Hi, it has been raining the past few days where I lived, and it has cooled down alot. My chanter is playing about 27 cents flat of standard C#, and the high D is nicely in tune for once, it has always been playing quite flat. I is also much more responsive to the alternate fingerings I am using. Here in Alberta summers are really hot, and my chanter would play up to 4 cents above C#!!! It sound much MUCH better when it is flatter from the cool air.
So I am curious, do pipes usually play best in cool damp weather?
Not always!! I owned superb concert chanter by top maker and that particular reed/chanter loved very high temperature & humidity. It was OK also in cool and dry weather, but the sound, tuning & harmonics improved dramaticaly when it was so hot and humid, that I had to put down many …
Well mybe it was all about that I didn’t dare to adjust or scrape the reed… I recomend to learn reed making and adjusting to have full control. Best, AA
Maybe it does depends on the chanter or reed.. I find the harmonics and tonal colour that flat sets are known for, is more prominent, and the tuning if much better (No flat back D!). The chanter is quite a bit flatter too, which I prefer it like that. And I have never touched my reed..
I’m with myrddinemrys on this: the climate/weather conditions a reed is made in probably have a big impact on how it behaves.
I recently sent Bill Haneman my C# 3/8 set (no bass drone ) for fixing-up and re-reeding, and when it I unpacked it afterwards it played perfectly without any tweaking of any of the new reeds. A couple of months later, it’s still the most reliable of my three half-sets.
I had heard many times that reeds never behave the same after crossing the pond, but summer is the one time of year St. Paul is as humid as Dublin, so I suspect the new reeds found their new home to be familiar and comfortable (albeit hotter). I’ll be interested to see how happy they remain after the air begins drying out, towards the end of autumn. Full-scale revolt may ensue.
) for fixing-up and re-reeding, and when it I unpacked it afterwards it played perfectly without any tweaking of any of the new reeds. A couple of months later, it’s still the most reliable of my three half-sets.