J Kennedy B 3/4 Set For Sale (...soon).

Uilleann Pipes
21

Sorry, Calum, but what’s the relevence? UPs are dry blown. There are no moisture removal systems, nor any need for such. All UP stocks are tied directly into the bag.

Harry’s note was that his chanter will be tied directly into the neck of the bag, instead of a chanter cap with an angled tube running back into the bag neck. I have this direct connect arrangement on my JK B chanter, and must say that it is interesting to hear the resonances coming right back up into the neck. This was the old style of connecting the UP chanter to the bag per paintings of UPs from the 19th century.

Some have speculated that having the UP chanter run through an angled metal tube from a reed cap may have a negative effect on the overall sound of the chanter versus running the chanter directly into the bag and letting the sound waves run right back into the bag. Others have said this is horse pucky. I doubt if listeners would catch the subtleties, but for the player I can say that there is a difference. I would have to try to mic the neck someday to see if I can capture the difference.

djm

22

The point has nothing to do with moisture control. The point is that if you attach a tube to the stock of a GHB chanter, you can create instability in an otherwise good reed. It doesn’t cause tonal issues, as in ‘it makes it sound warmer/clearer/softer/whatever’, but it knocks the stability of certain notes for six.

Physically, the setup is similar to what happens in an Uilleann chanter. I don’t know any of the physics behind it or what the equivalent effects are, but I would suggest that this is sufficient anecdotal evidence to make it worth investigating.

Cheers,
Calum