Hello - I’m returning to NSPs after a hiatus of several years. I have an 11-key Burleigh set in trad pitch.
The pipes hadn’t been played in a number of years when I bought them. The chanter reed sounded and ‘fit’ the chanter well in terms of sounding notes across the range so that the chanter was in tune with itself. However, the reed was quiet and muted in tone and opening the blades resulted in too high a playing pressure to balance with the drones.
I bought a new reed which is very good in tone and volume. But, when the tonic and octave match the drones, the major third and the 5th are flat - the third just slightly so (and better flat than sharp for that note) but the fifth noticeably - and that’s hard to ignore. Needs to be sorted.
I have cleaned the chanter, oiled the bore, oiled the pads, removed some of the wool from the bell, moved the reed into and out of the seat. At this stage, the best I can do is tune the 5th to the drone and tape off the tonic to flatten it to suit - but it’s almost closed at that point and doesn’t really sound right.
As I am just beginning both making and learning to play the NSP, I’m not going to offer advice on what to do, However, there are active facebook groups that with helpful experts. I recommend “bagpipe makers exchange” and “Northumbrian smallpipes fettling” as places to go for this specific info.
Can’t speak to NSPs, but GHB chanters are tuned by taping the top edge of the holes. Some are made with oversized holes to facilitate taping.
My Fireside pipes (Gibson small pipes with drones configured like GHB) needed a hole taped. It isn’t a big deal. And much simpler than trying to adjust reeds to match the chanter perfectly.
With, I think, all sorts of bagpipes every chanter reed has a “built-in” scale.
When makers come up with their chanter design it’s based on whatever design of reed they’re using, but the chanter might be out of tune with other reed designs.
You have a correct reed so you know it’s possible. It might come down to finding out who made that reed, or who makes reeds of the same design.
With Highland pipes there’s old lore dating back before they fine-tuned chanters with electrical tape about how to fine-tune the individual chanter notes by carving on the reed.
Essentially each note on the chanter corresponds to a specific place on the cane blades of the reed.
I would assume that this lore also exists in the Northumbrian pipe community. It’s knowing the exact spot on the reed that fixes a flat 3rd, and the spot that fixes a flat 5th.