I made 5 drone reeds with various sizes of brass tubing and a .005" thick brass tongue (I used tubing of the size and length of the non-functioning cane reeds). I tried thicker brass (steady but very hard to blow) and .3mm and .8mm styrene (too unsteady and too hard). The reeds (3-“D”, 1-“G”, and 1-“A”) are playing nicely together, steady, nice tone, BUT I would like to get them a little quieter and using less air (to play the chanter and all five drones, I have to pump steadily).
I have the tongues as close to the body as I can get them without them shutting down (a little less then the thickness of the tongues). I have sealed up all my leaks in the set.
Will smaller tubing for the body yield quieter reeds? Can I put something in the tube to quiet the reeds?
I’m looking for any suggestions you might have. Thank you in advance.
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). I ended up using short lengths of brass tubing to step down the orifice. This worked pretty well. The reeds are quieter by about 1/4, use less air, and are more stable. It was interesting that when the orifice was too small the reed wouldn’t sound regardless of the tongue gap. I thought my bag control was OK but when I add a drone into the mix it makes unsteady pressure obvious. Practice, practice, practice. 