Hello all. Hope this isn’t a repeat of some topic you’ve already dissected, but I couldn’t find anything on it…
I have a half set of Tim Britton’s pipes in D with a chanter that is LOUD!
Although I can play a number of tunes, I don’t yet have the confidence to be the loudest thing in the session. Hence, I’m not getting much playing time with other musicians…
Is there any viable way to reduce the volume of the chanter? Do I need to get a different chanter (narrow bore)? Or is there something I can do to become less antisocial?
Britton’s chanters/reeds tend to be loud. You could find someone to make you a not-quite-so-brilliant reed and that might help some. I’ve heard that a pipe cleaner in the reed staple also helps reduce volume, though I haven’t tried it myself and I imagine it wouldn’t be anything near the perfect solution.
Dionys
p.s. Keep the set. You’ll appreciate it when you are more confident. As for buying a narrow bore – Listen to them before you jump on that bandwagon.
You could try moving the bridle down just a fraction which will close the lips of the reed a bit, and make it quiter.Don’t forget to compensate the adjustment by moving the reed up in the seat a tad…
Slan go foil
Liam
The pipe cleaner is an intriguing proposition… Any idea how one would keep the piece of pipe cleaner from being blown out of the reed and into the chanter bore?
When ‘rushing’ a staple you can make a ‘V’ shaped bend about 1/4" from the end of the wire and press it into the bottom of the tube. This way, you can easily remove it if you don’t like the results. It’s usually done to correct certain tuning problems. A thin piece of wire (guitar string) is sometimes used.
I just tried a 1" long piece of pipe cleaner and it choked off the reed completely. I then made a zig-zag bend and placed it into the bore and it muted the chanter. It sounded like an out of tune bamboo saxophone… only worse!
I’ve used rubber bands successfully in the past to take ‘the edge off’ a really lively reed without changing it’s tuning. Be sure the rubber band isn’t very tight or it may distort the reed and render it useless. Also, replace them every once-in-awhile as they become gummy and bond to the reed.
I just tried this… and it only dropped the volume a tiny bit.
If you go with Uilliam’s suggestion make a thin pencil mark of the location the bridal is in BEFORE you move it. Makes it easier finding the original setting if you decide to go back.
To tell the truth, I like a loud chanter. Those of you who are historians of piping may be able to answer the question of proper volume: How did the old pipers make themselves heard above the clomp and din of a roomfull of people step dancing and chatting? I can’t imagine a very quiet chanter making itself heard in those conditions without a microphne,(and a Marshall Stack amp).
On 2003-02-16 20:37, marcpipes wrote:
How did the old pipers make themselves heard above the clomp and din of a roomfull of people step dancing and chatting? I can’t imagine a very quiet chanter making itself heard in those conditions without a microphne,(and a Marshall Stack amp).
I am sure they could be heard fine in the old days.Dances were held in kitchens or if the weather was good in the open not in halls or ballrooms which only became popular for the masses after the 1st World War.
The wide bore chanter commonly alluded to as concert pitch was developed in America because the sound of the flat sets could not be heard from the accoustic only stages of the larger music halls found there,and no doubt left some disgruntled concert goers asking for there money back(politely I hope!!)
The concert pitch set cannot be compared to the flat set other than on outward appearance
and there are many who would say it is a completely different instrument to one which the old timers would recognise.
Slan go foill
Liam
