Ezeedrone Reeds Caution

[midden]

I bought a set of Ezeedrone uilleann pipe drone reeds for my Kirk Lynch drones to see how they would work but found that they don't fit my drones even though the seller, Pipedreams, said that these reeds fit most uilleann pipe drones. The Ezeedrone instructions say that "For drones with a particularly narrow diameter reed seat, it is perfectly acceptable to carefully remove the rubber sleeve from the end of the reed and apply waxed hemp to allow a secure fit to the drone." So I tried to carefully remove the rubber sleeve from the end of the tenor reed but it came off in pieces. And then I found that the reed body was still too large to fit into my drone reed seat. I emailed Pipedreams to find out how I could return the reeds for a refund since they clearly would not work with my drones and they have refused to accept a return saying that the reeds are now damaged because I removed one of the rubber sleeves. I'm disappointed with this attitude since I would not have removed the rubber sleeve if they had indicated that doing so would make it impossible to return the reeds but instead they had written in the instructions "it is perfectly acceptable to..." I just want to caution anyone else who might be considering buying Ezeedrone reeds for the uilleann pipe drones to be sure that they fit, otherwise you may be stuck with some reeds that are of no use to you.

Bob Midden
Bowling Green, OH, USA

[hpinson]

Don't give up. Get some 220 grit sandpaper and roll in into a cylinder of a similar diameter as the end of your drone reed, with the grit side in. Put your EzeeDrone reed end inside the cylinder and gently spin, taking a little material off at a time until they fit. Once they seat, wrap a little plumbers Teflon tape around the ends to get a good airtight seal. Unless your reed seats are really undersized, this should work.

If your reed seat has a taper (many do) use an exacto knife to take of tiny shavings and mimic the taper (think like a pencil sharpner), and then smooth using the above sanding method (I had to do this). Go very slowly being careful to get just the right taper.

Keep in mind that it is not possible for EzeeDrone to anticipate all different sizes and tapers of reed seats, since there really are no mutually agreed upon standard sizes from maker to maker. Most everyone I know who has these has had to adjust them to some extent using this or a similar method. Once seated they perform well, and are quite stable. The reeds have a good amount of plastic material that can be removed to seat.

If you just don't feel comfortable doing this, post them for sale here, and you will probably find a buyer.

[uilleannfinlander]

tenors reedbody didn't fit with my stock, so a rough file to make body thinner , Voila', it took five minutes.
Offcourse u have to remove reedtongue etc parts before ,and be carefull not to touch reed seat .

[midden]

Thanks for this advice. Since buying the Ezeedrone reeds I've acquired an excellent set of drone reeds made by Bernard Kohler for my drones so no longer need the Ezeedrone reeds so will probably put them up for sale. The one problem is that I've removed the rubber sleeve from the tenor reed and it came off in pieces so can't be restored.

Bob Midden

[highland-piper]

I think the rubber tube is just standard stuff you can get at a hardware store.

Common advice regarding EZ Drone reeds is to remove the rubber and replace it with waxed hemp anyway. Not as easy, but seems to work better for many people.