Hello again. I don’t make reeds myself, but I’m interested in the subject. I was wondering if anybody has tried the scrapes used by oboists. All the uilleann chanter reeds I’ve seen appear to be “medium-length U” scrapes. Oboists also use “short V” and “long W” scrapes, as well as “U” scrapes of various lengths. Highland pipers also have “ridge-cut” reeds, which, I guess, use some other type of scrape. So, has anyone tried these?
Ed
I have tried some alternative scrapes on UP reeds. I sometimes leave a bit of a ridge on the back of some reeds, but usually find the traditional scrape to be superior on our reeds. The ridge cut reed is a variation on the W shaped oboe scrape. Years ago, I asked Keith Loraine about scrape types for UP reeds. He took a look at the bore of the chanter, and the staple I gave him, and proceeded to tie on a head and scrape it in a traditional UP style. He makes all sorts of reeds, but said that would be the best scrape for that type of pipe!
Ted
Hi Ted, I appreciate the response. That’s an interesting story about Mr. Loraine. I was thinking that the scrape was just a small matter of preference.
Ed