I know that some reedmakers prefer stationary wire bridles to sliding ones. What are some of the reasons for this preference? What (if any) are the advantages of one over another? All of my reeds have sliding bridles, but I’ll go with something new for my next reeds if it’s worth the switch.
Whats with all the disappearing posts !!! Davy Stephenson had a good reply on this topic ,but now its gone !!
RORY
I didn’t even get to see it!
I prefer the slide bridle by far, I’m not a lover of the wire sort. 
I have no idea about this one.
[quote=“Nanohedron”][quote=“rorybbellows”]Whats with all the disappearing posts !!! Davy Stephenson had a good reply on this topic ,but now its gone !!
RORY[/quote]
I have no idea about this one.[/quote]
Yes you do,oooo
Just another way of saying it wasn’t my doing. 
But anyway, I’ve had both types. I now have wire stationary bridles, and like them just fine.
Over 15 years I have had both types of bridle fitted. The stationary wire type is my personal favourite. I think this is because the reed has to be playing perfectly in tune before the bridle gets attached, and there is only one variable - how open is the aperture, rather than how open and what position is it in. If your pipes travel a lot then the sliding type may offer more tuning possibilities, but I have dedicated reeds for the two prevailing weather types I seem to play in most of the time.
With the sliding bridle, my chanters will have difficulty holding either the octave A or B, depending upon the position of the bridle, so I have changed to the fixed bridle placed just above the binding.
My Hillmann D chanter prefers a copper band bridle (I may need to adjust the sanding cylinder diameter to get the final elevation just right), whereas my Gallagher C chanter likes the wire bridle best and will actually play in tune without a bridle with the right temp/humidity.
YMMV
I am not familiar with wire bridles on uilleann reeds. Are they the same as NSP bridles? What type of wire and diameter is used? How many times is the wire wrapped round?
Hi LGM
I tend to use 3 to 4 turns of 0.4mm copper wire for both static and movable bridles.
Historically - have come across sets with both wire and strip bridles in old sets so as per usual nothing is standard.
Basically it comes down to what works for you
Chris
I prefer the copper band bridles because I can take them right off and totally reset them, depending on how big or small an arch I need to set the reed’s inner chamber and how big or small an opening I need at the reed lips throughout the year. With a wire bridle, you can only work within a narrow range of settings depending on when and where the reed was made. Once the RH has dropped to <20% in winter, a reed made in summer or in a humid climate with an RH of >50% just gives up the ghost and the wire bridle cannot be adjusted sufficiently to compensate.
djm
Thanks for the input, I can see the advantages of both. If only I was good at removing the band bridles without breaking reeds! I haven’t managed to get the hang of that which was the impetus for inquiring about wire bridles. Easy to just cut the wire and make a new bridle as needed. That’s what Bruce Childress suggested to me, but we hadn’t gotten the chance to talk in depth about the other advantages.