Just quoting what I remember from Leo Rowsome’s tutor is all. It’s what I’ve done for the past ten years based on what I read and have been told and observed others do. Makes sense since you can play an A and tune your drones with the right hand. Never trust back D or bottom D as they are the most likely to be out of tune with the chanter due to reed seating etc. and hardest to get INTO tune.
Even highland pipers tune to their equivalent of A, ie, the note a 5th above the tonic. It’s the most easiest to hear the harmony and adjusting the seating of the reed has great affect on the balance of the chanter above and below the 5th note.
Also, reed seating will affect the overall balance of tuning by affecting the top notes and bottom notes more than the A so it makes sense to check you chanter’s tuning against the drones by tuning to harmonise with the A first, then check it on the Ds.
Once I have the drones in harmony with the A, I then check the chanter’s overall balance by checking each individual note’s harmony with the drones - something that is only possible with just intonation. The further up or down from the A the more likely there is to be a lack of harmony due to the reed not seated in the ideal position. This is what Rowsome was getting at when he says to tune to A and then check the Ds to the drones. I remember he said - if the drones seek too far out then do so and so to the chanter reed, if the drones seek too far in, do such and such to the chanter reed, ie, tune the drones to the A and test the rest of the chanter to the drones.
I think we’re forgetting that we need to think wholistically when tuning. Start with tuning the drones to the chanter, but then tune everything else according to everything else, in short,until you have harmony.
On a just intonation instrument such as the pipes, you should then be able to play D on the drones, E on the chanter and f# on the regulators and have perfect harmony - somthing that is impossible on a piano.
The check your chanter’s low D against the drones and then the Back D against the drones and depending on whether the D is sharp or flat against the drones will determine how far in or out to reseat the chanter reed.
As I said, you can check bottom d with your drones, but the point is not to make the Ds your reference point. That’s the A’s task, being the most reliable relativiely speaking. Yes it will go up and down with the humidity but it’s still the safest option in my opinion. When talking to Andy Irvine recently he told me they ALWAYS had problems with Liam O’Flynn’s tuning but that they never worried too much about it - they’d just simply tune up to his A whereever it was.
Often when I make a reed, or reseat a reed, the top hand notes above the A (b, c and back D) are flattening as I go up and the bottom hand notes are sharpening as I descend. Tuning the drones to bottom D would give me a false reading. Tuning to A allows me to check the overall balance. If the top notes are flat against the drones, then the reed is too far out. When I push the reed further in (only a smidgin) it brings the whole chanter into balance. Sure, the A may now be slightly sharper, but the balance is correct - no need for putty and rushes, except I admit, a little in the bell, but mainly to balance out soft d and hard D to bring them into tune with each other.
In the end, I think we’re splitting hairs and it doesn’t really matter - it’s all a means to an end.
Cheers,
DavidG
(nah, I wouldn’t rub djm, he does it for me! 
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Where can I purchase the CDs from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in Australia.