ADJUSTING
DRONE
REEDS
EFFECTS
CAUSED BY ADJUSTMENTS
BALANCING
DRONE
REEDS
These
notes apply to synthetic drone reeds with either synthetic or
cane
tongues.
They are not intended for a specific make - most reeds will be
compatible with some or perhaps all of these instructions. It is
important to note that springing of the tongue can only be applied to
reeds with cane tongues, short plastic
tongues and Omega reeds. Short plastic tongues are quite fragile and
any adjustment to the spring should be gentle in the extreme. Omega
tongues cannot be sprung but have the feature of an adjustable
bend in the body - simply apply "springing" to the body rather than the
tongue. Under no circumstances should a carbon or glass fibre tongue be
sprung.
Usually
a combination of two or more adjustments will be necessary to
achieve the best result when you need to alter the response of a
drone reed. Adjusting a reed will often cause other unwanted
side-effects that will need to be compensated for.
M A I N T E N A N C E
- Ensure that your drone reeds
are clean and free of dirt
between
the tongue and reed bed. Any foreign matter could well contribute to
air leakage and instability.
- Regularly
check that your drones reeds are firmly
seated into the
drones and
that they
are straight with no chance of them touching the interior of the stocks.
- Occasionally
check reeds for airtightness. Excessive
leaking may
suggest dust between the tongue and body or perhaps damage to one or
the other.
A D J U S T I N G
D R O N E R E E D S
REED'S
PITCH IS TOO LOW OR THE DRONE IS TOO LOW ON THE PIN
- Shorten
the tongue by
moving the bridle closer to the plug end of the reed.
- Push the plug
in - be aware this will make the
sound louder
and cause the reed to take more air.
- Position
the reed further into the drone reed seat.
- If the reed is too strong, decrease
the spring of the
tongue.
REED'S
PITCH IS TOO HIGH OR THE DRONE IS TOO HIGH ON THE PIN
- Lengthen
the tongue by
moving the bridle away from the plug end of the reed.
- Pull
the plug out - be aware this will make the
tone
smoother and quieter.
- Position
the reed further out of the drone reed
seat.
- If
the reed is too weak, increase the spring of the
tongue.
PITCH
IS UNSTABLE (SENSITIVE TO PRESSURE VARIATION)
- Increase
the spring of the tongue.
- Shorten
the tongue by moving the bridle closer to the
plug end of
the reed.
SOUND
QUALITY IS TOO COARSE
- Shorten
the tongue by moving the bridle closer to the
plug end of
the reed.
- If the reed is
too strong, decrease the spring of the
tongue.
- Position the
reed further out of the drone reed seat.
SOUND
QUALITY IS TOO DULL
- Lengthen
the tongue by moving the bridle away from the
plug end
of the reed.
- Increase the
spring of the tongue towards the bridle
and if
possible, consider decreasing the spring towards the middle.
- Position the
reed further into the drone reed seat.
- Ensure the
contact between the tongue and reed body is
free of
dirt.
REED
IS
TAKING TOO MUCH AIR
- Check
the reed for air-tightness and if necessary clean
between
the tongue and body.
- Check that the
tongue is positioned squarely over the
body.
- Ensure that
the reed is firmly placed in the drone reed
seat.
- Decrease the
spring of the tongue.
- Shorten the
tongue by moving the bridle closer to the
plug end of
the reed.
- Make sure the
bridle isn’t too loose.
DRONE
VOLUME TOO LOUD
- Shorten the
tongue by moving the bridle closer to the plug end of the reed.
- If you can
afford to weaken the reed, shorten the
tongue by
moving the bridle closer to the plug end of the reed.
- Position
the reed further out of the drone reed seat.
DRONE
VOLUME TOO QUIET
- Lengthen
the tongue by moving the bridle away from the plug end of the reed.
- If the reed is
too weak, increase the spring of the
tongue.
- Position
the reed further into the drone reed seat.
FIRST
TONE OF TENOR TOO
STRONG
- Shorten
the
tongue by moving the bridle closer to the plug end of the reed.
- Decrease the
spring of the
tongue - particularly towards the middle.
TENOR
SQUEALS ON STRIKE-IN
- Lengthen
the tongue by moving the bridle away from the plug end of the reed.
- Decrease
spring towards the middle of the tongue and
re-spring
towards the back if the reed is now too weak.
- Check that the
blade isn't twisted in relation the the
bed or
body of the reed.
- Ensure that
the bridle isn't too tight.
REED
STOPS
- Lengthen
the tongue by moving the bridle away from the plug end of the reed.
- Increase
the spring of the tongue.
BASS
REED ROARS ON STRIKE-IN
- Ensure
the top section of the drone is at least up to
the hemp
line or slightly above - up to half an inch is acceptable. The bottom
joint should tune about an inch and a half above the projecting mount.
This is a general guide as some drones will be more forgiving in this
regard due to internal design.
- Lengthen
the tongue by moving the bridle away from the plug end of the reed.
- If you can
afford to weaken the reed, decrease the
spring of the
tongue - particularly towards the middle.
- Ensure the
bridle isn't too tight.
BASS
REED MAKES A
RATTLING SOUND
- Usually caused
by the bass drone tuning too low on the
pins. Shortening the tongue usually has the most success with
this problem - however increasing the spring of the tongue may be
necessary to compensate.
- Position the
reed further into the drone reed seat.
E F F E C T S
C A U S E D B Y A D J U S T M E N T S
SHORTENING
THE TONGUE
- Cause the reed
to take less air.
- Increase the
chance of the reed stopping.
- Weaken the
first tone of tenor drones.
- Possibly cause
the tenor drone to squeal when striking
in.
- Possibly cause
the bass drone to roar when striking in.
LENGTHENING
THE TONGUE
- Cause the reed
to take more air.
- Decrease the
chance of the reed stopping.
- Strengthen the
first tone of tenor drones.
- Possibly help
eliminate tenor drone squealing when
striking in.
PUSHING
THE PLUG INTO
THE REED BODY
- Cause the reed to take more air.
PULLING
THE PLUG OUT
OF THE REED BODY
- Cause the reed
to take less air.
POSITIONING
THE REED
FURTHER INTO THE REED SEAT
POSITIONING
THE
REED FURTHER OUT OF THE REED SEAT
INCREASING
THE SPRING OF
A TONGUE
- Cause the reed
to take more air.
- Decrease the
chance of the reed stopping.
- Strengthen the
first tone of tenor drones.
- Possibly cause
the bass drone to roar on strike-in.
DECREASING
THE SPRING OF
A TONGUE
- Cause the reed
to take less air.
- Increase the
chance of the reed stopping.
- Weaken the
first tone of tenor drones.
- Cause the reed
to take less air.
B
A L A N C I N G
D R O N E R E E D S
Unbalanced
drone reeds are a
major cause of difficulty when it comes to tuning drones. The reeds
should be
set-up
so that if you vary your blowing pressure, the drones stay in tune to
themselves, even if the overall pitch varies a little. The following
method is useful for balancing or matching drone reeds and assumes that
at least one tenor is correctly set up with regard to strength and
pitch.
- Firstly
plug the chanter stock.
- While
blowing
slightly under your
average pressure, stop
your
bass drone and tune
the tenors.
- Once
you have done
this,
increase your blowing to slightly above your average pressure. If
the drones stay in tune to themselves, then they are matched. If the
sound begins to waver, this means one drone is less stable than the
other.
- If
this happens,
hold the
increased pressure and re-tune the drones by locating the one you
have to lengthen. This is the least stable drone as it has reacted
the most to the change in pressure. Refer to your reed's instructions
to increase the stability of a reed. Generally you will either
shorten the tongue and or strengthen the spring of the tongue.
- Once
the tenors are
matched -
bring in the bass drone and repeat the above steps with one or both
tenors
operating.
- While
it is
important for the three drones to be balanced -
they do not have to be perfectly matched over a wide range of blowing
pressure - just a little below and a little above your average
pressure is enough.
Williamstown
R.S.L. Pipe
Band Inc.,
C/O The
Secretary,
11
Vivid Court,
Tarneit,
Victoria,
Australia, 3029
Phone: 03
9749 5723
EMAIL - SECRETARY
EMAIL - PIPE MAJOR
ABN - 63
578 773 610
Inc. no. -
A0021634H
Webmaster
Last
Updated: 27/07/2008
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