I was told by a UP teacher that some of the synthetic chanters were much, much easier to play, and more resistant to weather changes. I’m a saxophone player by trade and have found that it is definitely easier to honk away on sax on a plastic reed in all kinds of humuidity, but I would never play one when I need subtle tones. Are there parellel situations with synthetic chanters? I suppose what makes this stranger is that synthetetic chanters still have cane reeds. True?
Though the material the instrument is made out of has some effect on tone (although, this is always up for debate), it is really the reed which largely determines tone and its subtleties..
Despite all my moaning and complaining, no-one has been able to come up with a synthetic UP chanter reed that sounds anything like a cane reed. They are at least as far apart as a synthetic oboe reed vs cane or worse. I am still waiting for the Japanese to step in and invest millions of dollars in research to find the perfect substitute.
It could happen.
I believe!
djm
I am of the opinion that it is simply a matter of time, I have great faith in Japanese ingenuity.
That’s a hint for all of our Japanese piping brethren. 
Your topic is “Ease of play? Synthetic vs. Wood”
What are we talking about here?
You started talking about synthetic Uilleann Pipe chanters then slid into plastic saxophone reeds. I think the responses are slightly confused from this.
We are talking about THE INSTRUMENT… a chanter and not the reed. Yes?
Let’s reference instruments made from wood OR synthetics. Clarinets or Oboes are good examples. Typically, if they have the same bore and design the differences in the materials play a lesser role in the overall sound than the reed and mouthpiece. Naturally (like anything else) this can be argued.
I would like to know why your UILLEANN PIPE teacher said synthetic chanters are easier to play. Did he have a specific maker in mind?
Please find out who the maker is. I’m sure everyone here would like to know.
Synthetic (non wood) Uilleann Chanters
There are a few well known makers producing reliable entry level pipes:
David Daye, Uilleann Pipeworks of Boston, Andreas Rogge
Whether is fabricated from tubing, cast in a mold, turned on a lathe, they all sound like Uilleann pipes and they all use cane reeds.
There is a company making low-end plastic Highland Bagpipes that converted some product to be sold as Uilleann Pipes. Avoid this product.
(note this instrument has a plastic reed) Also, There are a few companies selling pipes made in middle eastern countries. The chanters are wood and the reeds are plastic. Avoid these products.
Move on to: Synthetic reeds
As they say… Cane is King.
To date, no one has perfected (or come close to perfecting) a synthetic reed for Uilleann Pipes. The plastic reeds used in the middle east chanters don’t play well in both octaves.
The main problem with cane Uilleann Pipes reeds, is the changes in humidity and weather has an often severe effect on the performance of the reed. Some pipers have soaked or coated cane reeds in oil to make them resistant to humidity. This process changes the reed performance. It’s still mainstream to play natural cane reeds for Uilleann pipes.
…yes, every single one of them uses a CANE reed… that is… until one of our Japanese piping brothers comes up with a synthetic reed which kicks buttox. 
Your topic is “Ease of play? Synthetic vs. Wood”
What are we talking about here?You started talking about synthetic Uilleann Pipe chanters then slid into plastic saxophone reeds. I think the responses are slightly confused from this.
We are talking about THE INSTRUMENT… a chanter and not the reed. Yes?
I was trying to make an analogy of something I’m familiar with, the saxophone. But I guess the analogy didn’t really work because you can actually buy really good synthetic reeds for a sax, however they are really loud, so not suitable for all settings. And I was actually asking if it’s true that no matter what, chanters also always use cane reeds. Now that I 've gotten these responses I can see that cane is always used and it’s the reed that matters , not so much the chanter material. As far as what maker I was referring to: Daye, and UPW of Boston were the 2 a teacher told me about. Not to further confuse the discussion, but I just found out from him today that Daye treats his reeds with something to make them somewhat resistant to humidity changes.
Mouth-blown vs. bellows blown seems to be overlooked here. It seems to me that there will never be a fair comparison between the two reeded instruments. True, there is impact from the change in humidity levels, but my experience (going from a semi-arid climate to Ireland, for example) and the impact is not so great that it cannot be overcome with a few minor adjustments to the reed and/or chanter.
Further, a sax uses a single-blade reed, correct? Again, the differences are worlds apart when considering the dynamics of the chanter’s double-reed. I suspect that this is the reason (despite all current technology) that cane reeds are still king. The other might the incredibly low level of demand for a suitable plastic reed.
I agree with Joseph, though - doubtless that at some point a plastic reed will come along that meets or exceeds the finicky palates of uilleann pipers.
Finally, I suspect that there will be a certain level of resistance amongst uilleann pipers to a plastic reed, regardless of it’s quality. Consider the relatively low numbers of uilleann pipers in the world, and you can see the probable lack of interest in developing a plastic reed. (Pipers are a cranky old bunch, don’t you know…)
ghb pipers can buy a plastic chanter reed called clanry .some pipers use it because of its resistance to moisture but the top pipe bands still use cane.one difference is the price,plastic being 4 to 5 times as expensive as cane.also they only play one octave which would be no use for up’s.
Back in my kilted-piping days, the various plastic/composite reeds were all the rage. After a while, though, most pipers (especially the more experienced and higher-grade competitors) began going back to cane. While expense was one factor, some of the really experienced pipers (a few in the Grade I category) said that the plastic and composite reeds lacked that warm HUMMMMMM tone that they got from cane reeds, whereas the plastic/composite reeds had more of a BUZZZZZ tone to them.
Please keep in mind here that I’m talking about drone reeds… I never knew any kilt-band pipers who put plastic reeds in their chanters.
Plastic or not, GHB reeds will not work in Uilleann chanters. They’re a whole 'nuther animal altogether.
ghb pipers can buy a plastic chanter reed called clanry
Which incidentally was a by product of a grant aided feasibility study into developing a plastic reed for the Uilleann pipes conducted by Robbie Hughes and Ken McLeod. They came to the conclusion the two octaves of the Uilleann chanter demanded too much for a plastic reed to work satisfactory.
today most kilted piper s use composite drone reeds as cane reeds and moisture dont go together well.they are very similar to up drone reeds but bigger .they still prefer cane chanter reeds however.a lot of them even wet the chanter reeds to make them vibrate more.some of them drink glasses of scotch and then blow the fumes into the bag.theybsay it makes the pipes sound better but i dont know about that.mike
Heh. We had a guy in our band like that…“No, really, I play better when I’m drunk.”
you too?