Is there anybody in the upper Midwest USA (the closer to Minneapolis the better) who builds elder reeds?
This is an ongoing mission of mine; Thanks in advance for any help. BTW, the regional requirements aren’t absolute; if it’s Tibet, then Tibet it is. 
–N, approaching elder status himself
Yeah goober…get your butt down to the club meetings on mondays! Chad Giblin has made a few elder reeds, and the club is planning an elder harvesting outing to collect raw materials! 'Fraid the club usually meets in St. Paul..that’s as close to Minneapolis as I’d could (or would like to) get…(heh)
Dave
Yeah, I know about Chad and am planning to see if I can talk him into making some for me; just looking for additional makers, too.
As for the pipers’ club meetings, it’s always winding down by the time I get there which is usually @ 8:45 PM (I work evenings), so by the time I’m tuned up and get a squawk out, everyone’s starting to pack up…great bunch of guys, but not much fun for me, so…
Well, if I were King the World, meetings would be on Fridays but I don’t forsee that yet.
Cheers, dude.
N, imperial material
P.S.–Goober???
growin elder before our time ?
ok ok ok Tom..we’re gonna have to shun you for that one!
Anyone in Oregon want to go Elder hunting? I am, of course, talking about the plant.
Dionys
Dionys…if you are talking about the Blue Elderberry like this below, it grows in my back yard (perfect size newer growth), or just about anywhere in the East Gorge, up the canyons, along creek beds. Don’t know about the West side near Portland - I bet you do though!
When I lived in the Gorge, we use to pick the berries for making wine, and for the pectin when making fruit jam.
BTW, I think several musicians are getting together near Goldendale, WA. this Sat. I should have my McFaddens back from Quinn tomorrow (restored), and my Quinn B 3/4 set I just bought from tok. Also the head State botinist from Eastern Oregon should be there, I’ll send you an email if/when it happens.
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/scerulea.htm
–Sheesh. I can’t believe I didn’t see the semantic flipfloppabilityness of this thread’s title other than a cute little postscript (or whatever you’d call those appendages I like to append when concluding) on the first post…
WHAT HAVE I STARTED? claps hand to gaping horrified mouth
No, m’friends, I am not looking for romance with superannuated reedmakers (although it could make for preferential treatment… ermmm…nahh.); had to beat yez to the punch on that one.
Yes indeed, Dave, I will be out foraying for Sambucus sp. with the others…Hey! That should be pretty darn soon, if I recall! Cool. And ya gotta placate the witch hidden in the plant from which you take your branches…spooookeeee.
–N, substituting Guiness for holy water
Lorenzo…are you saying your father smelled of elderberries?
Sorry…I watched FAR to much monty python as a teenager…
I’d heard it grew all over the gorge. I’m just worried about identifying it in the middle of (a somewhat mild, granted) winter. I’ll just grab a naturalist friend. Or someone who’s made elderberry wine/jam/preserves/&c.
Dionys
P.s. Thanks for the pics.
Dionys…I copied those pics (above) off the web site noted under the pictures. When I went to look in my old E Oregon Major Indicator of Shrubs, and on the Internet, I saw two US varieties in the US, Blue & Red, and Black Elder..which may be the same as Blue, but with summer foliage.
For the kind I’ve always known and grown up around in my back yard, and which looks right for the purpose, it’s pithy inside and both reddish on the newer bark, and brown or “drift wood” on the older main trunk and dead branches. We could easily hollow it out for whistles as kids. I’ll take some “winter” pics of the ones out back and email you.
The black elderberry (with red bark) is what we use for reeds. I have made double reeds from it but they are more weather sensitive than cane. BTW Loorenzo, congrats on the new pipes. Bring em to the tionol Feb.
Ted
Davey;
I’ve never actually SEEN the hamster/elderberry genetic linkage, but my sister, whist carving her initials on it, was once bit by a moose.
Apologetically,
Mark
(from farther north than you are, heh heh)
What’s up with the hamster???
Odd about the weather sensitivity…Brendan Ring finds them more stable than cane, unless European species have a different set of qualities to the wood…any dendrologists in the know out there?
–N, so confused
I’m not sure if elder reeds are more stable than cane. What I find is that I get the exact sound and volume I want and therefore once the reed is settled I don’t fiddle with as much as I did with cane double reeds, which means for me they last a lot longer. I do also play a stiffish reed. Some people play incredibly soft reeds and I can’t imagine that elder would necessarily improve stability on these. Regarding picking elder, I didn’t get any this year, It wasn’t cold enough, some of the trees here are no budding for spring already!
brendan,
Do you do any exercises or weight training to be able to develop enough bag pressure to play with elder or firm cane reeds?
Get one of those THIGHMASTERS and put it between your left elbow and hip..and go to work!
I now have “winter” pictures of elder growing in my back yard, along the creek, if anyone would care to see them, email me, I’ll send them to you. They show the different stages of growth, different sizes and colors of the bark (with no leaves), and esp. some nice specimens that look just right for harvesting. There’s enough of this stuff up one canyon to supply every piper in North America (and there’s hundreds of canyons at the foot of these mountains)
But I need to verify with someone, that this is the right species, ie, the elder with bunches of blue berries on it in the summer. Ted, I’ll send you a pic so you can tell me if this is the right stuff. Also, I’d be very interested in having you making me an elder reed for my Quinn/McFadden chanter sometime. It could be that elder would work best in these inland dryer climates like Eastern Washington, Montana, Utah, Colorado, etc. I’m guessing that it may be too sensitive for your area because of all the moisture near SF.
I won’t be able to come to the SF Tional, and I’m extremely disappointed I can’t…my sister lives near there too and wants me to come. I see BK is going to be there. BTW, the reed he just made for this McFdden chanter is exqisite!! The regs are in tune and working also.
Lorenzo,
I have only made elder reeds that are scraped for a fairly light pressure. A thicker reed would undoubtedly be less weather sensitive. John Walsh got one from me that played his Taylor chanter with less rushes in the bore than with any cane reed he had used to date. He liked the reed at first, but it didn’t last very long and he found it varied too much with weather fluctuations for his liking. I think he adjusted it out of existence. If either species of elder works, use it. Eugene Lambe made some drone reeds out of snowberry that worked. It is not common here but I think it would be interesting to make some double reeds from it and syringa, which doesn’t grow here either. Get me some 3/4" to 1" dia. of these plants and I will try reeds from them. I have a friend who made clarinet reeds from lancewood. Benedict Koehler has made reeds from spruce from old piano soundboards which were nice. Whatever works!
Ted