A reed for all seasons

Leech · Post by **Leech** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:55 pm

.....Well not really. I guess I should have titled this a different reed for all seasons. While tweaking a reed I made this past winter, I thought I might try making reeds during cold/dry and some others during the hot/humid summer, then using these reeds for their designated times of the year. My hypothesis is that the reeds made during a specific humidity level may behave better during that time. Has anyone tried this? Does it make a difference?
-Leech-

Mike Hulme · Post by **Mike Hulme** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:42 pm

That is definitely the case. Every year I go to St Chartier festival in the middle of France. The temperature gets very high and the humidity is very low. The first year I went I took my pipes with the reed that had been working perfectly back in England, no tuning problems or other issues. At around 9 a.m. the temperature was up to 80 and the reed was working, but as soon as it got any higher than that it closed up. This was a problem for anyone who had brought pipes from another area. In fact the only people who did not have trouble with reeds were the gaita players!

Chris Bayley was finishing off a batch of reeds, and commented that he always made reeds for the climate he would be playing the pipes in, and had brought reeds for his own set that he had made in previous years. One of his summer reeds worked perfectly in my pipes and continues to do so. The corollary to this is that this reed does not like our English climate and will not perform in damp weather. I have found that elder reeds seem to be less susceptible to temperature/humidity changes; this was pointed out by Brendan Ring some time ago, but such reeds are not an option for a lot of people. So you do need a separate reed for each season. Ideally you make your own.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:17 am

Yes, in my short experience, reeds made for a specific climate work best in said climate.

CHasR · Post by **CHasR** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 6:39 am

Finding a pipe / reed maker close to where you live helps a lot.
You know what summers like round here...(add water, bake, add water, bake)

SEAGULL · Post by **SEAGULL** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 3:26 pm

This is my experience. Basically i had a penny chanter made for me in the summer months. When winter hit, it got ugly. I was having real problems with it. Around that time i was able to purchase a Britton set and have it re-reeded in the winter. The Britton chanter plays like a dream during cold dry weather, and now that it is summer again I have switched back to the penny chanter. It bums me out the go from my britton chanter, back to my penny chanter, but hey...there is nothing more frustrating than playing pipes that are severely unpredictable.

meemtp · Post by **meemtp** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 4:41 pm

Heh...how about a reed made in the New England spring? We run the gamut from wet, to cold and dry, to warm and dry. Sometimes in the same week! I'm waiting to see how my reeds made a couple months ago work out...

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 6:52 pm

SEAGULL wrote:The Britton chanter plays like a dream during cold dry weather, and now that it is summer again I have switched back to the penny chanter.

While playing your penny chanter this summer, send your Britton chanter off for some 'summer reeding' so you can play the Britton chanter year round.