them.

but for the good side of all of this - I Cut my self only once!

[onearmfrog]

I had a feeling our canes are weak. Oh well, go Europe!/USA!/any other continent or country that has better canes!