Make a Pressure-Stable Artificial Drone Reed for Any Bagpipe
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- The basic steps to make an artificial drone reed for any bagpipe, using the 2-bend system for maximum pressure stability. It can tolerate up to 40-50% pressure variation with zero pitch change on a high quality uilleann pipe drone. The 2-bend system replicates traditional natural cane behavior. Next drone reed video covers fine-tuning of tone and performance, voicing of individual drones, and voicing the combined stand.
David, this is fascinating stuff and very generous of you to go to the trouble of editing and uploading all this! I am learning to make reeds with the goal of developing a composite material that can be split, gouged and worked just like cane, and developing new designs for historical and modern pipes. Please give me a shout if you are ever in Seattle!
@kurt1698 I use this for Irish uilleann pipes because they play in 2 octaves, which is done by increasing the pressure, so it's more important for them to be stable in changing pressures than for Highland or smallpipes. But the 2-bend method works for any type of drone. It makes reeds with these small plastic tongues strike-in and stabilize just like old fashioned cane reeds with the long tongues.
Thank you for sharing your ideas, I tried with fibre pen cover and it worked.... thank you.
Thx ! greetings from Polish
That's actually an excellent point and if it were possible to edit UA-cam videos I would revise that segment.I've been making reeds for uilleann pipes for many years but of all the operations that have given me cuts, this particular one never has. I wish I'd caught this before I posted it.
@pianoman9876 It's ordinary styrene plastic sheet, 0.015" thick, sold at hobby shops for model railroading. The manufacturer is Evergreen Plastics and you can find them on the web. For my Highland pipe artificial drone reeds I use natural cane for the tubes, and the tongues for those pipes I make from 0.20" thick plastic because of the higher pressure of the bagpipe. When you use the 2-bend method, the artificial reeds strike-in exactly like natural cane reeds and are extremely stable.
@PuYanHui You know, in 44 years of playing I've never made a GHB reed, never found the need for it. I visited P/M Sandy Hain's reed shop in the Cleveland Ohio area years ago; he had a number of metal dies and jigs so he could make them in a batch process. They were all made of identical dimensions so it was a matter of chance which pieces of cane best suited the process, unlike uilleann reeds which are tailored for each cane piece by hand all the way but cost so much more.
I'd be interested to see you make highland pipe reeds.
Would you please film yourself making a GHB reed? Awesome vid.
very helpful and informative. im following this design at the moment as well as makng normal cane reeds. but i want to ask you....are there any measurements or specific diemensions to follow for each drone (bass/bari/tenor)??? im currently using normal cane bodies which are the ones for cuting the tongue, but i sand a flat and make a plastic tongue from some leftover X-mas packaging! any help greatly appreciated.
What mill thickness do you use for the drone blades ? Awesome video btw.
This is a great guideline, thank you. I'm wondering if you could show methods for making the reeds in different keys?
So to clarify, you are suggesting using the same dimensions as he has shown, and tuning the reeds, by adjusting the effective lengths of the tongue by wrapping over less or more of the tongue's length?
Thanks for your help, I'll be sure to follow your advice when I go to make some reeds. Altering the taper hadn't occurred to me, have you found it higher with a more drastic taper or lower?
Alright, that makes sense. Thanks again, I've been meaning to make reeds in a few different keys, and this will help me considerably.
I intend to initially make a set in the key of A, then eventually Bb and G when I get a chance. It is worth mention that I would be making the drones to match the pitch of the reeds, not attempting to make an existing drone set sound in a different key.
The change in diameter would certainly help to lower the pitch without putting on a lot of length. I agree that a set in G would be excellent, much different tone than with the standards. Acrylic reeds, you say? I'm intrigued, I'll have to subscribe so I'm sure to see it. Thanks again for taking the time to pass on your advice, cutting out some of the trial and error is always welcome.
Could you use dental bands for the bridle?
What are you using for the plastic tounge?
hi ser, don't know if you'll watch this but i try......
do you know how long are the C Major drones (both bass and tenor), or at least do you know any website where i can find this tecnic tips?
is that only for scottish small pipes
What is this plastic sheet material? Anyone?
+Ed The Piper Thanks very much for the reply. Along with the additional info on your other post I will try finding these and let you know how it comes out. Great thanks!!
www.evergreenscalemodels.com/Sheets.htm
Based on the info presented on this site, would you recommend the products 9015 & 9020 on the top table?
Best regards!
I don't want to act like your mother or anything, but you REALLY shouldn't be cutting towards yourself with a razor blade. I have plenty of scars on my hands that can prove that lesson to you.