When making a reed for dry weather,

daveboling · Post by **daveboling** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:17 am

which dimensions do you vary? Do you increase/decrease the thickness at the lips, shape of the aperture...?

dave boling

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:08 am

No, keep your usual dimensions. Make sure to allow time for the reed to settle at each step.

The differences only really come out when you do the final sand/scrape. They have more to do with how the reed is reacting to the dryness than changes to your regular dimensions - at least, that is my experience.

Make a good, hard reed and play it into submission. My best reed was done this way and has lasted for four years, now.

djm

waymer · Post by **waymer** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:45 am

I live in the San Joaquin Valley in Central CA where the average annual rain fall is about 10 inches so ttechnically it is a desert. and I must agree with DJM
In addition to his comments I would add that the best way to make a reed that will play in dry conditions is to make the reed some where that has very low humidity.

Good luck and keep making them. I just read in an other thread that it took three weeks to make 30 OK reeds only one of which was great and that was in the arid wastelands of Waterford

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:44 am

djm wrote:
Make a good, hard reed and play it into submission. My best reed was done this way and has lasted for four years, now.

djm

Agreed, but don't make it too hard, that could lead to personal injury. You may also want keep the slip a tiny bit thicker than what is otherwise normal. As djm pointed out, sand it down to where it plays nicely, if a tad stiff, and then play it into submission.

Now is a good time to experiment, experiment, experiment.

Good luck!

pancelticpiper · Post by **pancelticpiper** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:17 am

My reed (which I've been playing since the early 80's) seems impervious to our dryness here. A couple reedmakers who have examined it think that it is made out of California cane. They said that California cane is better for dry climates than Spanish cane because it is more flexible and that, for the same performance, is left thicker, making it more resistant to changes in humidity. Our humidity can go from 70% to 10% in a few minutes when the dreaded "Santa Ana" winds kick up.
I don't know if this theory is correct (that thicker blades are more stable) but it's what I was told by two very experienced reedmakers. So you may want to try using California cane.

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:23 pm

Myself and a few other pipers know all too well about playing in dry climates... Especially my shoulders... And I wouldn't say it's impossible, just a different challenge is all.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:48 am

pancelticpiper wrote: I don't know if this theory is correct (that thicker blades are more stable) but it's what I was told by two very experienced reedmakers. So you may want to try using California cane.

Softer cane does seem to negate the effect of a dry climate better than harder cane. Although, IMHO, hard cane (and not all California cane is soft, just the stuff Ted Anderson knows how to find) can be used for making reeds used in dryer climates, but it may require thinner slips or thinner scrapes tp achieve the desired effect.

In my personal experience, I have found a softer cane works best (for me) when making reeds for arid playing conditions... but that's not to say hard cane will not work. YMMV.

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 10:53 pm

Aha, I've been pondering this very question, as I think I need to get an extra reed or two and don't have the will/ability to make my own yet (I'm still wrestling with the second octave!).

So, do people have "summer" and "winter" reeds? (Humidity's about 65% in the summer and 30% in the winter here; worse when the woodburning stove's at work)

billh · Post by **billh** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:39 am

I used to have summer and winter reeds when I lived in North Carolina.

Humidity changes are still a concern here in Ireland, where indoors you can encounter anything from about 40% to 80% (the lower figure being due to central heating). My experience has been that a damp weather reed can usually be made to play well in drier weather, by additional thinning/scraping, but that when damp weather returns the back d may go unacceptably flat and/or tone may suffer, requiring a slight trim, and there are only so many such cycles that a reed can survive. I think the details of what works best may depend on the reed construction and reedmaking techniques; IMO a harder or thicker reed doesn't work "better" in dry conditions but it may be possible to make it play by brute force, not my idea of fun. If you want a reed to play with your "normal" range of pressure in dry weather, at the same 'elevation', then I think you have to thin it.

Some really nice reeds seem to work well in a reasonable range of conditions, by a combination of slightly opening and closing the reed to change the elevation, maintaining a similar playing pressure over the seasons. Great when it works! In Ireland and much of Northern Europe I think this may be achievable, but perhaps not in parts of North America.

There may be some truth to the idea that softer cane works responds better to the thinning of the blades required to maintain compliant blades in dry conditions, but I am undecided about that, other than the fact that softer can is more pleasant to work with in general.

Bill

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:56 am

Thank you! My flutes definitely respond to humidity; in particular my two from Ireland get very happy on rainy/high humidity days. In the few weeks I've had my practice set, I've already noticed a difference in my chanter reed as well -- it seems to require more effort and produces a more "brittle" tone when the humidity's down.

Again, thanks for the insight!

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:59 am

When making a reed for dry weather

Have it made in dry weather.

PD.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 8:25 am

Patrick D'Arcy wrote:
When making a reed for dry weather
Have it made in dry weather.

PD.

Utterly profound there Padre'...

tomk · Post by **tomk** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 3:01 pm

I have been using a VERY small amount of almond oil applied to the base of the reed and then allowing the oil to travel up the blades via cappilary action , and the result seems to be that the reed will open up . then it makes sense that it will be better in dry air . It took a while to get past the Idea of using oil on a reed but , it is better than sitting there stareing at a totally closed otherwise perfect reed and getting nothing . Should be no schortages of almond oil in california ,, lol .tom

djm · Post by **djm** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:54 pm

There's nothing new to the idea of soaking the reed in oil. Some people on this forum have been using neatsfoot oil for many years. The trouble is trying to catch enough neats to do the job ...

djm

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:29 pm

djm wrote:There's nothing new to the idea of soaking the reed in oil. Some people on this forum have been using neatsfoot oil for many years. The trouble is trying to catch enough neats to do the job ...

djm

And soaking to get the oil out of the feet as well