I got a patkos b chanter for Christmas. The reed that was provided plays very well in tune but its a bit hard to blow for my tastes and there is no hard d. So i am off on a quest to make the ideal reed for it. All my attempts have resulted in very quiet reeds. Richard suggests a reed that is 10.5 to 11mm wide. However his is 11.8mm. Most of the stuff i have read suggests reeds in the 10-11mm are appropriate for flat sets. But another reedmaking friend of mine is having luck with 12mm reeds on a b set from another maker. This all set me to wondering how does reed width affect pitch, tone, loudness?
With reedmaking, taking something in isolation and expecting it to conclusively alter the reed in a certain way it not how it works. In certain ways you have to think of the reed as a whole,to get a reed to perform the way you want it may take a few different alterations form one that works in a different way.
RORY