My rush has been Knotty

Uilleann Pipes
1

So…
I recently acquired a Chris Langan Chanter pitched in D.
It had been reeded some 9ish years ago by Joe Kennedy. (Joe Kennedy 11 is written on the reed)
So far the chanter/reed have been extremely well behaved with only a small amount of flatness on the 1st octave B/C#/backD.

Now the problem:
I noticed a large brass rush running up the length of the chanter.
By large I mean 2.46mm/0.10" in diamter.
What’s peculiar is that the rush is held in place via a knot at the top.
It looks like a piece of coat-hanger that had a curve (think Shepherd’s Crook) put in the end and was then slide up the throat (about 1 inch north of the back D hole) until mild pressure held it in place.

I thought to myself “surely this knot is what is causing the flatness in the upper hand of the chanter.”
When I tried flipping the rush around/altering it/substituting it.. the chanter started going to :devil:HELL:devil:
Unstable notes… tape appearing on the G, F#, and A…autocrans…the lot!
That is, until I put it right back where it was and everything was right as rain.

Thoughts, ideas?
I’m really not bothered by it if it works…but it seems rather strange that obstructing the bore that much would create a MORE steady instrument.
My dark fear is that this rush is there more for the chanter than the reed.

Cheers
Ross

2

Have you tried a different reed?

3

be thankful that it works so well :slight_smile:

4

Sound like you are having some serious issues there. In a sense you are right this type of obstruction would have dire consequences for most chanters. It seems there has been a problem with the bore and Joe Kennedy has spotted this; and as a result decided that a rush such as this was needed.

Try the chanter with a different reed with and without the rush. If a new reed performs better without the rush then there is a reed problem. However if a new reed still needs such drastic rush inside it then it sould sound like a chanter problem. In which case put everything back the way it was and just keep playing :wink:

Hope this helps

5

I have seen rushes like this in many name instruments. initially, Froment comes to mind. The 3 concert instruments of his that I’ve seenhad rushes in the bore that were put there by Alain himself. As I understand it, he intended such in his design.

It’s important to keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with using a rush, should one be necessary. It is simply another tool that can help a piper play in tune should the weather go weird, or , if the reed that was built had some shortcomings… the rush can fill in “the gap.” As for my observation of Froment concert chanters (if it is in fact, accurate? Someone help…), I was told that the bore was indeed designed to include rush.

Too, Using a rush also has its drawbacks. One of the more subtle/or not-so-subtle drawbacks is this; if you never have An experienced reed maker ( or two, or three) have a go at reeding the chanter and/or how knowledgeable pipe maker inspect the bore, it is going to be difficult to draw any hard conclusions.

Aside from the above, very involved, time-consuming, and perhaps an " it ain’t going to happen any time this century" scenario, :puppyeyes:

… we are simply back to what Paddy exclaimed, and that it is essentially that there are many reasons why it could be simply a reed issue. Conversely, there are a reasons why it can be a bore a issue.

However, I would like to be very clear a that I’m not placing any blame whatsoever in the lap of Joe Kennedy (a man who clearly knows what he’s doing). Who knows what the conditions were like (from a climate perspective) when the reed was made and then where it’straveled to. Nor do we know what kind of time constraints Joe might have been under when he was working on reeding up this chanter, NOR can we be aware of any of the peculiarities this particular Langan instrument has!

Finally, I think it’s important to reiterate the ever pervasive, yet often ignored, or simply unknown idea that three, or more very experienced pipe/reed makers can have variations (smaller or greater) in their conclusions/ solutions and yet…

, they end up with the same “product”… a “chanter that works.”


( one must use quotes when one speaks of a “chanter that works”) :party: