I love my chanter but… My bottom e was pretty far off and high e a little off. I fixed it with covering about 50% of the two bottom holes with tape. My pipemaker did a more permanent fix by putting some hard wax on the bottom of the two bottom holes. So my whole chanter is in tune now… Both octaves. So I should be happy right…
But now my lower e is quieter than the other notes. Upper e seems ok or its less noticeable.
Question… I have read that sometimes you can fill and then redrill holes to correct tuning. I would not attempt this. And i have not asked the pipemaker about it. But does it sound like this could work for my chanter?
Or should i just be happy with my chanter… Right now its in tune with no tape just a quieter low e.
hi bob,sharp e’s and flat high e’s are a perrenial problem in rowsome style bores which i suspect yours is.to get your e volume back take the wax out and the tape off and using a small round file undercut the e hole towards the bell end of the chanter but dont take too much out at first do it progressively.next cut a thin strip of plastic to make a crook and insert it into the bell of the chanter having first made a tiny hole in the crook into which you insert a short rush that extends just above the e hole,this usually pulls both e’s acceptably into tune.the crook should also improve the hard,if the hard d has gone a little flat then reduce the size of the rush and the crook.
this problem can also be helped with the correct style of reed.also get used to blowing your chanter,after a while you will unconsciously find that you are blowing certain notes into tune.you can get two very good pipers with lovely sounding sets and get them to swap pipes and the chances are that they will not sound as good.
Don’t take a file to your chanter!! That’s for your pipe maker to do.
As I see it, you’ve got 2 options - send it back, explaining the volume issue and ask for another ‘fix’ OR learn to play the bottom E off the knee, keeping your pinky on the Eb hole.
Chanter modification…Only after trying multiple good reeds and consistently getting a tuning problem…
One sure fire way to devalue a chanter is to modify it unnecessarily
Reeds are the variable, not the chanter.
And it seems unlikely that a chanter would have been made to play out of tune.
More likely that the reed is the problem
So pursue that line
and if chanter alterations seem needed, (and I would be slow to make such a conclusion)
thats not a job a learner piper should even contemplate
Don’t forget also that some players are better than others at controlling air pressure for individual notes
Back D is the commonest example but there are others where we must do this when a reed is good mostly but here and there slightly off.
point taken lads about chanter modification being the last resort.try as many different styles of reed that you can and then if the problem persists then modification is the only option.i dont know who made your chanter but if it was supplied to you with the makers reed and it had that problem then something is wrong.if it was a different reed from someone else that has caused the problem then get a new one from the maker,if that does not work,start asking questions.i have found that reed made with a 4mm. internal staple of 52-54mm.length and a fairly wide eye to give more volume in the tone chamber helps a flat upper e.head width 13-13.25mm.length 79-80mm.depending on where the back d hole is drilled.the bridle should be at the very base of the reed directly above the binding and should fit all of the way around.use a wide scrape.
allan.
There are a few things you can do. Obviously the chanter bore is all wrong so any change in shape will improve it. You could get some cotton wool soaked in petrol and place it up the bore and light it ,you may have to do this a few times to get it right. Alternatively get one of the special chanter correcting rasps pictured below. What you need to do is put the tool in a high speed drill and ram it up the chanter as hard as you can until the chanter is right. No need to thank me for this expert advice.
Learning how to correct tuning issues through changing your approach to playing is an important skill to develop.
The E can be a problematic note on Rowsome chanters. Now listen closely to Liam O’Flynn. Most of his E’s are played off the knee to compensate. It also adds to the swing and charm of the piping too.
If you can learn to control the notes through your playing rather than with tape/rushing/wax/etc you will see more long term benefits.
It can be a difficult call to make, especially by a learner. First off, what are you considering to be intune? “Tuner” in tune? If so, time to recalibrate your idea if what is considered acceptable tuneness.
Comcert chanter ranges of acceptable tuneness for E1&E2 run the gamut, with the better makers having achieved a “more acceptable” balance between the 2 notes (the octave isn’t as narrow), and also how those 2 notes fit within the scale.
Differing from Allan, I tend to stay away from U-scrapes finding they have a negative affect on my Es. Now here we go… Reed making statements can mean so many things, especially that one if just left there to hang. I should add that my heads are not that wide! My concert heads are 12-12.3, so right there we’re in apple and oranges-ville! At any rate, when I have made (or do make, depending in the job), 13-13.5 heads, I did use the U. So, if that’s where your reed making lives, careful how much " U " YOU inflict, and also mind how deep you dig into the cane. That will indeed have an affect on both Es
So, and again- I’ll go with Boyd providing the chanter was made by a v. Well established maker who specializes in concert sticks. After that, I’d quickly default to Allan’s sentiments!!!
In another post, you mention you play a C# chanter. Is it the same chanter you are referring to here? If so, we’re not talking about a Rowsome bore. If we are talking about a C# chanter, then I suspect it is based on a Coyne.
With flat chanters, playing a Eb off the knee will often give you a nice E in the first octave.
Based on the other comments i will only attempt this after i try all the other stuff mentioned… But what are you referring to as a “crook”… Any pictures?
Hmmmm… Come to think of it, when i was using tape and making a bunch of my own reeds… I did make a reed where the e played in tune! The reed had another issue that I dont remember… But i keep notes and all my reeds… I will have to experiment with this.
By the way… I use a petersen tuner that actually has a preset for concert d UPs. Then to check i play along with other pipers recordings. If they match i figure i am in tune!
So its off to play with off the knee, different reeds, and different pressures!
if the both “e” ever were right it’s the reed, not the chanter. It’s the eye of the staple (too narrow) or the sound chamber, the first area of the cane next to the staple end, too narrow - to be enlarged.
I think these are clips you made in December 2012 and August this year Bob?
Correct me if I am wrong. Just useful for advisers to see and hear the instrument (and piper).
Is this the reed and chanter that you are talking about in this thread?
When you got the chanter, was it reeded …and if so, what was the tuning like then?
Looks to me like it was a new chanter? If so I would be surprised if made to be out of tune. If second hand, perhaps the reed was not “right”.
Have you got any other pipers near you that might be able to check things out?
Experience counts for a lot.
I can’t emphasise that statement enough.
I have had a lot of help in my time from more experienced players.
One more thing to consider: E on the uilleann pipes is never a loud note. Under the best of curcumstances, it has a somewhat muted tone compared to other notes. This is an important part of the uilleann pipe sound, as it contributes to the chanter’s “singing” quality. No other woodwind instrument has, to my ear, such variety of tone between registers and even individual notes.
Of course yours might be unusually/unhelpfully soft. But I agree with those who’ve advised you to play a one-fingered E off the knee, if you need it to sound louder or brighter (and especially with those who warn against doing your own chanter surgery!).
Try inserting an a thin, arched piece of copper -or a j-shaped wire- into the reed’s staple. Not so long that it goes beyond the staple itself and into the reed head. Make sure it is extractable. Rushing the reed like this can sometimes bring the octaves (and Es) together. But every reed is different.
