I just took possession of a used Vignoles practice set! However the reed appears to be a non starter. I can’t get it to crow, and it’s plastic besides. So where do I go from here? I know that eventually I’m going to have to start making them, but I would like to get something ‘workable’ a.s.a.p. so I can get used to the bellows, bags and fingerings while I learn to teak and tweeze the demon reed. Amazingly enough Guitar center doesn’t seem to carry them, so any help getting a brotha off the ground would be appreciated.
Where are you located? Find a piper, reedmaker or pipemaker near you and get them to set you up with a playable reed. Failing that, send the chanter to a reedmaker or to Michael V to have it fitted with a playing reed (and a few spares).
Could this be of some use:
http://www.howardmusic.co.uk/shop/uilleann%20pipes/reeds.htm
A ready made reed costs 51 sterling + post or buy a reed that’s been started and finish it yourself. Haven’t tried them myself but if you’re in the sticks somewhere
A plastic chanter reed is, by definition, a non-starter.
Why not contact Michael Vignoles and have him send you a new reed?
K
What tommykleen said. After years upon years of trying, no one has yet made a truly acceptable synthetic chanter reed; even when they work, they just sound wrong. More’s the pity for those of us living in highly variable climates.
This is not amazing. If any music shop sold them I would be extremely wary, even dismissive of the product out of hand, without even trying them unless I had the money to throw away just to satisfy my curiosity. Uilleann pipes - proper ones by proper makers - are not that kind of instrument for which you can get a generic utility chanter reed, unlike Highland Pipes which are pretty standardised and basically play only nine notes (and again, I refer to proper sets made by proper makers). There are a host of factors which dictate that uilleann pipe chanter reeds must be custom-made, either by yourself or by a reedmaker who will need to have your chanter on hand to really do the job right. There’s really no other way. Anything else is just dumb luck if it works out.
think he was being sarcastic there, Nano.
Thanks, guys. Mr. Vignoles said that he would be glad to fix me up and that I should send the chanter to him. I’ve been wanting to play the pipes forever so I guess a couple more weeks won’t kill me. I think I’ll go ahead and get a couple of those unfinshed reeds too and see if I can get them in line with the reed he sends back. Man, I thought I had it bad with saxophone reeds! What have I gotten myself into?
What have you gotten yourself into, indeed! Good luck and keep us posted!
K
It’s a special little hell. Welcome to it.
The thing to remember is, for all its complexity, this is a folk instrument. Ordinary people can and do learn to play it, even brilliantly ( most of the greats had/have day-jobs), and even to make or at least maintain their own reeds.
Seek help when you need it (good start on that! 
, play every minute you can, and before you know it you’ll be a competent (if surly) piper, and proud of it!
–Mick
Oops.
Would it help any if I confessed that I myself checked a music shop or two for the same thing back in the day when I didn’t know any better? Eh…probably not…
I’ll never live that “surly” thing down. 
Thanks everyone, I’ll let you know what happens. In the mean time I’ve got a gig a a kid’s birthday party blowing up the balloons. Can’t just let my bag and bellows lay around, you know.
Seriously though, I’ve got a couple of leads on pipers in the area (San Antonio Texas), but I haven’t managed to track one down yet.
More’s the pity for those of us living in highly variable climates.
good heavens is that sadly true!!
I’m still chasing leads for someone in my area too, best of luck!
Is Houston too far to go?
K
I was able to a find (through here on the forum) a good teacher only 60 miles from my house. So glad that I did! She has been able to teach me things that no tutor book or video ever mentions. Pretty sure that I would have been horribly frustrated trying to figure things out on my own. The point being, that even if you have to drive a long way and only have a lesson once a month, it is way worth it to have a teacher. Good luck with your search.
Well the plot has thickened a bit. I was able to spend some time with a highland piper, who has UP experience, though he was forced to sell his set some years back. One thing he discovered was that the valve that keeps the air in the bag from returning to the bellows was missing. So even if I had found the perfect reed there would have been that to deal with and I would have been none the wiser! He was kind enough to fix one up for me with spare parts for his bagpipes.
While he was able to coax a few notes after words, you could see that it was hard going, and he said there was not much use in fooling with this particular reed. His advice was to buy a few of the Pakistani reeds available from Amazon or eBay, saying that while they wouldn’t be great reeds at least one would surely get me through the first spell of learning which would likely be learning to play two or three notes steady. And that would leave me with a couple of spares that might be shaped into better reeds, or a better reed could otherwise be found in the meantime. He also had some horror stories of pipers being taken advantage of by the port authority that had me rethinking sending my chanter to Ireland.
On top of that he heard that another piper had moved into town, and while he had not made contact yet, he expected to and would keep me in mind, should he be willing to spend some time with me. So wheels appear to be rolling here!
Houston is surely doable with a little planning. I have a sister there who would put me up and maybe even let me out of her sight for a few hours. Someone else (unless that was you under a different name) also contacted me regarding Houston, even mentioning the occasional workshop.
I just started out some months ago and I would really advice to send your hole set to Michael Vignoles for a checkup and a new reed. If you are not able to find someone with a lots of experience with the instrument and in making reeds (who you can visit more than one time), it will be a lot harder in the future. You might have the tendency to blame it on the instrument, because you simply don’t know if everything is working correctly. If you get a new reed and the confirmation that everything works ok by the maker himself, learning will be much easier. Also the maker will know which reed dimensions will work the best. I think it is really worth waiting a bit longer.