hi everybody,lets set up a dialogue about reedmaking because without a good reed a chanter is just an expensive stick.i am a reedmaker.lets hear from you first.all the best,allan moller.
Hi Allan,
Any viable synthetic reeds yet ??
Allan
Do you believe in silicone [or other] solvents to reduce sensitivity to humidity??
B.
hi tony and boyd.no viable synthetic reeds as yet as far as i am aware for the uilleanns.
one treatment that works for reeds against humidity is to rub parafin wax into the inside of the slip just before you tie up and polish it well with a lint free cloth.
cheers allan
Allan,
I’ve heard about the wax (paraffin) treatment as well. Isn’t pure paraffin rather stiff and brittle? I read somewhere to use automotive paste wax instead. I’m wondering if there are solvents in the paste wax that could harm the cane or change it’s sound in any way.
Have you tried any wood finishing products like lacquer wood sealer or vinyl sealer ??
dear tony,paraffin wax is the best internal sealer for chanter reeds as it polishes off to leave a very high finish that does not interfere with the tone of the reed.other finishes such as lacquers etc.have a seriously detrimental effect on the response of the cane.however the jury is still out on the matter of pretreating the unworked slip and i have an amusing and true story.i only use slips of 25mm.external circ,for d reeds the other slips i store in a box as in time some of them season out to a useable size.i also have a very inquisitive grey tom-cat named pwt(welsh)who is fascinated by my workshop and any open boxes therein as they remind him of his kitten litter box days.several years ago i had a lovely stock of these slips mellowing out nicely in the box,pwt slipped in unnoticed and relieved himself liquidly all over the cane,i didnt discover it for a few days by which time it was nicely marinated.being loathe to waste any cane i dried out the slips in the airing cupboard for a couple of months and then made some reeds from them and lo and behold they sounded tremendous,you never can tell!!! all the best,allan moller
Sounds like the same kind of mystery regarding Stradivarius woods and the speculation that part of what makes them so terribly resonant and beautiful is their impregnation with various minerals from the water the wood soaked in for a while.
Perhaps you have the new secret method for pre-preperation of cane. Cat Urine. Better patent it before someone else does.
Dionys
Allan, that is a strange story indeed… good thing these reeds aren’t mouth blown, yuck !
I hate to ask what the room smells like when you play these pissed-on reeds. but this does bring up a realistic question, if there’s a water-based solution that reeds can be soaked in (other than neetsfoot) to improve their performance.
Currently, I have about 10 playable reeds in various recipies. My favorite is hard cane slightly on the wide side with a deep scrape sanded smooth. It was warm & humid here this past weekend and it was performing well. We had rain followed by a cold front where temps dropped 40 degrees fairenheit and relative humidity went from 90% to about 40% within a few hours. I lost back D… actually it was there but with a cracking sound at any pressure… so, I switched to a different reed, one that looks like the reed for my C chanter. I tweaked for about a half hour and ended up using a tiny rubber band about 4-5mm above the bridal.
I’m happy with it’s performance now but, I hope it plays the same in a few days.
Important question… when I try the paraffin should I try to hydrate the reed to get it back to performing the way it did before the change in weather ??
dear tony,all things being said and done i must admit that i am not a great believer in treating cane at all.it has been my experience that there is no susbstitute for good old fashioned well seasoned cane of the best quality.some of my stock is 15 years old and i have piece given to me by kevin rowsome that belonged to his grandfather,leo,that dates from the 40,s/50,s,i have made one terrific flat reed from it and am saving the rest of it for very special jobs.i also have an e flat reed made by willy clancy for a william rowsome chanter that is at least 40 or 50 years old and it still crows beautifully.i believe that its all down to good cane and getting it is just pure luck.reeds as you know do not last for ever when one blows out,make another,that was the philosophy of the old boys.dont waste your valuable playing time messing around with duff reeds,rather spend it on making good ones.cheers,allan moller
Allan,
What’s so different about 15 year old cane than 5 year old cane? Is it humidity levels within the fibers of the cane that change?
What do you estimate the practical life expectancy of good reed in a D chanter that gets played 5-10 hours per week?
Hi I found this amazing reed making website. It uses over 75+ pictures on top of explinations.
http://home.planet.nl/~HartDD/Reed/reed.html
caryn
Caryn,
That’s Evertjan 't Hart of the group FLING http://www.flingmusic.com/
They have music samples on the website that are awesome. Check out ‘Return to Clifden’ from ‘The Blackbird’ CD… it’s played on a 30+ year old keyless chanter in the key of B that Evertjan found in a Pawn Shop somewhere in England.
How are those piping lessons going ??
Piping lessons are going well. I am going to have another lesson Jan. 4th.
I will definatly look at the website. I think someday I might try my hand at reed making, but it seems kind of difficult (but then again, what aspect of Uilleann pipes isn’t difficult?;))
Caryn
Interesting, this seasoning, treating business. As a working reedmaker,I would go as far as to suggest that storeage is the main pointer. I have a great stock of 30 yr old chanter cane and miniature drone reed cane that I inherited, but it was kept in a mouldy pub basement and even now its well dried etc., it is useless because it is rotten. Yet 5 yr old cane that was accidentally (sort of)left in the shed in sunlight hardened out to useless but now its been stored away for 3 years its great. I think you just can’t win… BTW theres a fellow in Sardinia who is hand selecting cane to specific requirements, its expensive but he seems open to Bagpipe ephemera trade??? If anyones interested mail me for his info., (unless Im miles behind the times and everyones buying from him these days!!)
Alan,
I know that David Daye is doing some extensive cane testing with regard to tempering or shocking the cane. The results are said to yield reeds that are less succeptable to problems and changes from temperature and humidity without any affect on it’s sound or performance.
He also makes reeds in controlled environments so the reed will perform in the stated environment. For example, if you live in the middle of the desert, he will acclimate the cane in a special room that matches the temps and humidity of ‘a desert’ so it plays best for those conditions. The only drawback is it’s only reeds to fit his style of chanter.
Has anyone tried making a reed out of fibracell?
this stuff here:
Looks like you’d need 2 tenor sax’s to do it
Jeff
Where the hell have you been ??
Work has been busy and then I was out of town for a while. Why? Has this been covered before and I missed it?
No, your absense was noted.
Hey, great link… way too close to home as I’m on a mission currently. Might want to get baritone sax reeds if you have a go at it. Taxes, new roof and work is keeping me busy, much bigger workload than I’m happy with.
I hope the piping is going well for you, it’s been crasy weather here. Heaters in the morning and air conditioning in the afternoon, not the best conditions for reeds but we’re making it OK.
I took my pipes down to Florida with me for a week, nice and humid, about 90%. I left my reeds out on the patio and got them good and hydrated. They played great for about 2weeks after I got home again and then they “dried out” again. Even with a humidifier I can’t keep the humidity in my house where my reeds like it.
so…
I made 2 reeds out of yogurt containers, one actually played, 2nd octave and in tune too, but it was really hard and kind of buzzy sounding. The other one was dead, couldn’t get it to do anything.
I’m gonna keep fiddling with plastic.
The fibracell is very interesting but at 15 bucks a pop (and it would probably take two of them) it’s a little expensive for something I could really botch. I’m gonna look around on the web and see if anyone else makes the stuff.
Jeff