hi all;
just recevied my mvd practice set i bought second hande,seems that the reed may need adjusted as it is difficult to get a good flow of air, i hear various things from move the bridle up n down to open & close it by pinching the sides of the bridle, what i am getting is also very quiet, the bag seems dry, the wife suggested saddle soap !!! some advice would be great, i hav an electronic tuner so this can help when i hit the right notes, so
1- air flow poor through the chanter
2 - reed adjustment the right way
3 - bag maintenance to soften it up
this practice set sownds dead in comparrison to me wilkinson mccarthy set n tony hebdon chanter, my tony hebdon chanter plays fine n loud, so i know its the reed but dont want to knacker it.
Hi Albert
I suggest you contact Marc
like Rick wrote before:Any potential buyer feel free to contact Marc if you find any problems with the practise set.
Obviously there’s no real warranty left but since it IS a van Daal set he’d be happy to assist in times of trouble.
In other words, he rather gets it playing for free (if it doesn’t) than have someone else maim it for money
Hi Albert - opening and closing the bridle, moving it up and down the reed, etc, are all necessary experiments. There are of course 2 end points, one being satisfaction and the other total frustration and possibel destruction of an otherwise working reed.
for bag seasoning you can mix beeswax and neatsfoot oil (plus 1% rosin)so that its slightly solid at room temperature - not too solid or it’ll gum up the works.
As Carel sayes: Contact Marc and let him give your set a"upgrade". My fullset from Marc have now “been living for 3 years” without any problems.
A little reminder. If you want to seasoning the bag. You have to know what kind of sesoningmix there have been used. AND DONT USE LATEX FLUIDUM in a bag which have been seasoning in the traditionel way, with beewax , neatsfoot oil and so. Then the trouble begins .
Do NEVER EVER move the bridle up or down on one of Marcs reeds cause you’ll wreck it.
They are fixed bridles, only open or close the reed a bit by gently sqeezing the bridle, on the flat side to close it and on the narrow side to open it, with a pair of needlenose pliers.
Also, a little sqeezing goes a long way.