I recently spent several days doing some reedmaking. I now have half a dozen reeds on which to do scraping and tweaking and a few more in various stages of assembly. My goal is to get the reeds playing as quiet as possible and still be in good tune.
I know I’ll have to keep the blades relatively closed and the aperture small, but I am looking for any other tips specific to making a good, stable, yet quiet reed.
This has been the focus of my reed making for a few years now.
Your chanter (including the type of wood) will play a big part in how loud the instrument plays, but the reed can make all the difference.
The main way I get a reed playing quietly is to scrape as much as I can without going too far (this will take a few goes to learn how much is too far). I’ve found that scraping at the base does this nicely as the reed is softened and weakened without taking away the strength and curvature of the lips and upper portion, which would cause the back D to break easily. Scraping the base also makes hard D much easier. However, you can severely flatten the back D by scraping this area so a lot depends on how your chanter will respond to such a reed.
My quietest reeds have tended to be very short. They wound up being so short as a result of me scraping them so much that I had to trim them to bring the back D and second octave in (with a 50mm staple, I found that I could go as short as 75mm without stuffing up the tuning). If you scrape a reed to the point that the back D is flat, you can try experimenting with rushes up the chanter that end just short of the back D hole, as this will compensate for the reed and will also assist in quietening the chanter.
Some may say that the hardness of the cane will determine the loudness – I’ve found this to generally be true (softer cane plays quieter), but it is possible to make a hard cane reed play quietly.
I hope that you have some luck and that some others in the forum can give you advice. I think that you will need to experiment as to what your chanter will tolerate you doing to your reeds.
All the best.
I think you just about got it all there Goldy.
Try a narrower slip ( 12mm?) so that you flatten/narrow the 2nd 8ve and also hopefully you get a flat back d, then as Goldy said, rush it to get back d in tune.
And give your reed time to settle, you’d be amazed the difference a month makes, both to the reed and your perception of ‘volume’. Some chanters just have that tone that still stays hard and shrill whatever you do shrug (ABW springs to mind).
Thank you very much fellows!
I’m already using a chanter rush but I will have to cut it back as it currently extends beyond the back d hole. Seems you read my mind about the flat back d issues - thanks.
Also with respect to scraping I have tended to do a minimum amount of scraping at the base of the reed. I was wondering what would happen if I concentrated there. Again thanks for the tip.
I have tended toward harder slips of cane. I do have some softer stuff but I’ve avoided using it for some reason (mostly ignorance?). I have sanded up some softer cane and will try to get it down to a 12mm width as see how she goes.
Both my chanters are made from very dense wood - Lignum Vitae and Ebony. I didn’t realize that this could contribute to the volume issue. Thus the need for a few tips around the making of a hush’d up reed.
Great stuff guys. I’ll let you know how things turn out in a week or two. 
i’ve been expermenting with trying to make a sweeter sounding reed and i came up with one a bit thicker(+.004"). maybe it was a controled accident but it’s a very strong, sweet, soft toned reed, also i made it a tiny bit longer. by strong i mean it has no tendacy to sink on back D or other notes, even entering under high pressure and that all notes are close to equal strength-volume-tone. i am going to try to repeat it to see if it is possible. it was # 15 in my attempts. for my B chanter.
tansy 
magroibin,
I noticed from your web site that you live in southern Ontario. Be advised that when the weather gets colder and drier, your August quiet reed may not be audible at all, or playable for that matter.
Eric Smith
now living in Charlotte, Vermont
Not to worry Eric. Been doing winter piping for years. Neatsfoot Oil has always done the trick for me. 
Also, Kirk Lynch recommended to me not to go too thin when scraping the blades if possible, as thicker blades seem to stand up to the winter a bit better in his opinion. At this point, it seems like it will be a give and take to get a quiter reed that may be thinner, verses one that will work in the winter.
So…if the oil doesn’t work then then I’ll try making some more!
Well…I’ve finished a couple of reeds that play not too bad actually, however they are still a bit wider than (~12.5-13mm) I’d like so the next batch of slips will be made less wide (~12mm or slightly less). Also, they are not as quiet as I’m shooting for.
The problem I’m having is that these reeds require a lot of closing down with the bridle to get them playing quietly. What I’d like is some advice on getting the aperture more flat BEFORE having to rely too much on the bridle.
So…what can be done during the reedmaking process to get a more closed (thus quiet) reed?
I’m thinking re-working the staple to make it more tapered?
Using a less wide slip of cane?
Any other directions??? 
Magroibin wrote:
The problem I’m having is that these reeds require a lot of closing down with the bridle to get them playing quietly. What I’d like is some advice on getting the aperture more flat BEFORE having to rely too much on the bridle.
Have you experimented with a larger diameter sanding cylinder? That should start you out with a more closed aperture. Not that I’m any great shakes on the reeds mind you but I have gone too far in this regard and then you’re trying to squeeze the bridle enough to open the lips!
Good luck!
John
Alter the diameter of the gouge so that it is not as deep, and experiment with using a larger diameter sanding tube/block. Perhaps use a larger diameter tube of cane… around 25mm or so (for concert pitch)
I actually use three different diameter sanding tubes when making my D pitched reeds… 57mm, 64mm and 69mm… but there are other sizes you could substitute both larger and smaller, and I have and still do use them from time to time.
Experimentation with design variation is a great way to begin to truly understand the way cane responds to gouging, sanding, tying on, tuning etc… etc. It takes a while to get the ‘feel’ of the cane as Benedict Koehler has stated, and it can be frustrating (but no more than sucking at golf IMHO ), but the reward is a deep sense of accomplishment when you turn out that ‘killer’ reed for the first time!
I have a long way to go myself, in creating that killer reed as consistantly as I would like to… but the hunt is just as fun for me. Have fun, reedmaking can be a great way to relax.
[quote=“magroibin”]
The problem I’m having is that these reeds require a lot of closing down with the bridle to get them playing quietly. What I’d like is some advice on getting the aperture more flat BEFORE having to rely too much on the bridle.
quote]
Just theorizing, but you might try sanding your slips on a fatter cylinder - that is, one with a greater diameter. You can also try using fatter cylinders of cane. Perhaps the two in combination would give you what you want.
All in all, though, making a quiet concert pitch D reed is a bit like putting an engine governor on a Ferrari.
If quiet is what you want, you need to go narrowbore B, Bb, or C.
True! Oh so true. But drat that Joe Kennedy and his nice quiet medium bore D chanters!!! DRAT DRAT DRAT!
He’s spoiled all the other musicians around here so that my LOUD Honkin’ Ferrari of a Kirk Lynch chanter gets me dirty looks when I bring it to session. (long story 
)
I have a nice sweet sounding Chris Langan chanter and I’m trying to get that reeded up quiet-like so as to please the discriminating sessionistas around here!
I’ve made a few good reeds for it so far but I think I can do better…thus the request for info!!!
Paul,
Any reed can be made and set up to be quiet… in spite of what chanter it might go into.
You could always break down and buy one from him. He needs cash for his big move. 
djm
Listen to Joseph and Alan you must…
I have an older Lynch chanter with the older wider bore than he currently uses… and i tell you it can be an absolute canon…
HOWEVER, I have been playing a BK reed in it for a couple of years at least now, and dep. on what the bridle is doing, it can cut over the loudest banjo, or can be as mellow can be… Don’t think you can’t bring the volume down to where you can blend in just b/c Kirk made it. I have to say with BK’s reed in it, it is one of the sweetest sounding chanters around…
so there is hope grasshopper.
Yes Master Yoda…or is it Master Po
In answer to previous tips I will definately try a larger sanding cylinder when I do up my next batch of slips.
Thank you all. I’ll report back in a couple of weeks with any progress.
Paul
So there I was with my nice new quiet reed sitting in a local session and in walks another piper with an even quieter reed!!! AGGGGHHH. I was kinda happy with my results but look like there’s still room for improvement. A couple more tweaks and things should be right where I want them.
I did manage to figure out how to close down the aperture without having to rely solely upon the bridle. It was something taught to me by Tim Britton in the first reedmaking class I ever took…then forgot about. As shown in his book he uses a pair of pliers to close down the staple some more after the reed is already tied up. I tried that and it did the trick for me!
Now back to the shooting board!
…and as soon as the fiddle started up no one could hear this piperwith the quiet reed??
I think often we are deceived into thinking our reed is loud because of the position of the chanter viz-a-viz our ears. I remember going to a session with what I thought was a loud reed - because after practicing in my room for half an hour my left ear was feeling a tad uncomfortable - yet when I tried to start up a set, my chanter was hard to hear just over the ambient noise of the other patrons. The flute player literally crawled under the table to get closer to my chanter to hear what I was playing. Onced he’d worked it out, off went the rest of the mucisans into what was a very nice set of tunes.
CHeers
DG
I guess my question is - WHY?
Chanters are designed to play in a given volume range and intentionally making your chanter sound weak or timid in it’s tone doesn’t do much to keep the fire of a good session going in my experience. We’ve had all sorts of pipers sit in with us (and four locals that make it out pretty regularly) with varying degrees of loudness.
I think the only thing that a good strong chanter does is to perhaps emphasise the skill 9or lack thereof in my case!) of the piper. But you can do things with a normal reed (ie:louder than it sounds like you’re going for) that a reed with little elevation simply will struggle with - if even play at all. There is a wealth of tonality and vibrance to the tone of a good reed that quiet reeds just can’t carry. At least not that I’ve ever heard.
I’d certainly encourage you to carry on with the quest, and gain a deeper understanding of how cane works and how your chanter responds to it. But don’t let volume be your only guide. Work towards tonality and life in your sound as well. If the other musicians are balking at the volume of a typical concert chanter, either you should spend a bit of time practicing and polishing your technique (Lord knows I need to!!) or ask them to lean into their instruments a bit more as well. Nothing cooler than a fiddler who can make little clouds of rosin fly on a mean set of jigs or reels!
Well…I can make pretty good reeds that have lots of volume, are stable and have good tone. What I am trying to learn are the finer points of reedmaking whereby I can make the reed do what I want it to do, in this case play quiet and stable with good tone.
So…at this point its just a matter of pushing myself in the direction of having greater control over the final product of my reedmaking! I’m glad to say that things are coming along.
Actually, I have two D sets. The one I use for performing and for “driving” sessions is set up to play with a fair amount of volume. The other set is a long standing restoration project that I’m fixing up so as to play at sessions, which around here do tend to be on the quieter side.
Other pipers around here play nice quiet reeds and I do like to be able to hear them and not just myself when playing together. I am finding that I enjoy practising with a quieter set at home as well…and until I can afford a flat set making a nice, quiet, gentlemanly D set is my goal.
That’s what quiet reedmaking is all about Charlie Brown! 
P.S. I almost forgot - balancing the chanter reed with the regulator reeds is another reason for going in that direction!!!