I sort of mentioned this in another thread somewhere (I tend to do that), but I was wondering if anyone knew anything about how one might adjust drone reeds to sound as deep and powerful and full as, say, Jerry O’Sullivan’s old Bourkes (The Invasion) or Cillian Vallely’s Froments - those 2 drone sounds stick out in my head, ear and humble opinion as the most beautiful drone sounds I’ve heard. That sound just does something (positive) to me as soon as those guys switch 'em on in tunes. For example, on The Wounded Hussar track as well as on The Kitchen Maids on the most recent Lunasa album (if anyone’s heard it & knows what I’m talking about), that drone sound just pierces through in glory without sounding too crass or growly, even with the C chanter! They’re perfectly in tune with themselves, perfectly steady, supportive of and in tune with both chanters he uses and contribute beautifully to the band itself’s sound. In short, THAT’S the kind of drone sound I want. Is it all in the reeds, or do I have to get Froment drones? Anyone know what kind of reeds he uses? I would imagine they might be synthetic of some sort, as Cillian travels a lot.
You should hear Vallely’s drones live. Really grabs you. I think it is the effects of what science-types call infrasound: a sound that really lies below our hearing range. Yet we ‘feel’ it somehow, and it has the effect of hightening our emotional state. I will post a topic on this someday. It’s really interesting. Elephants and cassowaries use infrasound to communicate over great distances. I think infrasound is another reason that one gets that ‘aaaaaaahhhhh’ feeling when in the presence of a well-tuned flat set of pipes (especially B/Bflat keys).
Here endeth the lesson.
Anyway, his drones sound like they have metal tongues and/or metal bodies. IMO.
In drones, the bore diameters predominate over the reeds as to volume, but the reeds influence the tone. Stability is primarily reed based, but poorly designed drone bores will be unstable no matter what. Some makers offer drones louder or quieter. The blend with the chanter is what is most important.
Jerry plays hard reeds, they say. He used to play really hard reeds, though. Maybe you should work on your reps. Power situps, squat thrusts. Don’t know about Cillian’s setup. Britton also has a rather brash sound, perhaps you’ll like him. If that’s the case you should get into Zen while you’re at it.
