Hi all,
I am looking for some advice on how to keep pipes playable in dry, hot conditions. In my town today , the high was 98F (36C) with the worst humidity of the day being 9%. At night the coolest temperature was 60F (16C) with the best humidity being 75%.
I have seen two general schools of thought on this. One is to regulate the atmosphere around the pipes using humidifiers. The other is to make “dry weather” reeds or otherwise acclimate the pipes to the dryness. I’m partial to the second idea, if it’s possible, because I can’t see dragging a humidifier to a session, althought I suppose I could drop water into the bellows or bag. Anyway, what do you all think?
JD
Here’s one link posted earlier last year (or New Years) on the subject of dry climate reeds. I’m sure you’ll find a lot more using “search.”
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=84306&highlight=humidity#84306
James, you gotta move. Would be less stress and headache to do so.
Yo Jim,
Your best bet is to have reeds made in a similar climate. Who made your pipes?
Another alternative is to use a humidifier. AVOID the warm mist or vortex (the one with an electric fan in it) varieties. The note the fan’s drone can often be different to the note your pipes are tuned to and the warm mist one will make you sweat like a slug! The best one I’ve seen is by Sunbeam and is one of the ultrasonic variety. A little disc vibrates under the water causing it to vapourize and waft up into the air. This is only effective in a reasonably sized room.
Here are some links to ones that look good/similar:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005NT6C/uilleannpipesobs
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000535F8/uilleannpipesobs
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=845619/search=humidifier/ut=ce40c3fd06a8086b
http://www.medfinity.com/product_detail_info.asp?ID=66 - very cooll!!
Also eBay has a selection at what are currently very cheap prices:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=ultrasonic+humidifier&cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&newu=1&from=R10&currdisp=2&itemtimedisp=1&st=2&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=
I forgot to mention also that you’re local drug store should be able to get one for you if they don’t already stock them.
Hope that helps,
Patrick.
Seriously. Look into Seattle as it has a community of pipers and reedmakers. I’ve thought long and hard about moving there every January for the last seven years.
Hey Pat,
Southern California is a good spot too now 
Patrick.
Naw Pat, it never rains in Southern California. Don’t listen to D’Arcy 
Denis Brooks once told me that Seattle was about the closest thing to Ireland you can get . I’ve heard it’s 'bout the same latitude.
Living in Canada poses it’s own reed problems but here the dry weather comes with extreme cold. In the summer the heat also brings high humidity.
The solution I use myself is to oil my chanter reeds with neatsfoot oil. This process has it’s pros and cons but for me the benefits far outweigh the costs.
I let the reed sit upside down in the oil but not far enough to get any oil on the wrapping (if you do then dry with paper towel and rub the thread with wax get rid of any oil). I used to let the reed sit over night but found that is actually a bit too long and it over saturates the cane. A few hours is all you really need.
The downside is that once you start to oil a reed you have to keep doing it on a regular basis (every 2-4 months or so seems good). Also the oil is a little bit sticky and bits of fluff can get stuck in the reed. This happens to untreated reeds also and some people will use a small feather to clean. I find blowing through the bottom of the staple often does the trick to remove fluff.
The other thing to note is that right after oiling your reed will not sound! You have to let the air flow through it for a few minutes then it will start to vibrate as normal. This is probably due to small drops of oil between the blades whose surface tension holds the blades together. Letting the air pass through gets rid of the excess oil.
The upside is that the oil acts as a humidity “shock absorber”, slowing down the effects of dryness or excess humidity. Extremes of climate may require more frequent oiling.
But to be honest I couldn’t perform year round here in Ontario, Canada without the use of oiled reeds.
Paul G.
Paul, the topic of neetsfoot has been tossed around for years. Are you soaking a reed after it’s been finished scraped?
Tony,
I am using Kirk Lynch reeds. So no, they were not oiled during the making process but long afterward.
Paul
thanks everyone for the advice so far.
glands, good suggestion. however, my Commander for some reason doesn’t think the unsuitable reed climate is a good reason to transfer me. Philistine! Oh well, a mere 300 days to go…
patrick, thanks for all the links. a bit above and beyond the call, but thanks!
Well, being really enamoured of the KISS principle, I was wondering if there was any good reason not to just toss some water or an ice cube into the bellows? I figure I can keep the pipes stored with a damp sponge or something while they are in the case. Then use the water in the bellows for if I go to a session or something and the reeds start to get too dry. I know this probably won’t exactly be healthy for my bellows, but I don’t think it would be immediately fatal. Can anyone think of a reason why this is a really bad idea? Lorenzo listed some ways to tell if the reeds are drying out in the old thread on this subject. How would I know if the reeds were getting too moist? If I’m going to be dumping water into the system, I figure thats a possibility. Anyway, thanks everyone. It’s been informative so far.
james
P.S. my pipes are a Hughes half-set, about three years old, that until tuesday, used to live in Ontario.
[quote=“j dasinger”]
How would I know if the reeds were getting too moist? .
james
quote]
Pitch flattens, back D sinks, 8ve may squeak, 8ve will not hold well, most notes sink under pressure, tone becomes “wooly”. That’s a bit like when it’s too dry. Eeee, you just can’t win. A well known piper moistens his with his lips. I guess a little and often…
Alan
So the reeds are too wet or too dry when the chanter starts sounding wonky? Well, it should be easy enough to tell : )
jd
"Your best bet is to have reeds made in a similar climate. "
Patrick D’Arcy
…
Jim,
In my opinion, Patrick’s advice is your only choice, provided you want some long-term success.
I, too, am in a very dry climate, and the reed that I’m currently using was made here in Colorado, and it hasn’t been touched in 2 1/2 years. I’ve never been able to say that about any other reeds - (and believe me, there have been a few).
Stay tuned,
Brian
My AlanB reed was made in England (blind-he never had the chanter) and it’s the best reed anywhere 
. My 3 BK reeds were made in Vermont and play almost equally as well. And my climate is very dry in Eastern Washington (sage brush and sand - 1/2 hr. from the Columbia River though) 
100 deg. today (76 deg. inside my new house -and no air cond…I just insulated the heck out of it) and my reeds are working great, literally great…21% humidity and no humidifier. (too hot to work outside so I’m playing the pipes, playing the computor, and sipping ice water)
Hey…I see Paddy Keenan is playing for a couple of weeks or so in Las Vegas June 27-July 11 at The New Yorker Casino, billed with The Nine Fine Irishmen. I’d love to see how that reed performs! 
I see it’s 101 deg. in Las Vegas today and 23% humidity. Pretty much like my weather! Maybe he’ll be okay… 
I’ll keep an eye on the concerts via this link:
http://weather.cnn.com/weather/forecast.jsp?locCode=LAS
My take on dry climate reeds is to make them thicker so that the cane will be a bit stronger where it tends to react to the dryness in the air . i.e. along the sides and at the lips of the reed . To still have a reed that has good tone and playability , I will use a softer tube of cane , If the cane is too hard it will have to be scraped down too much , just to get it to sound .
Also , If the octaves are out of tune , I will move the staple into the reed more , and place the bridle up higher along the sides of the reed . I am thinking that it is like doing the opposite of making a reed for a humid environment . The Taylors would make long lasting reeds by gougeing the cane till they were in the area of the cane with the most strong , limber fibers , near the bark . That may work too . I like the Idea of soaking the cane for a week or so in linseed oil , letting it dry , and then working it , though I have not done that .
To get the reeds to play easily in both ovtaves , I like to use the staple placement in such a way that it will act as a lever and give the cane fibers some spring , or " lift " to the reed and how it reacts to bag pressure . This is done by pushing the staple into the tails of the reed to a degree where the reed blades are pushed downwards and against eachother , and then as the reed is scraped , and sanded it will release the downward force at the lips of the reed . Kinda like a diving board . Now I have a reed that is airtight at the sides , and has enough cane on it to not close up in dry weather , plus , since the bridle is set up a little on the reed there is some tuning available by moving the brible up or back along the reed .
tok .
Yup, I agree with the gouging, you have to shape the reed chamber so there is enough room for cane distortion without too much closure around the lips, and in extreme climates I guess you have to make a little more room. Slightly off topic, I have a reed for a flat (probably B), it is fairly old and is beautiful to look at, all the bark has been removed, but it retains its shape beautifully, it has a very narrow head, about 7mm, but the eye is perfect and very controllable. I daren’t even take it apart, though temptation niggles…
Alan
An advantage that the flat sets seem to have is that the cane does tend to hold up better If the reed is made more narrow . " More better "
tok .
I should add that my tok reed is also excellent, and made right for this climate. Thanks Tom and Alan for the nice descritions!