Plastic Chanter Reeds - Any Good?

[Antaine]

best plastic for reeds I've found is philadelphia cream cheese tubs. Assemble the reed with no scrape and then "scrape" using sandpaper on the assembled reed

[djm]

I have sent a query to Jim Daily to see what tips he may care to share. I am curious about drinking straw reeds, as well. We'll see what he cares to share.

djm

[Calum]

I've always wondered where Clanrye reeds came from. They are a sick joke, utterly useless unless you're tone deaf. Cane it is.

[Uilliam]

.... they had to conclude that plastic reeds for the Uilleann Pipes at that point were not a feasible option, taking into account what the chanter reed had to do (two octaves and stuff like that).

All this talk about how not to make reeds is baffling
Why don't ye listen to Peter above and take it for what it is really worth....
don't ye think bigger and better pipers than yous have thought about this problem in the past and have not really come up with the answer.
Cane it was ,Cane it is ,and Cane it will probably always be....Amen
Slán Agat
Uilliam

[Jay-eye]

Cane it was ,Cane it is ,and Cane it will probably always be....Amen
Slán Agat
Uilliam

Touch not the reed.... eh, Mr McIntosh?

[Joseph E. Smith]

.... they had to conclude that plastic reeds for the Uilleann Pipes at that point were not a feasible option, taking into account what the chanter reed had to do (two octaves and stuff like that).

All this talk about how not to make reeds is baffling
Why don't ye listen to Peter above and take it for what it is really worth....
don't ye think bigger and better pipers than yous have thought about this problem in the past and have not really come up with the answer.
Cane it was ,Cane it is ,and Cane it will probably always be....Amen
Slán Agat
Uilliam

And so it ought to be. But you will find it difficult to keep the human spirit down when it comes to making or buyibg something better than what is available. The tone of cane chanter reeds is far superior to any other synthetic form I have heard to date. The reed that I modified worked very well, but still does not compare to a cane reed.

But, as long as people all over the world are playing the Uilleann Pipes, there will always be discussion about, people looking for and experimenting with reed types that withstand acute environmental changes, and they will seek out materials with which to do so.... including plastic from yogurt tubs.

[Jay-eye]

don't ye think bigger and better pipers than yous have thought about this problem in the past and have not really come up with the answer.
Uilliam

And to think the Scots have been such prolific inventors over the years!

[BigDavy]

Hi Jaye-eye

I would think that Uillium would consider himself Irish rather than Scots.

Us Scots have had to be prolific inventors to make up for the English

David

Joseph, after hearing your mp3, I would say that your reed does compare with a cane reed, there may be a difference as you say, but it is not as pronounced (to my ear at least) as you say. You did a good job on it.

[Jay-eye]

I would think that Uillium would consider himself Irish rather than Scots.

Us Scots have had to be prolific inventors to make up for the English

David

Quite right too! And I certainly wouldn't want to offend Uilliam in any way, my apologies if I have. I'm just amused by the mild intolerance of our synthetic musings - although I'll probably be just the same when I've been playing 20 years.

Watch who you're calling English, though.
Is it because I'se white?

j.i.

[djm]

I believe that anyone who has heard a well set-up set of drone reeds made of elder would agree they have the best sound. Elder reeds can be flaky and don't last long, so folks go with cane drone reeds which have a good sound, are more stable, but buzz rather than purr the way elder does. But look at how many people are now using synthetic, or partially synthetic, drone reeds today. They sound close to cane, they are reliable, stable, and can last longer than elder or cane. You can depend on them. The sky isn't falling due to synthetic drone reeds.

I agree that the best reed material for chanters and regs is cane at the moment, but with the plethora of new materials available to us today, and our increased capacity to invent more, it won't be too long before someone comes up with a reasonable alternative.

djm

PS - Mr. Daily says he only made plastic reeds once as an experiment, didn't like them, and won't touch them again. He gave no info on making them. However, he says he has his own method for making cane reeds, and will be posting this to his web site soon.

[Cayden]

Elder reeds can be flaky and don't last long, so folks go with cane drone reeds which have a good sound, are more stable, but buzz rather than purr the way elder does.

.

Where did you get that idea? I know elder reeds made in all probability by Coyne that still play very nicely and are stability-wise not affected by anything. Elder drone reeds, in other words, once going will probably last forever and without hassle.

[Lorenzo]

Certain pipers may get some relief and satisfaction out of playing plastic UP reeds in the dry winter air, or super humid conditions, but I wouldn't think the satifaction is very deep. What often goes unnoticed is someone like Keenan, whose travels put him in some of the most extreme conditions, and he has a reed for every condition (something like 40 reeds in his quiver).

Can't get no satisfaction? Dry winters--use soft California (or other) cane scraped down to function just fine. Super humid--leave more bark on and use thick stiffer cane. This time of year I keep my pipes in a certain bedroom where there is a shower. I keep the door closed. Taking a shower every morning keeps the room just right all day.

[mirabai]

I've had two experiences perhaps worth filing. One was years ago when a customer sent me some "fiber cane" to try. Evidently it was used for clarinet reeds or something. It was a pain in the arse to work with but after much too much time I made a reed that, if it was cane, it would have been a beaut. However it sounded AWFUL, somewhat duck like. I promptly dropped that ball.

Fast-forward several years to a few years back when the owner of Mid-East Mfg. called to say that someone had told him that you could take one of their plastic practice chanter reeds, clip it off with toe nail clippers and it would work perfectly in the uillean pipes. "Hmm", I said. Send me one and I'll tell what I think. A few days later I recieved a baggie with 5 of these little runts and proceeded to cut 1/8" off the lips of the first one as prescribed. I put it in a chanter and damned if the thing didn't play PERFECTLY from the hard D through the second octave. I was dumfounded. These reeds bear no resemblence to anything I had seen or made in my 30 years of piping. I have born witness all to well to the many miniscule things that can throw a reed out of wack and this thing was breaking every rule in sight. It was just my karma to wipe the smug look on my face because after that first experience I never had the same luck again in getting it just right.

Having said that, at best the tone is not great; a little thin but not horrible. They can benefit, as Joseph mentioned, from a rebuild. I usually open the staple with a mandrel, for one; and they always must be cut off significantly.

On another tack, I have experimented with sealing cane reeds to at least slow down the humidity thing. I tried Thomson's Water Seal which is a light oil, and thinned laquer. I would treat the reed, only after it was totally done and playing well, by untying the head soaking it momentarily, wiping off teh excess and retying it. I didn't notice much, which is both good and bad; good that it didn't screw up the reed and bad that it didn't seem to help mcuh.

A fine woodworker friend of mine who is extremely knowledgable about wood stablisation told me that the only thing that helps at all is sealing it with a hardening finish like laquer as opposed to any type of oil. I was not convinced that my experiments were definitive and will continue trying out thinned laquer.

Tim


Fast forward to

[Lorenzo]

I've had two experiences perhaps worth filing.

I'll bet there's a few more experiences you've had too, Tim. You might tell these lads what reeds are like to play in South Central Colorado, San Louis Vally (6700 ft. el.) or Utah where it's high and dry. Questions here have surface about elevation--bellows-barametric pressure and the like.

[misterpatrick]

OK,

for giggles and no reed making experience I fashioned a plastic reed. I tried using a wide drinking straw but couldn't get the lips to actually meet so ended up using the lid from a large yogurt.

As long as I don't mind playing a low G chanter with no second octave that sounds suspiciously like a saxophone the reed is a complete success!

I sanded the tips of the plastic with some 180 grit a bit and made a bridle out of some wire. It actually crows quite nicely and if I could get a second octave it might be fun.

As far as upping the tone, more sanding?

While most of you will probably think this is a pretty futile experiment, it is making me more comfortable wrapping the staple and measuring so when it's time to work with some cane I'll be ready to go.

Did I mention that it sounds like a sax? I'm off to the local jazz club.

-Patrick