Question for the pipers...

[puddlemuddle]

Hey guys,
Ok I have been playing for 20 odd years...and I am usually pretty good at trouble shooting...BUT...I have three new reeds from Chris Hamilton, Sound Supreme in Medium strength. Now the best one out of the lot is pretty much plug and play....EXCEPT...the high F, which is flat...blowing up isn't an option as it puts to much strain on the reed, and tape actually seems to make in FLATTER............
Any ideas? Oh yeah...the other have the same problem, but the rest of the notes aren't as in sync with each other...so they'll take a little more work.
Thanks!
Chad

[beloitpiper]

Set the reed higher in the socket and adjust the lower notes with tape if necessary. What chanter do you have? Maybe you should try to get complimentary reed from the chanter manufacturer, if available.

[piperdbh]

Something I've used before is to tape off the bottom half off the F hole. If that doesn't work, I think the suggestions offered by Beloitpiper are your best course of action. I hope it works for you.

[puddlemuddle]

Thanks guys,
Ill try both of these. I don't know what it is. I have a brand new set of Soutars...three new chanter reeds, and two new sets of drone reeds....and it seems like A LOT of the chanter reeds I have been getting have this issue with the F. I don't get it, they were great pipes for the first month, and they still are..I know that the damned weather here has been playing havoc, since I play every night outside right on the beach basically, I have played in everything from 42 degree weather and crystal clear skies to 72 degrees and fog and that's just in the last two weeks!..........oh the joys of piping......
Cheers,
Chad

[MacHummel]

I would go with Beloitpiper suggestion I play Hardies and use a Dunbar chanter and play Elliot reeds I have had the same issue in colder weather but no in the warmer weather.

[JS Sanders]

Chad,

Flat F's can be a tough row to hoe and C's can be just as aggravating. Here're some techniques I've learnt over the years. The 'invasive' ones should be the last tried, since the reed will be forever altered.

One of more of these should solve your problem.

1) Try pinching the soundbox of the reed. Hold it for a minute or two. Just enough pressure to close the lips. You may need multiple attempts before writing off this fix.

2) Because you stated the notes are outta sync, I presume you mean the chanter is unbalanced. This could be the simplest fix of all.

Tape the Low A. By flattening that, you'll likely bring it into line with F and C too if it's not spot on. Doing this, you shouldn't need to sink the reed so far to get the High A balanced.

3) With a new razor, X-Acto, or scalpel blade and remove a 1/32" (or less if possible) of the blade of the reed. You must have a clean square cut. Don't saw it off - press down quickly & cleanly. Once done though, you can't put it back.

4) Shave the squared side edges of the reed, and RAISE (yes - raise) the reed in the seat slightly. Shave very sparingly and test it in the chanter frequently. Shaving edges of of the chanter reed blades narrows them and sharpens the reeds tone.

Also - I've never had good luck with Chris Hamilton's reeds. I've had excellent experiences though with Colin MacLellan's chanter reeds found here: www.pipereeds.com . First truly plug/play reeds I've seen in years.

Slainte,
steve

[kypnkilt]

3) With a new razor, X-Acto, or scalpel blade and remove a 1/32" (or less if possible) of the blade of the reed. You must have a clean square cut. Don't saw it off - press down quickly & cleanly. Once done though, you can't put it back.

You can also use a chisel. It's easier to "sight" straight across the edge and gently tap the handle down to cut of that sliver.

I have a Warnock and MacLellan poly that both usually have a consistent flat F. Pushing the reed in does help, but will sharpen the high hand more...hence more tape if needed. In my case, the D is already too sharp. Way too much tape...so, I tape the low A which helps the F and less tape on the D. I usually avoid ridge cut reeds and use molded reeds instead. Somewhat easier to manipulate. I use either Apps, McPhee, Abedour and Shepard (I use the Shepard reed in my ABW Shepard chanter).

The bottom line is that F is a pain. For me....one of the hardest notes to get right and I know of many "experts" that will say the same. Jim McGillivery's Pipes Ready DVD's has a segment on F and that it is a tough note to tune. He usually recommends to use various reeds until you find the one that works the best. This is trial by error kinda stuff....but necessary.

Remember to make sure the reed is warmed up before tuning. Going outside to play really does require you to tune outside and vice-versa. Also...this is important...do not tune drones and chanter near a fan of some sort. This will wreck havoc on the harmonics. Even computer PSU fans, ceiling fans, window, A/C, etc can directly affect how the drones are tuned which is in direct relation to tuning the chanter.

[Captain Twining]

I second the minor surgery on the end of the reed. I play McCann reeds in a Dunbar poly chanter and that's the ONLY way I can make the F sound right.

A small block of wood also helps(lay the reed on it before chopping) I also use a new stanley type blade and a jeweler's hammer to gently smack the top of the blade.

It's a slow process as I never take more than a fingernail's with off at a time.

If this makes the reed too hard sand the soundbox as usual.

[puddlemuddle]

Thanks for al lth tips guys. I was able to sit the reed pretty far down in the chanter (Shepard) last night, then tape up the low A and the D, and that seemed to work pretty good until Ihave time to sit down and really work on these things.....aahhh the joy of piping........I can't wait to get back into a band again when we move back to Tucson!!!!!
Cheers,
CHad

[highlander_Daz]

i might go right when blown in , williams reeds are a mile out at first as are chesneys at times