Anybody knows Froment’s reedmaking method?
I think he is one of the best makers over there, but he isn’t in the NPU dvd.
Are there reeds from other makers that could play well in a Froment chanter?
Thank you all
What key are your pipes in, and where do you live? Are you wondering about the sizes of the gouges, cylinders, cane and staples, and other reed dimensions?
I just received an email from Alain Froment yesterday confirming the reed measurements for B pipes. He says:
- “Staples dimensions are correct !!!
Unfortunately, I do not mail reeds to the U.S anymore having found that it is a waste of time and money both for me and my customers respectively.
The difference in climate is too great and the reeds do not stand any chance to perform properly as soon as they reach the other side of the POND !!!
All I can do these days, is arranging an appointement with the customer, reeding the pipes on the day, but then, I can never guarantee that the reeds will still be working in the U.S as, as explained above, I have no control on the behaviour of the reeds once they leave Ireland !!!” -Froment
Alan Burton is fresh from reeding up Ben Walker’s Froment D set in England. I’m sure any good reed maker can reed Froments sets. Froment makes it easy to reed his pipes in that the reed dimensions for the chanter, tenor reg, and baritone reg are all the same, and they work with tube staples. Alan Burton says he finds a slightly different dimension works best for him in Froment pipes, maybe he can advise here. Froment recommends soft cane for the regs and “crisp” cane for the chanter.
Can’t argue there. I’m glad to hear that this phenomena is reaching the pipemakers… it’s tough to describe the weather swings we have here. I’ve always wondered if pipemakers in Ireland/England thought “dry” meant, “it didn’t rain much today”.
On the NPU web page. www.pipers.ie
Italy Date: 14/05/2005 - 15/05/2005
Reedmaking workshop with Alain Froment.
For registration informations contact Enzo Vacca at enzo@musicivagantes.it | Venue: Villar Pellice
Contact: Enzo Vacca
Phone: + 39 - 011 - 935.88.44
Email: enzo@musicivagantes.it
Cheers
Ferg