Being a isolated piper i have only my pipes and my freinds to go on for experence,
anywho
how hard is your reed to play?
I am asking this because my reed needs a fair amount of force to get going, that witha small bag makes it quite a workout
but when I play my freinds pipes it feels like playing a feather and everything comes very easy
is there something “wrong” with my set up?
thanks
Jordan
P.S.
Mine is a Joe Kennedy half set
His is a O’Grady (spelling?) half set
It is more than likely that your reed has changed with the weather. How far apart are the lips of the reed? They should be a little less than 1 mm apart. If they are closed too much, you can open them by moving the bridle forward towards the lips just a very small bit, maybe 0.5 mm at a time, until it plays easily. If the lips are too far apart, you may have to move the bridle in 0.5 mm increments towards the staple to close the lips.
Remember to take very small steps when adjusting reeds. Also, if you continue to have problems, you can contact Joe for more assistance. He is very easy to deal with.
djm
I agree with djm. This is a very basic adjustment that you will have perfect for yourself depending on temperature, humidity, etc.
Any chanter-reed combination of Joe’s that I’ve tried has been very easy to play. Sometimes even too soft for my taste! When NicoMoreno got his practise set I he asked me to try it out for him and I had to open up the reed a bit just to take it for a spin.
But…WHAT? Are you saying you have a SPARE reed??? Scandalous!
They are just under 1mm apart,
but still plays very hard in comparison,
if i have it any closer then that i find that it becomes very muted and dull sounding which of course is not good.
It might be something to do with the fact that I live in a very dry area.
Would a reed made out here work better then one make in a diffrent climate?
Yes, the odds are it will work better… but not always. If you make reeds and live in a bone dry environment, you may want to consider soaking the slips in neetsfoot oil prior to making the reed. Though I haven’t tried this myself, there are quite a few more experienced reed makers who can attest to this practice being the way to go. 
What I do to remedy the problem here in Montreal, to eleviate to dryness in the winter, is I have a small electric kettle 2 gallons, and let it come to a boil it seems to have a very good inexpensive way to re-humidify the air. But not too much though, this could have an opposite effect if it’s too humid.
Hope this helps…
upiper71
That works well. During the winter when things dry out a bit in Florida, I usually put the kettle on the boil, and enjoy a nice cuppa Lyon’s while my reed sucks up the humidity.
You’re kidding, right? I thought you folks were just recovering from major flooding (?).
Another adjustment, though extremely delicate, is to modify the depth of the internal sound chamber of the reed. This involves playing around, sorry, testing along the flat sides of the reed just above the eye of the staple, by opening or closing the tails of the bridle and the curved back of the bridle. Be really really delicate if you opt to try this, working in stages of 1 micron or better.
djm
NOG pipes are usually quite easy to play. At least that’s been my experience having tried two or three of his chanters. It’s probably not a fair comparison with JK’s pipes. I’ve got a JK reed in my chanter at the moment. It plays nicely, although in the beginning, it was very stiff. Reeds often take a month or two of regular playing before they fully settle and become a little softer. Follow djm and upipers’ advice on adjusting the bridle (the copper ‘belt’ around the reed). Adjusting the staple (the brass tube inside the reed) is a little more advanced and again not recommended unless you know what you’re doing.
If you have a basement where you live, I suggest leaving your pipes down there for a few days. Play regularly, but only in the basement. The humidity and temperature in the basement is usually much more consistent than in the rest of the house. It’ll give your reed time to adjust to the chanter.