drone reed advice?

Uilleann Pipes
1

I have new drones. Great sound and everything but they want to play at a higher pressure than my chanter. Certain notes on the chanter can’t be played in tune at the pressure that the drone reeds want. When the note is played in tune, the tenor and baritone drones tend to break.

Does anyone have a way of coaxing the drone reeds into operating at a lower pressure? I don’t want to change my chanter.

Thanks

2

Now comes the fun of getting them balanced and stable!

You didn’t mention the reed construction, but here is some generalities:

More open, more air needed

To close a drone reed:

  1. Move bridle so that tongue is shortened. The tongue will close some. (will sharpen pitch as well)
  2. Close reed down by holding tongue down and heating the tongue (I use an alcohol lamp to avoid smoke). This also tends to sharpen reed.

The reed needs to be open enough so it doesn’t cut out at playing pressure.

To stabilize:
If drone rises with an increase of pressure, the reed needs to be adjusted to play sharper. First, try adjusting the bridle to close reed or push reed further into the reed seat. As a last resort, thin the end of the tongue away from the bridle.

If pitch drops with an increase of pressure, the reed needs to be adjusted to play flatter. Adjust bridle or weigh the end of the tongue with wax/poster putty. As a last resort, thin the end of the tongue next to the bridle.

3

as a general rule , a piece of bees wax will tend to make the drone stay open , and to scrape the drone tounge , at the base will make it play flatter , and scraping will make it stop more and be less strong . Somewhere in that is a happy medium , where the drones play steady , with varying pressure .
I have been in the situation , where I could not get my pipes balanced at all , and where sometimes it must be realized , or accepted , which ever is nore fun , for you , :slight_smile: , that there is somthing WRONG , with either the pipes , or the part that you are trying to make better . " more better " . Then you have to cut your losses , and get a new pipe part that works the way it needs to . :smiley:

4

I know it may sound ridiculous, but make sure your bag and all fittings are airtight. These problems sneak up on us and cause vexation and are usually the last looked at.
Marc

5

Take some poster putty and block the outlets of the drones. Close off the chanter stock and pump the bag up, turn on the drones and see if there is any air escaping anywhere. Sometimes the air switch leaks.

Were the drones fitted with the chanter or were they delivered seperately? This could be why they are not balanced. If your pipemaker (or any good pipemaker) is acessable, take the whole lot to them and have them balance it and let you watch and show you how to adjust the reeds etc. If you don’t have much experience with the pipes and adjusting reeds etc, it is best to have someone experienced show you and walk you through it all.

It is possible that the reeds leak, often happens with drone reeds. If the leak is too bad you may need different drone reeds.

I would definately not recomend doing any permanent alterations to your reeds, especially if you are not experienced at it. In my experience, if the reeds are working, it is possible to make adjustments to operating pressure withour changing the reed (removing material). Once you start scraping away you cant go back.

Go slowly and gently, take it handy and keep it country

6

Spot on, Marc. Always check airtightness before messing with reeds. You’ll save yourself hours of aggravation sometimes by just making sure everything is airtight.