general sharpness

Uilleann Pipes
1

Greetings all from loverly wintery Winterpeg!

Now, on to the topic. After quite a while of struggling with a back D that plays only very very flat, I’ve done some things. Bad things. Things that should not be mentioned in polite company… no, wait, I’m talking about pipes, right?

Anyway. I sanded the back D hole open a touch -and I do mean just a touch-, then toyed with the bridle/wrapping. Chanter sounds much better now than it ever has, and adjusting the bridle shape and tightness has made a world of difference.

The thing is… well, now the entire scale, although consistent with itself, is at least a half tone sharp on both octaves. As I said, in tune with itself, but a half a tone up.

I thought to myself, I thought, ‘well, I’ll just rewrap the bottom of the staple so I can put more of it into the chanter’, but that really hasn’t done much of anything.

I’ve looked around at a few sites but they mostly talk about sharpening or flattening either specific notes or upper or lower register.

Anyone have any experience with changing the tuning in toto? (Not the band, they can stay flat for all I care.)

Thanks for any advice/aid/assistance in advance,

Mark

2

Temperature and humidity changes will have a major effect on the way your reeds will play. You need to learn what and where to adjust to get your best performance out of a reed. Making irreversible changes to a chanter is NOT considered an option.

Putting the reed (staple) deeper into the chanter makes it sharper. Re-wrap the hemp more toward the bottom so it’s out further.

O’Grady reed?? Moving the bridal up (toward the lips) may also flatten the pitch, but it can also make it out of tune with itself. There is a fine line between good adjustment and it not playing at all.

3

Mark..I remember you have a D practice set and you’ve have this trouble before. You need to tell us: 1)how long the overall length of your reed is (should be 3-3 1/4") 2)whether it’s made of cane or other material 3)how deep the staple sets in the reed seat of the chanter (should be 1/4-3/8" 4)who the maker of the chanter is, and the reed.

Also, I’m trying to remember where Winterpeg is, for climate.

4

Seems like the reed was leaking , and the first note to go is the back D . By moving the bridle up , which opens and flattens the reed , and then closing it down again , mabey you were able to stop the reed from leaking . Suddenly , the reed works great!! Only too sharp , try rushing either the bore of the chanter , or the reed itself . Has this topic been covered before ? I like to make my reeds seeing that as a prob in advance , then set the bridle up a little from the start , and a good chanter should need no more than reasonable effort on the players part + some tape to tune it . Of course it took me 3 or 4 chanters and 10 years to sort that out . lol .
Some clarity here . Opening the reed by moving the bridle up the reed will make it stronger and louder. Once the bridle is placed higher up along the reed , this will effect the relationship between the octaves , the 2nd octave will be more sharp . The reed and or chanter may need to be flattened with a rush of some sort . The good news is that moving the bridle up high on the reed and closing the reed to stop air leaking from the sides will make the back d better . Just basic stuff , lol .
[ This Message was edited by: tok on 2002-12-05 18:15 ]

[ This Message was edited by: tok on 2002-12-05 18:28 ]

5

Hey all;

On 2002-12-05 14:47, Tony wrote:

Making irreversible changes to a chanter is NOT considered an option.

Putting the reed (staple) deeper into the chanter makes it sharper. Re-wrap the hemp more toward the bottom so it’s out further.

To ease your mind, Tony, the amount of wood I removed -via the careful application of a fine round file- was probably not enough to fill the surface of my pinkie nail. I’ve done woodwork before and I’ve worked on other instruments as well (albeit djembes, which are a touch more forgiving), so I was very careful about that. A little filing, a little playing, a little filing, a little playing… like that.

I did however mix up the deeper/sharper stapel thing. I guess that’s why I always come back to this board! Thanks to your advice, I rewrapped the reed and put the staple in much less, and lo! Tuning problems erased. Thanks again!

On 2002-12-05 15:42, Lorenzo wrote;

Also, I’m trying to remember where Winterpeg is, for climate.

Wow. you’ve got quite a good memory there, Lorenzo! Winnipeg is in the middle of the Canadian prairies, about an eight-hour drive north of Minneapolis, so right now it’s very very very dry and cold. The coldest I’ve ever seen was -48 Celcius, and the humidity in winter gets down to 30%. But don’t quote me on that.

Tok;

I’ve tried all the adjusting of the bridle that I could, but as it turns out, I think I’ve solved the problem of tuning by following what Tony wrote earlier.

I have to thank all of you for your replies, it’s great to be able to get responses like this as quickly as you folks replied. I have to say that this forum has improved my playing and my understanding of the pipes themselves. It’s great to be an isolated beginner and find this kind of help out there.

Kinda restores your faith in mankind, don’t it?

Mark

6

You play an Egan set Mark right? :wink:

Patrick.

7

Hey all;

No, Patrick, I don’t play an Egan set, although I’d surely love one. Because of all the things folks have said about caution when speaking about makers and their sets, and the fact that I’ve made some disparaging comments about my chanter (I called it ‘the wooden tube’) I’d prefer not to state his name in public.

According to the person I bought it from, he’s changed quite a few things about his manufacturing, so this chanter might be a bit of a throwback.

I don’t mean to be rude, but I won’t answer your question on the forum. Check your private messages, though.

Mark