Partly due to a back/shoulder injury, I have a llimited range of motion. I find the traditional (straight) bass regulator bar extending over the forearm restrictive as it pushes the regulators away when I’m actually trying to reach them.
Gallagher makes a folded back reedcap for the bass regulator that has a bend of 180 degrees. Childress (special order) does this design too. This appears to make the drones and regulators sit a bit flatter on the lap and possibly need less wrestling to play.
Comments?
Who has (or has tried) this style of regulator?
Pros or cons about it?
I’ve owned both. The bass bar isin’t really a problem, you get used to it. Pat D’Arcy wrote about the benefits of having the stock tapered - there’s more room for your left arm as a result. Tying the stock closer to the edge will help a bit too.
Some think the bass bar helps to manipulate the pipes, too. Certainly the greatest regulator players I’ve heard all used the straight bass bar model.
Tying a shoulder strap around the straight bass bar will push the pipes away from you a bit. Look at the back of Jimmy O’Brian-Moran’s CD. You can see the cord wrapped around the bass bar.
**Disclaimer–My regulator playing is still in the embyronic stage, so take my comments cum grano salis **
I have a “folded” bass regulator on my (Gallagher) concert D set. It’s very convenient, as no assembly/disassembly is required when taking out/packing up the pipes. I don’t have any trouble reaching all the keys.
I have a “bass bar” on my Hunter/Angus B set; I do find myself using the bass bar w/strap to help manipulate the longer “keyboard” of the B set.
Depends on the piper, I suppose. Either way will work if set up properly. Jerry O’Sullivan is an excellent regulators player whose main instrument, a Johnny Burke D set w/Gallagher chanter, has a bass reg with a Taylor bend. Didn’t Patsy Touhy’s set have the folded bar, too?
Tony, when he refers to tapered mainstock it simply means the stock itself is wider at the base (bag end) than at the top (drone end). Since the bass reg is mounted on the exterior of the stock it would give the reg an angle …which would put the tenor and bari parrallel while the bass tended to aim towards the end of the bari reg slightly. Your Wooff narrow bore set has a tapered mainstock.
Personally I prefer the aesthetic looks and comfort of the straight bass reg. I feel it gives a more “balanced” look and feels more comfortable. But, it’s really six of one and half dozen of the other…personal tastes really.
I just love these discussions…
Davey, I know the Wooff stock is tapered… as well as the holes drilled intentionally off center to bring drones and regs into alignment. I think my Simack set has a straight stock and the bass regulator bar is intentionally tipped to essentally acheive the same thing with less work (His deluxe sets feature a tapered stock) What I notice most is the bass drone on that set is closer to me and you can adjust it so the regulators can tilt slightly forward.
I’m still in ‘wrestle mode’ trying to figure out what I like best.
I’m not sure the Taylors invented the folded bass reg bar, but they were fond of them: the folded bass reg bar is a characteristic feature of most Taylor and Taylor-style sets, along with the sheet metal keys, popping valves, and innovative designs. I think they made them occasionally with the traditional (straight) bass bar, too. I picked the term up from Seth Gallagher’s site, he makes a lot full sets with the folded bass reg bar. “Taylor bend” is about as descriptive to me as “folded bass reg bar” once after seeing several Taylor or Taylor-style instruments up close.
I would love to have a Taylor bend on my set. I have a straight extension and with all the strapping, lifting, twisting and torquing I am still unable to get at the bottom of my tenor and bari regs. I do not know if Rogge (who made my pipes) has ever made a double-back-style bass reg.
The Taylors almost always made the bent bass regulator bar, yes. There are three sets on the American West coast which have straight bars, though, all originally made for pipers living in the San Francisco area. Perhaps some kind of local fad? Mickey Zekley’s set also appears to have a straight bass drone, which I’ve never seen on any other Taylor set. The Taylors dispensed with the detachable bass bar, since the folded style didn’t require detaching. Rowsome unfortunately copied this feature for his own pipes, which is still being emulated today. Talk about removing the bass bar or removing the keyed section being inconvenient is pretty amusing. I haven’t timed myself, I think my average for getting the thing off is about 4 seconds. What an imposistion!
I know of at least one set from Andreas’ workshop with that feature (Tom Aebi’s set - he might have built it himself). But I am sure, Andreas does it, if asked.
Oh,it’s Herr Müller-Lüdenscheid and Doctor Klöbner, making acquaintance with each other in a hotel bathtub. A German comic classic from the 70’s. Ask Bloomfield. He knows.