Arundo Donax

[bcullen]

Hi I recently posted and got valuable information on making small bore reeds
The cane i used was from a clump in my back yard in Australia pictured and the reeds have been successful
Because it is a giant cane and is 3 years old i assumed it is arundo. So firstly i am asking if someone can confirm
if it tis or tisnt. (the new growth on the left might be a clue)
In one of Geoffs posts he gave some info about narrow heads being sharper I was having trouble with flat reeds in narrow bore
so i scaled down and indeed came up with sharper reeds Thanks Geoff.

An Experiment:
I microwaved a piece of cane 200x25 for 3 minuets. cooled down, sliced, cut, constructed and scrapped. It came up to
concert and a playable second octave.
I wont do it again until i get a cheap microwave as the smell was PHEW.
The other thing of course is its not to hard to dry naturally



Bryan

[Ted]

Looks like Arundo from here.

Drying cane is not a problem. Curing it is another matter. Cut green, the sap must undergo being broken down within the tubes by viruses and bacteria. This process takes around 3 years. One can quickly dry cane by using heat, but the sap in the cane will be cooked and harden. This yields harder cane. If you kiln dry or microwave the cane you will end up with a poorer quality product than you will get if it is left to cure naturally. Were heat drying to yield cane useful in making musical instrument reeds, it would be done by all the worlds suppliers of cane. All suppliers go through the process of curing. That is accomplished by drying the stalks in the sun for the first few months, then storing the cane out of the sun and weather for at least 2 years before sending it out for use. Some cane from commercial sources will often be improved if set aside for one or more years as full curing is often curtailed by demand. One reason I cut dead cane is that at least the first year of curing is already accomplished. It is dry and tan in color when when I harvest. I have lately been selling cane, some of which is still uncured, as I have been out of cured cane. Most I ship now is ready, but an occasional tube that needs more curing might be sent. I tried microwaving cane in the distant past but did not continue as it made inferior reeds. Many others have been down the same road and no one has continued with microwaving.

[Hans-Joerg]

Ted, do you know whether cane can get too old? I have cane-tubes that have been left for over twenty years now. Do they still make good reeds?

[Ted]

Bassoon cane reportedly gets harder the longer it is stored to become unuseable after a few years. With the soft cane I cut here, I find 25 year old cane to still produce great reeds. Geoff Wooff is still using cane he got in '89. He reports no degradation. Other California cane is reported to harden with age. The only way to know about yours is to try it.

[bcullen]

Well how's that , nothings new but i enjoyed the experiment. So do i take it that the cane is arundo?

I bought some cane from Sampsons California to start me off and have enough of my own drying to last me a life time
I cut the cane into 200mm lengths and sun dried for 3 months (Aussie sun f!@@ hot ) whats the best way to store it??
also is the smaller cane ok for drone reeds and is drying an issue??
Thanks again, this has been very informative
Bryan

[geoff wooff]

Yep,
looks like Arundo Donax to me. The only other thing it could be is Bamboo and you'd struggle to make any reeds from that stuff! There should be plenty of it in South Australia and along the Victorian coasts... Probably brought out from Europe to use as a wind break... as was done by the Spanish in California.

Now Bryan you say that I said narrower heads will be sharper in pitch.... yes that can be true but what I was refering to was a sharper pitch for the upper notes of the high octave when using slightly narrower heads. Though it will be easier to get those 11mm wide heads up to pitch and a sensible pressure if you don't let them get beyond 10.8 finished. Still as you are working with a different make of chanter my comments are only as a guide line.

Geoff.

[Ted]

Store the cane in plastic bins with the lid loose so air can circulate. If using a cardboard box, put the tubes in a plastic bag as cardboard can contain acid which will spoil the cane at the contact point. Line the box with a plastic bag and leave air to circulate. Let it sit for 3 years and you should be good to go. Not all cane will make good reeds. You can check the hardness right away but don't expect reeds from it to remain stable until the cane is fully cured.