Boxwood chanters?

dmahler · Post by **dmahler** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 7:40 pm

Hi, its about that time for me to decide the details of the set I currently have on order, and I was wondering what some opinions were of boxwood chanters. Two of my favourite pipers - John McSherry and Tiarnan Ó Duinnchinn - play boxwood chanters and so I ask: are there any specific reasons not to order a chanter in boxwood? Thanks.
-Dylan

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:06 pm

Because boxwood is a fairly light wood (as I've observed from voilin working), I'd think boxwood would be more seceptable to losing shape of warping over time than say, blackwood. Just a guess.

uilleannfinlander · Post by **uilleannfinlander** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 12:20 am

Now having 2 box chanter, one from Dunne one from Haneman
Boxwood has it own characteristiscs and behavings...it may bend or not
but that's only cosmetic, main things with these animals are the sound .
So nice.. like "sweet with edge". But that's only my personal opinnion.(Keenan,McSherry,Duinnchin,Barry etc likes perhaps the samekinda things with D pitch

)

billh · Post by **billh** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:25 am

lordofthestrings wrote:Because boxwood is a fairly light wood (as I've observed from voilin working), I'd think boxwood would be more seceptable to losing shape of warping over time than say, blackwood. Just a guess.

I don't think lightness of wood is a very useful indicator - some dense/heavy woods warp more than some lighter woods (African Blackwood can warp a good bit if not well seasoned).

Boxwood has a particular reputation for warping, but as uilleannfinlander says it depends on the particular piece of wood. In my experience the pieces that are likely to warp will do so pretty much right away, though they may continue to sway with the seasons thereafter. On the other hand, boxwood was a favored wood for making precision straightedges and tools centuries ago - so stable pieces are possible.

Most likely a boxwood chanter will have some small degree of bore warping, which is unimportant to playing characteristics. The outside may be nice and straight so you may not notice this at all.

Be aware of "boxwood" that isn't true botanical boxwood, such as "Thai boxwood" or "South American boxwood", etc. The stuff you want is known as buxus sempervirus (or buxus balearica, but the latter is pretty rare). These other "boxwoods" will look and sound a bit different.

In my experience pieces cut from larger logs, preferably not mixing heartwood and sapwood, are likely to be more stable. In my experience it seems that pieces that come too near the central pith will spell trouble.

The second boxwood chanter that I made warped terribly, while it was still on the lathe (due to differential internal stresses which were released when the key blocks were turned off, apparently). I kept it for myself, to experiment with, but it sounds great and I am forever getting offers to buy it. I continue to learn about how boxwood reacts, and think I am starting to be able to predict which pieces will stay straight.

Tonally the two timbers I would most favor for concert pitch are ebony and boxwood.

best regards,

Bill

PiperTim · Post by **PiperTim** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:40 am

I have a boxwood chanter and love the look of the wood. I agree that it's quite light; probably a little lighter than I'd like since it doesn't feel quite as "substantial" as chanters made from other woods by the same maker.

The maker of my chanter once told be about a boxwood chanter he was in the process of making. He entered his workshop to find it in the shape of a banana. The next day, he returned to find that it had warped back to its original shape. As you can imagine, he decided not to use that particular piece. (I can't guarantee that I'm accurately reproducing this story; it's been a while since I heard it.)

I can't say I've had any problems with mine.

dmahler · Post by **dmahler** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:55 am

uilleannfinlander wrote:Now having 2 box chanter, one from Dunne one from Haneman
Boxwood has it own characteristiscs and behavings...it may bend or not
but that's only cosmetic, main things with these animals are the sound .
So nice.. like "sweet with edge". But that's only my personal opinnion.(Keenan,McSherry,Duinnchin,Barry etc likes perhaps the samekinda things with D pitch )

Exactly! "Sweet with edge" is the perfect description of the sound I'm looking for. The pipe maker I've ordered from has a lot of experience under his belt so I think he's probably seen warped wood many a time before, and knows how to handle it accordingly. Well that settles it. Thanks guys,
-Dylan

uilleannfinlander · Post by **uilleannfinlander** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:35 am

...Barry Kerr with Rogge made boxw.set:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF--f7JxFPk

brendan ring · Post by **brendan ring** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:44 am

The chanter I play is boxwood, and it's bent, but I think it sounds pretty good. Since I made that one eight years ago, I've sorted out the bending problem with the microwave. I'm not actually sure I like ebony that much, everyone plays ebony chanters with cane reeds, thats Africa(or India) and Spain combined. A boxwood chanter with an elder reed, now that's an indigenous sound!

The Sporting Pitchfork · Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:38 pm

I've heard a couple of makers in the past suggest that it isn't possible to bore out boxwood instruments quite as finely as ebony or blackwood instruments, the resulting microscopic rough bits in the bore contributing to a slightly "smoother" degree of sound. For any beginners out there just looking into buying instruments, bear in mind that the chanter reed has a much bigger overall impact on tone than the wood itself. The first reed I had in my boxwood Ó Bríain chanter was freakishly loud--you could blow Paolo Soprani boxes outta the water with it. The wood does of course have an effect on tone, but I think it would be wrong to assume something on the lines of "Gee, if I get a boxwood chanter, it'll sound smooth, creamy, and mellow, but if I get a blackwood chanter, it'll sound strident and harsh."

The risk of bending is the biggest problem with boxwood, as others have noted. However, most of this bending will happen right away if it's going to happen. You might notice a miniscule amount of bending over the years, but nothing that would be immediately visible to the naked eye. My Ó Bríain chanter is pretty damn warped (I think there's a picture of it somewhere in the "Pictures" thread), but it sounds like a million bucks and I wouldn't trade it for anything (except perhaps another Ó Bríain). The boxwood Galloway that I mostly play now is perfectly straight (touch wood) and sounds great.

Some makers charge extra for boxwood instruments; some don't. Be sure to ask when querying about an order.

Didn't Seth Gallagher make a set from Thai boxwood once?