(This may help those who are already doing a little of tuning, and spending hours not really getting anywhere).
A coarse guide
I’m simply going to regurgitate what Dave Hegarty told me when I saw him last.
Pull the pin all the way out (as far as it’ll go). The top 2 notes, or at very worst, the top note should be unobstructed.
Set the reed in the reg so that the the top note, or 2… are in tune; (*having a tuning slide is handy so you can slide the reed in small increments to get the position just so, and it’s ez to make with a pc. of tubing the next size up). If the top note is good and the 2nd is a wee bit sharp, no prob, as you’re going to tune it using either the rush sans wax/tac, or if needed…with the stuff.
Start adding whatever you normally add to the rush (wax, blu tac etc.) start tuning from the upper notes moving downwards to the notes lower, remembering that whatever you do to the higher notes will have a bearing on the lower ones.
***. Listen to the lowest 2 notes, and try moving the end cap off in small increments so you can learn the affect this has on the pitch of those 2 notes specifically, (this can aid in tuning if the stuff added to the rush has boxed you in pitch-wise). All the while continuing to check the reg as a whole, to hear what’s going on.
Generally speaking, this method has worked (for me) quite well!
Mind you, if you regs were not well made… you’re f*cked. You’ll run into puzzles that are not solvable, such as the middle reg note being flat whilst the others are sharp. etc. Obviously, go back to the pipe maker if you are stuck.
I hope this helps..
Personally, using wooden reg reeds has worked out well for me. I think they can be made very stable. Of course, the bore weighs in heavily on stability e.g. rising or dipping with pressure, and too if you how much stuff you may have on the rush.
I really enjoy the spruce reed sound. I get pleasure out of making a rectangle pc of wood, into a musical entity. I live in a wood and cane friendly climate. Wooden reeds are not great in damp climates, but this applies mostly to chanter reeds. Reg reeds get only a fraction of the “air time” the chanter gets, so even if the air is damp, the exposure is minimal…unless you’re on the regs all the time (and if that’s the case you may have more of an taste issue, than a reed issue:-). Unless you’re playing a reg concert in a hot rain forrest, you should be grand, wood or cane reed.
shortning the bore of a baritone reg by adding bluetack to the tuning pin below the d hole will sharpen the f sharp opening the hole up like so many have a go at doing has the reverse effect on the note than you expect flatening it rather than sharpening.
i have repaired 3 baritone regs that have been altered by the owners.
send them back to the maker is my advise
Personally, using wooden reg reeds has worked out well for me. I think they can be made very stable.
Couldn’t agree more here bud - the tone’s closer to cane than with metal/plastic etc but the stability is awesome. So nice to basically not have to even consider your bag pressure before plonking down a chord.
I found pretty good results using pine which i guess isn’t so far from spruce really. The beauty is i found you can buy it from DIY stores (Wicks in the uk for example) in 8 foot lengths, 15mm wide with one flat side and one curved!! Cost under 2 pounds. So it’s basically a slip shape, just needs gouging and making a bit narrower.
Using this base material gives less control of which way the grain is pointing in the slip but to be honest it seems to make very little difference to the result.
On flat on curved! Good on you, man!!! Pine? Never tried it. Grain direction on counts when cutting, or gouging, otherwise…to my limited knowledge, it has no bearing on performance, etc.
Brazenkane- I believe you are right about wooden reeds for regs. They are so much more staple (not changing drastically with changes in humidity and temp). Like Andy, I have also experimented with making wooden reeds and use them exclusively for my own regs now. I have used a type of redwood that I found at an estate sale. This man had past away and had piles of wood that they were trying to get rid of. The wood was originally intended as a sort of crown molding. It was already cut thin in long strips and seemed flexible and light so I thought I world try it. Had to put the curvature in the slip but the rest of the reed making process was exactly the same. Once I tie up the head and scraped it down it worked wonderfully for reg reeds. The wood vibrates just as easily as cane but also the reed doesn’t want to jump octaves which is great. I love them.
Andy- that is cool that you have gotten pine to work as well. I have a bunch of it that I got from my father a while back. I will have try it out when I get the time.