i seem to have accidentally damaged the reed on my new c chanter(a couple of nicks at the top of it),
but luckily only the one note seems to be giving me problems
does this sound like something that's fixable?
if it's not it's not the end of the world as i can still practice
gurgling bottom d
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PJ
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Re: gurgling bottom d
Firstly, make sure you remove any rushes, card/paper, etc which maybe in the bell of the chanter, then try the bottom D to see if the gurgling problem is still there.
If it is, try carefully opening up the lips of the reed by a tiny amount. If you have a bridle on the reed which slides, you might have to slide it up in increments of 0.5 mm each time, checking the bottom D after each adjustment. That might settle the bottom D.
If not, it may be necessary to cut back the lips a little. You'll need a very sharp knife and a very steady hand. Practice on an old reed if you have one handy. You should only remove a hair's breadth from the lips (literally, the width of an eye-lash). You can try this a 2 or 3 times, never taking off more than a hair's breadth from the lips.
If the reed is still gurgling after cutting back the lips, try opening the lips again, as outlined above.
If it is, try carefully opening up the lips of the reed by a tiny amount. If you have a bridle on the reed which slides, you might have to slide it up in increments of 0.5 mm each time, checking the bottom D after each adjustment. That might settle the bottom D.
If not, it may be necessary to cut back the lips a little. You'll need a very sharp knife and a very steady hand. Practice on an old reed if you have one handy. You should only remove a hair's breadth from the lips (literally, the width of an eye-lash). You can try this a 2 or 3 times, never taking off more than a hair's breadth from the lips.
If the reed is still gurgling after cutting back the lips, try opening the lips again, as outlined above.
PJ
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mke_mick
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Re: gurgling bottom d
This phenomenon, by the way (gurgling D) is customarily called the "auto-cran," and it's pretty common. If PJ's sound advice doesn't do the trick, search old posts for "auto-cran," "autocran," etc.
Good luck,
Mick
Good luck,
Mick
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Tomcan
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Re: gurgling bottom d
All these advices accord to my experiences as well.
If bottom d is warbling, and you have a reed with a fairly stiff thumb d, you may also try to insert a piece of wire - two inches long - inside the throat of the chanter. Give it a snake - like shape and stick the snake inside the reed staple, but not too deep, to have it fixed by tension. It may cure the bottom d; the thicker the wire, the more effective. BUT: It weakens the back d, lowers the tuning of the d'' and c sharp'', which has to be compensated by pushing the reed in ... some experimenting is to be expected.
And be sure you play in a climate of a humidity of at least 50 %. Dryness affects the bottom d quite much.
Another reason for problems is dirt between the reed blades. remove it with a cutter's blade, gently guiding its sharp edges along the inner blade edges.
Good luck and be careful
Tomcan
If bottom d is warbling, and you have a reed with a fairly stiff thumb d, you may also try to insert a piece of wire - two inches long - inside the throat of the chanter. Give it a snake - like shape and stick the snake inside the reed staple, but not too deep, to have it fixed by tension. It may cure the bottom d; the thicker the wire, the more effective. BUT: It weakens the back d, lowers the tuning of the d'' and c sharp'', which has to be compensated by pushing the reed in ... some experimenting is to be expected.
And be sure you play in a climate of a humidity of at least 50 %. Dryness affects the bottom d quite much.
Another reason for problems is dirt between the reed blades. remove it with a cutter's blade, gently guiding its sharp edges along the inner blade edges.
Good luck and be careful
Tomcan
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David Lim
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Re: gurgling bottom d
That sounds dangerous, I usually slide the corner of a piece of paper into the gap between the lips.Tomcan wrote:Another reason for problems is dirt between the reed blades. remove it with a cutter's blade, gently guiding its sharp edges along the inner blade edges.
Good luck and be careful
Tomcan
Whilst gently squeezing the lips together with first finger and thumb, slowly pull the paper out.
Repeat until the paper comes out clean.
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PJ
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Re: gurgling bottom d
When I was in the army, the treatment was a wire brush and Dettol, three times a day.David Lim wrote:That sounds dangerous, I usually slide the corner of a piece of paper into the gap between the lips.Tomcan wrote:Another reason for problems is dirt between the reed blades. remove it with a cutter's blade, gently guiding its sharp edges along the inner blade edges.
Good luck and be careful
Tomcan
Whilst gently squeezing the lips together with first finger and thumb, slowly pull the paper out.
Repeat until the paper comes out clean.
PJ
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Hans-Joerg
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Re: gurgling bottom d
I happened to "experiment" with narrow-bore-D-chanters recently (but this might be the same for CPs). You know the old egg and hen - problem: What makes a chanter sound and perform perfectly? Is it the nicely made reed (that happens to suit this chanter perfectly)? Is it the quality chanter? All pipers have experienced that all three conditions have to be perfect! I had the luck to have several at hand and that way was able to compile an "optimum-combination" (performance-criteria: Hard-D, hard-E, third-octave-d, rel. light pressure, absolutely in tune). I also have several NB - reamers (area reamers) and copied this chanter.
I found ( who else ? ) that the throat is most important. If it is (much) too wide the bottom D gurgles like hell and no thing inserted into the foot will cure it. If the throat is just a bit too wide it CAN cure it (and may as well not
). My advice therefore: Start fumbling with the throat first (insert a pending fathom or a wire or a small paper roll or a short piece of straw - whatever works best) before you start fumbling with the foot.
I found ( who else ? ) that the throat is most important. If it is (much) too wide the bottom D gurgles like hell and no thing inserted into the foot will cure it. If the throat is just a bit too wide it CAN cure it (and may as well not
). My advice therefore: Start fumbling with the throat first (insert a pending fathom or a wire or a small paper roll or a short piece of straw - whatever works best) before you start fumbling with the foot.