Drones: Tune up or tune down?

[PJ]

I've had some fun tuning my D drones up a semi-tone to play along with my Bb chanter.

I've also tuned my C drones down a semi-tone to accompany my Bnat chanter.

In both cases, the tenor and bari drones could be retuned just by moving the slide - didn't need to mess with the reeds. Also, I couldn't retune the bass drones without messing with the reeds, so I just blocked them off with blu tac.

I get the feeling that drones which are tuned up are more stable than drones tuned down. Any thoughts on why this should be so?

[geoff wooff]

I've had some fun tuning my D drones up a semi-tone to play along with my Bb chanter.

I've also tuned my C drones down a semi-tone to accompany my Bnat chanter.

In both cases, the tenor and bari drones could be retuned just by moving the slide - didn't need to mess with the reeds. Also, I couldn't retune the bass drones without messing with the reeds, so I just blocked them off with blu tac.

I get the feeling that drones which are tuned up are more stable than drones tuned down. Any thoughts on why this should be so?

I feel that UP drones are over long for the pitch they are intended to play and that this was done on purpose to provide more stability on a bagpipe who's chanter requires varying pressures. Thus if you slide your drones in to raise up a semitone then the already long tube for its pitch will provide even more stability. The opposite case will prevail when moving in the opposite direction.

I find that drones work best in specific positions.... Tennors are happiest when 7/8ths of the way IN.... and Basses like to be 2/3rds of the way OUT.

Your results may differ.

Geoff.

[Calum]

There is also the simple point that a closed slide is mechanically stiffer, so less scope for wobbling around there.

[pancelticpiper]

my bass has 3 or 4 different joints which are made to work more or less like tuning slides, so that the length can be varied quite a bit.

I could, and do, use various ones to tune the drone. I haven't experimented to see which arrangement gives the best tone and stability.

[tommykleen]

My particular kink these days is to play B drones tuned down to A along with A-ish tunes on my D chanter.

I once heard a very great piper tune his tenor to C and play his baritone in D along with the air Arde Cuan. It was one of the most haunting experiences in a genre that is already pretty well haunted.

[billh]

I have often observed that as the drone slide is extended, the 'chamber' formed by the gap between the end of the tenon and the bottom of the socket gets bigger. I am not sure that this chamber is inherently a good thing; maybe it is, in moderation, but it seems to me that drones are generally more stable if the slides are not extended to an extreme degree. Perhaps this is the reason: an overly large 'chamber' moves the bore farther from any sort of 'ideal' stepwise cone. This may also be an argument in favor of using timber-lined drone slides in the traditional manner, as opposed to drawn metal tubing being used as the slide; the metal tubing, if the external visual proportions are maintained, results in a larger chamber.

[Calum]

Without doubt there is an optimal chamber size and shape for a given pitch; the question of exactly what the shape should be is a bit of a vexed one and the reed also has an effect. For example, with my GHB drones I end up setting the slides at different heights for the same pitch with different reeds.

[Mark Donohoe]

There is also the chance that if the wrapping on the tenon is not perfect and with less wrapping to form a seal as the drone is extended a small air leak can cause instability.

Mark

[PJ]

Interesting what Geoff mentions about "Tennors are happiest when 7/8ths of the way IN.... and Basses like to be 2/3rds of the way OUT".

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried making a set of drones which are mid-way between, say B and C, so that it could be tuned up/down to play in both pitches?

I suspect the first answer will be that such a set of drones would sound equally terrible in both pitches.

[Ted]

SSP drones commonly produce a full step in each drone. A drone made for G and A requires a reed that tunes mid-slide to Ab so both notes can be produced. A friend got a new CP uilleann pipe that had an A drone but it was not designed as an A-G drone. I made a reed for it that tuned it to A with the slide almost closed and it played G with one thread from the slide wrap showing. If the pin is long enough, a full step is possible but the reed must fit both notes. Of course, it is easier to reed a drone for one note than two, but it may be possible depending on the drone's design.

[Mark Donohoe]

If you were keen to bring a drone down in pitch you could experiment with rushes in the bore.

Mark

[Caspermilktoast]

I built a set of drones in C based on the Kenna pipes from SRS. The tenor and baritone can easily be tuned to play both C and B. I have to adjust the reed on the bass drone to get it to play B, but its not a big deal. The drones are very stable and sound great in both keys. I also made an A drone to go along with it.