Some of you may recall my desire for a B set. I have grumbled about my lack thereof enough times in the past, but I grumble no longer! By way of borrowing heavily from my grandmother, I have managed to get that Gallagher 3/4 set that showed up on uilleannobsession not long ago.
It arrived yesterday.
According to the seller :
Now to be honest, I have not piped in awhile so the reeds did get dry in the 7 below zero temperature…
I spent 6 hours last night bringing the reeds back to life, and then played for another 4 hours or so, until 3:00 AM.
Well, the chanter and drone reeds came back to life, anyway. I’ve only managed to half-resuscitate the regs so far.
But man, the chanter and drones are sounding freakin’ great!
B is the best.
Any advice/suggestions about getting regulators playing (a) at all, (b) in tune, and (c) steadily, would be great.
So far I’ve got the tenor somewhat close to in tune, but it’s very pressure sensitive, and notes will go sharp, flat, or become entirely different notes at the slightest provocation.
The baritone is sharp with the reed all the way out. There’s a rush in there, but I could make it a bit thicker.
One note on the baritone isn’t working at all; it just squeaks, gasps and falls silent.
If they are playing very sharp the reeds may be closed up. Squeeze the bridle and open them up until the playing pressure is balanced with the chanter.
Once the response and pressure are about right, then you can fine tune them.
Adjust the depth of reed insertion until the highest note is in tune and (hopefully) the lower notes are sharp if anything. Then add some poster putty or plumbers tape to the rush above the hole of the sharp note, starting with the highest one that’s out of tune (it will flatten the ones below also). Work your way down to the bottom.
Doc,
Pat Sky moved to the mountains in NC - Spruce Pine to be exact. He just completed a D chanter with wooden top and C nat key for me - it was an early Christmas present to me…I must have been very good this year!
Congrats on the set! I must have cried for months when I had to sell my B set… I still miss those pipes.
email me if you need help with those regs… I have some ideas about what to do… i have restored a few sets, including my own after a double reg reed incident at a pub gig not too long ago…
the bridle may have to come down on the sharp reed, and then tightened up a bit go open the reed back up after it closes down… my bari reg was always a bit strange until i tried a tuning slide for the reed - this has helped tremendously… plus depending on how deep the cavity is in the stock for the reed, allows the reed to slide out thus increasing your ability to flatten it.
Thanks! Maze, I may take you up on that offer, if my friend Jim isn’t able to help tomorrow. The regs both already have brass tubing tuning slides for the reeds…
