A piper friend of mine has an unusual problem. Now, normally the soft D is a somewhat flatter pitch than the hard D, but in his case the situation’s reversed: his hard D is markedly flatter in pitch than the soft D. I don’t think I’ve ever come across this before.
I’m assuming it’s the reed. Short of contacting the maker (which I advised), is there anyone having experience with this phenomenon, what would cause it, and what might be done to remedy it?
I would perform the usual triage, even in this switcharoo scenario: a U rush in the bell, or an O ring in the bell bore-wise, a string tail down the throat (short of the thumb hole), checking the reed for gunk, opening it/closing it yadayadayada.
T
“Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it.” - Ella Williams
“But try to swallow it whole, and only distress will be yours.” - Nano
“Sometimes though you just have to unhinge the ol’ jaw and take your lumps. We have so much to learn from The Snakes” - tommykleen
Thanks. In lieu of the more mysterious approaches I was anticipating, this will do. Who knows? The counterintuitive and the pipes are old, old acquaintances, after all.