There are a few things certain pipemakers do to try and better the pipes they make, but I was wondering if they were just gimmicks or do they work! The one that puzzles me and a lot of other people I have asked is the way Froment always puts that piece of wire up his concert pitch chanters, I thought you only put something in the chanter to cure some problem! But obviously he has some other reason for it. Another thing he does is lining all key slots with metal. I mean so many pipe makers don’t do it, does it really make that difference.
Another one I have heard mixed reactions to is the grub screw that Andreas Rogge sometimes puts on the back D of his chanters in order to help tuning, and if it does work why not apply this to all tone holes especially regulators. Speaking of regulators he also does a sliding arrangement on the reed seat of his regs. Does anyone own a set with these, it sounds like it would make tuning regs quick and easy.
Brian Howard’s new Iris innovation sounds like a good idea but then again if a chanter is make properly then it shouldn’t really need it. The other one innovation that I quite liked was the popping valve at the end of the chanter that helped form an airtight seal, but I don’t know of any pipemaker that’s now offering this extra.
I suppose anything that would improve the pipes even in a small way is always welcome. Only time will tell if these are worth keeping.
The question of designing and producing a chanter that absolutely requires a rush for both adjustments to intonation, together with getting all the notes to play easily is a vexed one that sees quite a divide in the pipe making community.
Despite opinions to the contrary, it is virtually impossible to get a D chanter to be perfectly in tune using only a straight conical bore (mind you, some makers idea of “perfectly in tune” leaves a lot to be desired!). There is also the question of timbre to consider…aside from the reed of course bore shape and chanter material both have an effect on the harmonic content of the produced waveform…as does tone hole placement, size and degree of undercut. All very complex and interdependent.
With chanters such as those produced by Alain Froment the rush takes the place of the more usual multi-step taper used by such makers as Geoff Wooff or David Quinn (or Egan, Coyne et al for that matter). In practice one simply enlarges the bore all the way down from what is required and then use a variable width rush to introduce the same sort of variance in the conical bore shape to replicate the more traditional method of reaming and fine tuning a chanter. I’ve done this myself and it certainly works…however I for one was not happy with the tone produced. I will allow that is a dead easy way to churn out sticks though. There is a subtle but easily noticeable difference between a good chanter and a great one. I have yet to hear a great straight taper chanter in D…though I will allow that that is only IMHO. If possible at a tional somewhere try comparing a good Quinn and Koehler chanter to one of these straight bore jobbies and unless you’re hearing is dodgy you WILL detect the difference (must be done live though recording are no real guide).
Give me a Q&K stick any day.
Strangely enough some early flat chanters made by Geoff Wooff were essentially a straight taper and the effect of this was not nearly so noticeable with these narrow bore/longer sticks. Fitting them with reeds that played every note in tune in both octaves was a challenge for some though…typically, the E’s would be out and high B and or A were not exactly bang on. Geoff quickly changed tack and his later chanters were much better (you don’t get a humungous waiting list by producing crap after all).
As for such innovations as an iris tuning device for the bottom D…well it works fine…but then again, so does a blob of poster putty.
The Rogge D tuning screw also works fine (though some people fear it may lead to a crack there sometime in the next 150 years or so )
I know these views are disputed by some very fine players (I reserve judgement on the makers)…but if we all played the same type sticks the UP world would be deadly boring, and we would have nothing much to argue about!
something i’ve taken to considering a gimmick that many others seem to swear by is the whole popping strap/popping valve setup. i don’t, and never have used either one, and have never had a problem getting a seal against jeans, dockers, tuxedo pants, or anything else i happen to wear.
is it more common than not to use one or the other?
I have just been informed by the rear end of the K&Q nameboard that Alain Froment’s chanters are indeed multi tapered and not a straight cone as I had been led to believe.
Like the twenty year old man who claimed to be born in 1852 said when challenged…“This is where my argument falls to the ground”
I await further clarification therefore as to why he uses the rush in his chanters. Perhaps to smooth out/mute the tone of D chanters? Or perhaps to allow owners to adjust the rush to compensate for a less than perfect reed in a different climate from where the pipes were made and/or to overcome any problems resulting from some slight chanter shrinkage?
Any Froment set owners out there who can enlighten me?
Is is a gimmick? Is it innovation? Could it be…both?
Which is better. stick or automatic?
It’s a matter of personal opinion. Some people think every little innovative feature is worth it. Others think, “If it’ll only take another few seconds of my time to sort out and it’s cheaper, what’s the point?” For example, Howard’s Iris thing is pretty neat, but I think I’ll stick with a blob of putty. Still, if this feature were ever to become standard on many makers’ sets in the future, I doubt if I’d complain about it.
Another example: I absolutely LOVE what Cillian O Briain has done with his reg design. I think they’re the sheep’s cajones. Hopefully in a few years, I’ll have some of my own to play with. Problem is, they’re not cheap. They are, when last I checked 4,000 Euros (1,000 each for the tenor and baritone; 2,000 for the bass). For some people, it’s worth it, for others it isn’t.
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