Bagpipe chanter

[kid icarus]

It squeeks when changing notes fast, and gives a sharp sound. It does OK for slow tunes,

this sounds like a technique/finger placement issue. and you did mention you are just starting out. words of advice - a new chanter is not going to help resolve technique issues. personally, i would stick with the poly for a little bit. they are fairly indestructible and wood chanters take a little more finesse. have you been to the bob dunsire forums yet?

[Snowbear]

Have not tried that forum yet, but will give it a try.

From the first moment I tought it was my fingering, but other people are also getting the noise. And I can play much better on other chanters. I can take a picture of it later today. Then you might be able to spot the flaws with it.

[EagleJCS]

I'm not an expert (there are lots of others on the Dunsire forum better qualified than I), but it sounds to me like it more likely might be a reed issue, especially if others are having the same problems with your chanter/reed. One of several things could be going on: it's not seated in the reed seat well (loose), the reed is chipped or split, it's too wet or it's too dry (some reeds like just a little bit of moisture).

It could also be that the reed is simply worn out (you made it too easy to play by shaving/sanding the blades). This weakens the reed and causes premature failure of the reed. To try to fix that, shave a sliver off the reed blades - no more than the width of the blade you use to cut with (about 1mm or less).

You can also check out Chris Apps' website to help in diagnosis of the problem.

There are lots of high-ranked competition bands using poly chanters that get great sound, so don't get discouraged.

[Mr. Woolery]

Chirping chanters, especially if consistent within your band, can be a problem with the chanter and reed combination or with technique. Poly chanters do normally deliver a good solid sound.

But blackwood is better. I have not found a need for more finesse, just a little respect and proper care. I actually find that the increased tactile feedback from a vibrant chanter makes for a much easier-to-play chanter. In that way the blackwood chanter does make me a better piper. It isn't a magic bullet and won't make a hack into a grade 1 piper, but it is pleasant to play and brings me more piping joy. And that's why I play, after all.

If your fingers are thin or your hands are small, try to compare different blackwood chanters before you buy. MacLellan, for example, makes a chanter with small holes and closer spacing, at least as compared to the McCallum band chanters that have enormous holes and wide spacing. (FWIW, I play a McCallum band chanter and my personal wood chanter is also a McCallum. I have large hands and no trouble covering the holes, but a very good friend is buying a MacLellan chanter and her hands are much smaller than mine. The smaller holes and closer spacing ought to be a better match for her.) If your band chanter has huge holes, it is easy to let a little air escape and get those chirps that drive pipers batty. Are there particular ornaments that are consistently the worst offenders for squeeks and chirps?

-Patrick

[OC Richard]

The last three bands I played in used McCallum band chanters with the oval holes. These work great with Ross reeds- as close to "plug in and play" and you can get, probably.

Since Ross is local, and Ross reeds are plentiful around here, the McCallum is hard to beat in this area.

You might approach it from the reed side of things. What reeds are locally available to you, to try in person? Then find out which chanter works best with that reed.

[wildrover]

I will echo what others have mentioned, that if you are getting squeaks or flattened notes, first check your fingering technique.

Don't assume that because everyone else is also squeaking, that you are all playing correctly and that it's the equipment which is faulty.

Take a look at that chanter...is there tape all over it? If so, it's more likely to squeak. Try a different brand of reed. Just off the top of my head, Ross, Warnock, Apps, and Gilmour are four of the brands I tried, and they were all consistent within the brand. It just so happened that two of those brands didn't work terribly well in the two chanters I have, the other two brands worked great, but each chanter was better with a different brand. So...experiment.

Next consider if you're overblowing...or if the reed is getting worn...or if it's been "messed with" too much. As my reeds play in, I seem to eventually blow C and E flat...and I know it's time to cram a mandrel up there. Incidentally, I have yet to need to cut, trim, bend, sand, hack, constrict, or otherwise manipulate a reed (beyond the mandrel). Part of that is because I'm a new piper and haven't been through enough reeds in my lifetime to get there, and the other is because I went through a good half dozen or more brands of reeds to find a brand and strength that worked with a minimum of tape and manipulation (your pipes cost at least 800$, probably more like a couple thousand...so don't be a cheapskate when it comes to sorting out the cheap half of the one thing that makes the biggest difference in sound!). There's no good saying "Brand X is the best reed available", because different chanters will work better with different reeds. When you find a good reed/chanter combo, write it down somewhere!

Jon at the Piper's Hut has been very, very helpful in regards to trying different reeds. Also, check out BobDunsire.

I agree, wood chanters have a unique and very pleasing sound...I'd like to get my hands on one eventually...my reward when I move up to Grade 3 will be a wood chanter, I think. Til then, I have a pair of perfectly good synthetic chanters (Dunbar and Carbony), and I can pretty much guarantee that in Grade 4, the judges are watching and listening more for technique, clarity, tuning, and expression than they are the tone of your chanter...so spend that 300$ on reeds, waxed linen thread, and whiskey, and get to practicing .

-Sean

[Mr. Woolery]

Richard-

Funny that you have had good luck with Ross reeds in the McCallum poly chanters. That's what we're using and there's nobody in the band that can actually claim to love them.

And it isn't just being on the frozen fringe of the piping world that makes it. We have plenty of pipers up here who know their stuff. (In fact, you do know a couple of them, though you probably won't remember me as I was just a kid when you would have known me.) Sometimes I suspect that we get sent the rejects that would not sell in other markets. I'm not saying this about Ross, mind you, but I do know that a well-known drum maker sent our band two drums that they later admitted were a failed experiment. And it took having Ed Best (then with LA Scots) contact them about it before they would agree to fix the situation.

I don't know about plug and play with the Ross reeds. I have tape on 5 holes. Everyone in the band has tape on several holes. And these darned Ross reeds get harder with play. That's been consistent. Not easier like every other reed I've tried.

For what it is worth, I am very pleased with both Higgins and Soutar reeds in McCallum chanters. With a slight edge to Higgins for sound and a slight edge to Soutar for consistency. With my ABW McCallum chanter, I don't need any tape for a good scale with a Soutar reed. And that's true with my mom's ABW McCallum chanter and my dad's too. The contrast with the tape-covered poly chanter and the 2x4 Ross reed I have to play in the band is just night and day.

To the OP, it is very true that you should be willing to spend a little on reeds to try a few makes. But ask the retailer when you buy the chanter to suggest a reed that works well with that chanter. And buy a couple of them along with the retailer's second choice. Better than trying to figure it out from scratch.

-Patrick

[OC Richard]

It's not just me personally that gets good results from Ross reeds in McCallum chanters: the LA Scots and some other top bands use that combo.

Here's the LA Scots last weekend. It's odd the way the YouTube video distorts the sound and makes the pipes sound off. I was there and their chanters were sounding fantastic, a great full tone and the whole scale quite in tune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VULXMdxTU7s

It's fair to say that the combined experience of the pipers in that band, including one guy who won Grade One at the Worlds with FMM, is enough to convince me that the McCallum/Ross combination works. It's what I play solo too. The last reed I got required no tape at all, and none require more than minimum tape. The chanters are designed to have tape on every hole anyhow.

But if Ross is sending bad reeds up to you, you would have to either get Ross reeds from a different source, or go with another make of reed, of course.

[Mr. Woolery]

Yeah, I'm not saying Ross is sending us bad reeds, but I am saying that the Ross reeds we have in poly McCallum chanters we play have been more trouble than any other make of reeds we have tried as a band or as individuals. I'm not saying that LA Scots are wrong to play this combination, but it might also be a matter of their level of play meaning that for relatively etherial nuances of tune they are willing to put up with less than fun reeds. In fact, it is because big-name bands use this combination that our PM decided to switch reeds. But our results are not as favorable.

I now have 6 holes taped on my band chanter. SIX! And these Ross reeds we have seem to shift in the bindings, so the two cane slips end up slightly off of each-other. Again, consistent problem with the reeds we have and according to the guest instructor we had up from SFU, common with Ross reeds. He also remarked that Ross reeds tend to get harder with play, not easier.

But the basic point remains true. When anyone buys a nice solo chanter, it is worth trying several different reeds to find a brand that works best for the individual piper, with his setup, in his environment, and with his aesthetic tastes. I settled on Soutar for the reasons above (at least in my McCallum ABW chanter). I'm still looking for a good fit for my old orange-soled Kintail.

-Patrick