Just got the new stick in the mail…
OH
MY
GOD…
This chanter is unreal. I can’t believe it. Of course I’m happy because its finally here, new, etc., but this stick plays like absolute buttah! The thing plays itself! The temperment between octaves is perfect, not too squirrely, not too pushy, And is it ever in tune…how did he do it? Here’s one for Kirk Lynch! Everyone go buy a chanter from the guy.
Rob
Ah…just give it a few weeks.
I’ve got a Lynch stick. It plays great and I never have to touch the reed.
Jeff
Hey Robbbq;
Congratulations! Glad to hear you’re happy with it. It’s such a relief when something shiny, new and GOOD turns up, isn’t it? When I got my chanter I was extatic myself. Hope it last you for years, and definitely “more than a few weeks.” 
(Who’s being a poopy-pants, Glands?)
Mark
Sooner or later, the chanter reed will surprise you with its cantankerousness. Wait 'till the humidity shifts. Or, until you play the reed in for about 3 weeks. It happens that all of them lose their punch and disappoint until the reed is brought back into play with minor adjustment. Adjustment is often necessary because they all slide away from the optimal performance we cherish and long for once realizing their potential. My point is that any chanter playing “…like absolute buttah…” coming out of the box that is just out of the mail truck will not play that way indefinitely.
Welcome to the Lynch team…!
I have two of his concert chanters and find Kirk’s reeds to consistently perform incredibly well in virtually all conditions, from dry to dripping wet with only the most minor of bridle adjustments.
Cheers,
Michael
Yep, no doubt about it, Kirk is definitely up there. My teacher has two chanters of Kirks and they round out a great 1/2 set. An earlier set, and very nice. That’s why I ordered a 1/2 set from him… really can’t go wrong. Kirk is making his best sets right now and he really loves what he’s doing. He is definitely among the top makers anywhere.
Ah, glands, have you ever tried a Alan Burton reed?
No doubt you have a point (sort of), glands, but there is more to the chanter than the reed, which, as has been pointed out can be fixed per humidity with just the slightest sub-mm tweak of the bridle. That’s the nature of the beast and as far as I’m concerned ought not be too much of a worry. I have played reeds “right out of the box” that had absolutely NOTHING on this reed job as well. And so I’ll re-iterate the substance of the initial post: I’m incredibly happy with this chanter, and Kirk Lynch does amazing work!
R
I did not intend to speak ill or take away any of your satisfaction. I appreciate Kirk Lynch’s work and am delighted that you have a great instrument. I was speaking more of problems inherent with the instrument that we all love so much.
I personally believe that I have one of the absolute most wonderful chanters it is possible to own. This suppostition has been verified by no less than 4 internationally acclaimed pipers who will remain nameless. On the other hand, plain folks like me who play excellent chanters of other makers prefer their own sticks to mine and vice versa. My chanter has a reed that has been going 5 years and there is nothing so sweet as it is. Still, it has its good days and bad days. Mind you, on a bad day, it is brilliant, sounds tremendous, and no one would really know it was not performing at peak, but on those days it is not going as magically as it has gone before. My pipes were going well over the summer. I had the reed fairly well in tune and also playing at a level and character I was reasonably satisfied with. But, I knew it could be a little better. So, Benedict Koehler played the set at my request and commented it was going better than his own but knew the chanter and that it could do better. He asked me if I was willing to take a chance on irreversible reed adjustments to which I replied “of course.” I can honestly say it has NEVER played better since he worked his magic. I did not know that it was possible to achieve the things I can now achieve with it. I understand that, as the central heat comes on and I crank up the humidifier in a few months, all of that will change and i’ll lose the edge.
So, the point is these chanters can always go better than we have them going at present. Sometimes, it is a reed adjustment and other times it is that our technical abilities and musicianship needs to progress to take full advantage of what we are playing. In essence, my short quip was derived from experience and, also, I was attempting to relate that you should not be surprised if the reed disappoints you some day. As you gain experience and time with the chanter, something that probably takes months unless you have 15-20 years playing, you will likely notice its idiosyncracies as well as shortcomings and, if it is stable, you learn how to overcome them. The best news is that you have a reliable chanter and it should not go too far off with climate changes and the like. Further, the reed should be easy to replace if need be.
I think that we all need to work very hard to get the very best tone of our chanters by making appropriate reed adjustments and also our play of the bag. If you’ve got a reed that you can’t push and manipulate then you probably have a reed set up that is not permitting you to open up and discover the greatness of your instrument. Don’t just play the notes…play the instrument. Take a listen at tionols, I’d venture a guess that 50% of chanters are misreeded or else have a piper strapped on that is not pushing the instrument as it could or should be. And, lets all listen to ourselves and know when we can make ours work better.
And, please, somebody help me figure out to achieve the holy grail of micro bridle adjustments to accomplish these tuning and playability feats!!!
I read somewhere (Pat Sky) that O’Flynn used a thread around the base of the bridle on one of his reeds, to hold it in place.
My favorite kind of reed, for varying weather conditions, or when volume needs adjusting, is a reed where the end of the V scrape and shoulders come together in such a way the the bridle adjustment kind of works in reverse, ie, the bridle gets looser the further you move it up towards the lips, and the lips open and volume increases. The bridle is placed right above the end of the V. Move it down towards the staple, and it get tighter because the bridle squeezes the blades together (friction increases because the blades get thicker). And this friction is so uniform that the slightest movement makes all the difference, yet the bridle is completely secure and never moves. So, I never move the bridle more than the width of a pencil line which is drawn across the blades.
Like for Kevin’s sensitive ears, I can actually squeeze the lips together enough to quiet this wide bore chanter to where it is quieter than the flat set, yet all notes still work fine. It may lose a little quality in tone and regular snapiness though if it’s squeezed down too much.
One of my BK reeds works this way, and so does my tok. My AB reed is not configured to accomodate this feature, but sounds/works better than the BK, perhaps partly because of the difference in cane quality. BK makes them both ways though.
Very good info, glands, and lorenz! For myself, I know my ear isn’t expert enough yet (will it ever be?) to even discern these little differences in “brilliant… but not playing at it’s peak…”
I posted this soewhere else - this is how I’ve done it for the past while. It’s amazingly steady and if an adjustment is needed (frankly I haven’t had to from the spring until now) I can move it in miniscule amounts.
Well, Rob, it’s been a few weeks…how’s the chanter playing?
Its incredible. I haven’t had to touch the reed at all. I was certain that it would need a bit of adjustment after awhile, but its really stable and still very balanced and smooth pressure-wise between octaves. I still love the thing, as it is a lovely and enjoyable chanter to play and would still say that Kirk Lynch makes a great instrument!
-Rob