Forsythia Drone Reeds

[Lorenzo]

Of all the types of material I've tried so far (besides cane) I've come to the conclusion that forsythia works best. I liked the sound of elder--it was a little brighter and reedier than forsythia, but harder to make. Forsythia has lots of advantages over other types of twigs (elder, syringa, snowberry, lilac, etc.) and as for disadvantages, there ain't none. It's quick and easy and can be done with just a razorblade. No drilling, cleaning, plugging, waxing, bridles, angle cutting the tongue, etc., necessary, just cut, scrape, and blow. Takes less than 5 minutes after you get the hang of it and learn how to choose the right density and age of dead stalks in the bushes. If you can collapse a branch between your fingers, throw it away and find a firmer one. For those curious, I posted video of the simple process with a complete description of how it's done under the picture. It's pretty self-explanatory though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCmhPKAo ... e=youtu.be

[Ceann Cromtha]

Thank you for posting that like to your video. That is very informative!

[geoff wooff]

Wonderfull, Lorenzo !

I asked my wife where I might find a Forsythia bush... she said "it's that thing over there that flowers yellow in Springtime"... not a dozen feet from the kitchen door....

I'll give it a try, though I did not find many dead Stalks that were not maturated... so I guess I'll have to cut the Live ones and wait a bit.

Many thanks

Geoff.

[learnthegrip]

Nice video! I have two forsythias that have been very badly pruned by previous owner of my house. Planning some major restorative pruning this spring so I should have a lot of stalks to play with.

[Lorenzo]

Glad you all enjoyed the video. I was getting to the point where each one I made worked about the same, so decided to record it. Not much stuff like this available on the net. I've made all 3 sizes, but too bad I don't own a set of pipes anymore so I can hear how they really sound! I sold my set to a friend who was drooling for a flat set.

I was lucky I had a couple forsythia bushes in the back to experiment with. After making a couple good reeds, I decided to call an old lady friend, who never trims anything in her yard, and sure enough she had a HUGE bush...probably 16' long x 8' wide x 10' tall. I brought home just a few of the dead stalks (about 50 of them 4' long) and a bunch of green stuff to dry. Call around, you might find friends with a bush that needs pruned. Some of the stalks were grey colored and almost too hard for a limber tongue, but I thinned one down at the base and got it working as a bass drone.

[Ted]

Good to hear forsythia works well. I never got around to trying it. However, cane is still my favorite to work with.

[Pipewort]

Well, thank you.

Have two bushes at the bottom of my garden. Tried making one this afternoon - success, straight off the bush. For fear of lacerations, the second cut on the tongue looked looked like a crocodiles mouth. The guill still sang like a beauty.

Elder has been a great deal trickyer. PROGRESS

Thanks indeed.

Pwrt

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

Any chance of you making it up to Seattle next month for the tionol, Larry? I'd love to see some of these various twigs, and hear that auld McFadden again, too.

I always had my eye on Butterfly bush too - seem to remember it mostly falling apart, though. That, and the whole square cross section problem. It sure is in every backyard though, and a dullard like me can identify it no problem. Always thought it might leave your pipes smelling great as well.

[Lorenzo]

Any chance of you making it up to Seattle next month for the tionol, Larry? I'd love to see some of these various twigs, and hear that auld McFadden again, too.

Possibility, I may have a scheduling conflict the 15th. If not, maybe we can rendezvous up the gorge sometime. I sold my Rogge C pipes to a friend. I decided that if I couldn't have a set that sounded as good as a Wooff set, I'd rather do without. Not satisfied with medium to wide bore tones. Need that extra-worldly NYAH tone. The old McFadden set went back home to Belfast several years ago, like maybe 10? Brian Vallely told me all about his connection with Frank back in the good old days and said he'd never seen a full set, and talked me into sending them back. That chanter, once BK got the right staple and reed, was a fine chanter. BK liked it so much he said it deserved measuring (it was originally a small bore enlarged by DQ...at the advice of DB).

I always had my eye on Butterfly bush too - seem to remember it mostly falling apart, though. That, and the whole square cross section problem. It sure is in every backyard though, and a dullard like me can identify it no problem. Always thought it might leave your pipes smelling great as well.

Not familiar with The Butterfly (bush). Water hemlock is still my favorite though, and I've kinda lost my fear of it's toxic properties. Dried, it loses just about all of it's neg substance. It has some unique qualities...both the buzz and it's stability. Not sure if it would hold up to chanter reed pressure though, but I can dream of a flat full set of pipes that plays so easy with these reeds, they'd probably only take 1/2 the air in a drier climate as regular Cal cane reeds. Imagine the octave jump would be fun to control, but I'd really like to try setting that system up just to see how it worked.

Maybe I'll post a video of 4 or 5 different kinds of material, for comparison, and see if anyone can appreciate the subtle differences. Forsythia is the only one I found to be quick to make. The amount of time it would take to video making one from elder, hemlock, even snowberry or syringa would probably run 20-30 minutes...not worth the data usage probably. Making them, the process is basically alike for all, so it's the final result that really matters anyway, and hearing them all against each other would be interesting...both drawing air through them, or setting them in a tube, a hollow chamber, to see how they resonate.

Like you say, there are probably many species of plants having stems that would work for drone reeds. It would just be a matter of which sound best, which are readily available, how hard they are to make, and how long they last in varying climates.

[Lorenzo]

Well, thank you.

Have two bushes at the bottom of my garden. Tried making one this afternoon - success, straight off the bush. For fear of lacerations, the second cut on the tongue looked looked like a crocodiles mouth. The guill still sang like a beauty.

Elder has been a great deal trickyer. PROGRESS

Thanks indeed.

Pwrt

Cool Beans! You're welcome.

[Lorenzo]

...cane is still my favorite to work with.

Mine too, actually. But for scroungers, it's nice to know some good alternatives.

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

Ah, well I'll keep an eye peeled next month then. Like the quiet pipes, eh? You should hear my set, they really rumble in person: Two Reels on the Irish bagpipes - The Salamanca, Johnny Gorman - YouTube Don't know what's up with that recording, too, uh, "purple" sounding audio? The tone isn't what I hear myself. Bass reg is far too loud too. Recording voodoo! You can tell they have a sound, at least. Built in Vancouver WA too, excepting the bag which I cranked out on my own.

Seem to recall that you had a Fremont set?

[Lorenzo]

Your low pitched Angus pipes sound good, Kevin. Good articulation on a not-so-easy tune to play too. What kind of reeds are you using? California cane? Elder?

I was listening to samples of Preshaw pipes on his website, and his B and/or Bb chanters also have "the sound" you look for. I've heard he uses a straight conical bore. Does Brad use a phrenologically complex design when drilling/finishing the bore?

Fremont? You've been living in PDX too long! Froment. Yes, the 5/4 B set. They're up in Seattle now. I like to try them all out for a couple of years and then hopefully end up with the right one. I think I've gone through 6 or 8 sets. Regrettably, I did resell the right one, but I didn't have a good comparative value at the time. No excuse, I know.

[ennischanter]

"purple" sounding audio?

My synesthesia smells coffee.

Very nice sounding. I would love to get a set of angus pipes someday...


Listening to it puts me in that picture.

[mike delta]

Hi Guys,
I had never heard of Forsythia but a web search shows that it is quite common here in the UK. All I got to do now is locate it.
It is used for a variety of things here as well as for hedging.

[Edited to remove medical content citing Forsythia as treatment for a wide array of specific ills, some very serious indeed; please refer to #10 in the C&F Consolidated Concordat on Policy (the so-called CCCP). It's in Announcements, and at the top of every forum page. - Mod]

Looks like a multi talented plant to me
Mike Delta