Back D's on Neill O'Grady pipes

J-dub · Post by **J-dub** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 11:29 am

Back to Jamie Kerr's question,
I cut a small square from a playing card, approx. the inner circumfrence of the staple and ~0.5 cm high, roll it up and shove it up the staple. Voila, an enema for your reed! I use an old bike spoke to insert the rool of card and to move it around (a bamboo Bar-B-Q skewer works if you don't have piles of old spokes laying around like I do). It is necessary to experiment with the length and position of the rush in the staple. It is quite remarkable how sensitive the upper octave is to the size/position of the rush in the staple. I eventually placed it fairly high (maybe a centimeter). This flattened the upper hand of the second octave, which was sharp overall anyways.

It is much easier to hit and hold the high notes after rushing, particularly high D. I can now get to high D by leading from F' through A' straight to D'' (a technique favored by Seamus Ennis) rather than running through a bunch of grace notes to get there.

As far as the sinking back D, I'm not entirely sure how the rush affected it since I also trimmed a tiny amount off of the lips to stablize the back D at the same time.

One thing that made the process irksome (until I realized the problem)was that I was not always getting the reed back it's original postion in the seat, and I was getting leaks around the seat occasionally. So, eventhough you have to remove and replace the reed many times in this process take the time to make sure it is square in the chanter and there are no leaks. Otherwise a potentially good position of the rush might be obscured by noises caused by leaks, etc..

Good luck!
John.

JamieKerr · Post by **JamieKerr** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 2:15 pm

J-dub,

Thanks for the constructive reply. Last night, I played with the bridle of my reed a bit. I nudged it up a very tiny bit. After that, my back 'd' was very solid and loud, and I couldn't make it sink.

As far as where this thread started to go, people buy different pipes from different makers for different reasons. In my case, it was a matter of price and geography. Neil's pipes were within the range I was able to afford. That being said, I am very happy with my set, with the disclaimer that I have never tried another set. I find the set easy to play, and it plays all the time. If the only issue is a periodic sinking back 'd', then I think that it is not too bad! I hate to see a lot of these threads descend into general, negative comments due to snobbery, and other reasons.

Again, thanks for the advice!

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 9:26 pm

That's cool cause I whipped out bank

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 9:53 pm

Hey young duffer, you ain't suppose to nibble on them, leave it beaver
and you won't become nearly as susceptible to indigestion.

tok · Post by **tok** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:35 pm

hey kev , not to really join in the slagg here , but I have to say that personally that ,, I think that I would be better off if I did not slagg pipemakers If I never made a set myself .

yerself ,,lol .

.
I had probs with weak back dees on most of the " thanters" I have owned , though I think there is a trade off as you go into the wider bores , that being , more bore , more pressure , If you want to play a wide bore with less pressure , then the first note to go is the back d . Add rushes where needed to bring the set into tune . Rousome did this .Both in the chanter , and the reggulators . Mabey neil is savvy to this , and his intentions are good in seeking a balance in the chanter . In moose country . Maine . Where they have braids in their hair .

tok .

AlanB · Post by **AlanB** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 3:28 am

Kevin, (or anyone)

I was never much good at spot the difference Enlighten me, exactly what's wrong with the picture??? (apart from that it's not made of ebony or box

).

Alan

snoogie · Post by **snoogie** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 7:21 am

AlanB wrote:Kevin, (or anyone)

I was never much good at spot the difference Enlighten me, exactly what's wrong with the picture??? (apart from that it's not made of ebony or box ).

Alan

I've never seen (other than in a photo) and as far as I know have never heard O'Grady pipes, so therefore have no critique to offer. I would agree with Alan, tell me what you see that is a problem with the pipes in question. That way we all may learn something about piping (not just the maturity level of one person).

critique: A critical review or commentary, especially one dealing with works of art or literature.

However, I think a large part of the negative comments on this board are unproductive slagging about this or that maker's product.

Rather than run some one or something down, a better approach would be to explain what you like or dislike about the product or service, or specifics about how they operate (good or bad).

This makes it a non-emotional statement of your opinion, which is I believe in line with the C&F board's guidelines.

Just my $0.02

-gary

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 7:36 am

The 'problem' as I see it...
Neil's pipes sell for about half the price as other makers.

Do you have a problem with that?

Royce · Post by **Royce** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 1:42 pm

Joseph wrote:John,
The climate here in Bakersfield is indeed very arid. The humidty can be very low during the summer ussually 15-20% even sometimes 10%. However, we have wet winters and the humidty goes up the 50's and 60's. So from October to April its comfortably humid, 40's to 60's. But from May to September the humidty drops and it becomes very dry. Joseph

You know, It's been my style in the internet community now for about 10 years never to telegraph facial expressions, no allusions to <G>, no smileys, but you know, pipers are an emotional bunch and tend to think from the crotch and not the cerebellum so:

Joke Joke Joke Joke Joke Joke Joke
There is a joke going on. Joke Joke.
It's still going on.
Joke joke...

(Joke commences...)

You guys, really, throwing those hygrometer readings around, so fixated on the relative humidity, how on earth do you find time to practice? I mean, what difference does it really make whether it's 8% humidity or 80% humidity? That really isn't enough difference to make in one maker's reeds or chanter behavior is it? Just cut or scrape it and make it work for the moment, then next time when conditions predictably change in the opposite direction, throw it out and make another, even though if you'd just left it alone for a few months it would be playing beautifully again, because you've tracked all your reed behaviors and seasonal changes and know exactly what's going on at all times and are prepared with a reed made and set up for that time and place and condition. I mean, what's the fun in having total control over your instrument and making backup reeds you can just pop in and play away without any trouble at all no matter which direction the humidity or temperature swings?

And are you crazy? 8% humidity in Salt Lake? Never! Why, it's 81% right this minute and that's a low for the winter. And just you wait, all summer long it'll be as high as 30 or 40 percent and that's sauna-like conditions.

I mean, right now, Paddy Keenan is sitting in a motel in St. Paul Minnesota, just down the highway from 3M, gulping coffee and frantically sanding and whittling out a reed so he can play tonight! If that's good enough for him, then it ought to be good enough for you. Just trust your ear, trust your reedmaking skills in a pinch--that's what Paddy does and why shouldn't you? Problems? Make one right now. You don't need to plan ahead because you understand your local conditions entirely--be surprized, fix it on the spot when it comes up. Just because you're a rank beginner and tone deaf, oh yeah, and a total retard at reed making...don't let that keep you from emulating those great pipers out there.

Are you this addicted to digital tuners as well? Who cares if this or that note is 20 or 30 cents off--that's irrelevant to Traditional Irish Music. Trust your ear. That's what Seumas did. Why can't you?

I mean, anyone can tell within a cent or two just what pitch the ear is hearing--it's a universal ability in all human beings. And for that matter, the human body can sense within a few percentage points the relative humidity instinctively, so you don't need an electronic or mechanical device to tell you if it's "dry" or "humid."

(Joke discontinues...see references to "sarcasm," or "parody" in the "Jokemaster's Guide to Humor." Either the UK or American Edition.)

Royce

Royce · Post by **Royce** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 1:47 pm

AlanB wrote:Kevin, (or anyone)

I was never much good at spot the difference Enlighten me, exactly what's wrong with the picture??? (apart from that it's not made of ebony or box ).

Alan

I think that may be the point, as it appears to be made of some very open-grained rosewood, and probably very light.

Royce

djm · Post by **djm** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 5:08 pm

Man, I've missed you, Royce.

djm

Royce · Post by **Royce** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 1:51 am

djm wrote:Man, I've missed you, Royce.

djm

I was at that Keenan concert listening to the horrible squeaking of his chanter and the gawdawful scratching of that lame fiddler he plays with and trying to ignore the amateurish plinking of that Japanese guy on guitar.

Wish I'd been able to make the perilous journey up to Winnipeg this year for that Indoor Pipe Band contest again, but I'm out of that business.

Royce

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 2:18 am

Royce wrote:When tweetle beetles battle in a puddle, pipers are everywhere. Then pile the crotch and ham.

Joke Joke Joke Joke Joke Joke Joke
There is a joke going on. Joke Joke.
It's still going on.
Joke joke...

(Joke commences...)

AlanB · Post by **AlanB** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 3:39 am

Royce wrote:
Joseph wrote:
(bleep)

Just because you're a rank beginner and tone deaf, oh yeah, and a total retard at reed making...don't let that keep you from emulating those great pipers out there.

Are you this addicted to digital tuners as well? Who cares if this or that note is 20 or 30 cents off--that's irrelevant to Traditional Irish Music. Trust your ear. That's what Seumas did. Why can't you?

Royce

I bet you like playing 18 part reels , you windbag!! Having a joke with a piper is mostly a dead-end.........

Alan