Hey Ya’ll,
I recently upgraded my practice set, purchasing a lovely set of drones by Mr. Whitmer. Right now I’m getting used to the pressure changes, but am also wondering how balanced the chanter reed needs to be with those of the drones. I realize the volume requires balance, but right now it seems the chanter reed has a slightly stronger pressure requirement then the drones. What would you recommend? Do the reeds need to be perfectly pressure balanced, so both drones & chanter will start at the same squeeze threshold? Thanks
-Ben
What kind of drone reeds?
Bob
Good choice. Nick makes very nice pipes.
If you’re not yet used to playing with drones, then you should plug the bass and baritone drones and start out with just the tenor. It’ll take a day or so to get used to playing with just one drone. When you’re comfortable with one drone, try two and work your way up to playing with all 3 drones.
When you’ve gotten used to playing with all 3 drones, you should have no problem balancing the pressures between chanter and drones.
BTW, Nick uses cane reeds in his drones.
PJ’s right to suggest starting with the tenor. If they are cane you’ll have to blow those suckers in. They’ll settle and become more efficient over time. Spend a few minutes every practice just blowing in the drones. Trance out while you listen to the interplay pf the overtones.
I wouldn’t rush to adjust the reeds for many hours worth of playing. Let 'em settle before
worrying about the pressure equalization routine. . .it may resolve itself.
Bob