How to quiet drones?

Baen · Post by **Baen** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:58 pm

I have a half set, and want to start easing into using the drones. The only thing is, the drones are quite loud, and tend to overwhelm the chanter. Are there any ways I can adjust the drone reeds so that they aren't quite so loud? The reeds are composite brass and plastic.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Baen

maire_ · Post by **maire_** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:58 pm

just stuff some gum into the main stock. that always seems to do the trick fer me... the only problem with that is sometimes the gum gets all over the holes in the stock, so bubbles come out of the other end...

maire_ · Post by **maire_** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:59 pm

(seriously this time) I'm not sure if there is a way to quiet them. I'd like to know that myself actually... hopefully some other wise pipe shrink will inform us of the real answer...

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:31 pm

Do you have trouble with the drones taking too much air or feeling realy unbalanced? If you do, you might try moving the bridle down a bit to soften the drone. It will sharpen it and make it more apt to shutting off if you do. It may just be that you are not used to having the drone sound so close to you. Have someone else who plays stand back and listen if possible, to tell you if they seem balanced. In fact if you can do this, do it before you start monkeying about with reeds. Is this a mix and match set, or are the drones the same make as your chanter? Your pipe maker should be able to help, also.
Marc

Baen · Post by **Baen** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:22 pm

Hi Marc,

thanks for the suggestions. Perhaps you're right, and I'm just used to hearing the drones when I'm listening to someone play the pipes (in person or on a CD). I don't have a local piper handy on short notice, but would it work if I recorded myself playing? If so, how far should the mic be from the pipes? If that isn't a viable solution, I'll have to wait until I can have someone listen to them.

The drones came with the set (made by the same maker), so I'm sure they were tuned before he shipped them to me. I'm in the process of checking with him, but at this point I wonder if (as you say) it's just that I'm not used to hearing the drones from a piper's standpoint (or should I say "sitpoint"). At any rate, I'll resist the tempation to monkey around with the drone reeds until I have more information.

thanks again,

Baen

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:27 pm

Recording yourself could be good. I wouldn't know where to place the mic, but I'd guess about halfway across the room would give you the full effect. Your pipemaker will have the best advice, though.

emer · Post by **emer** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:47 am

if your'e just starting into the drones, try putting a little piece of blu-tack or similar into the bass to silence it and just use tenor and baritone at first, to quieten them, try plastic drinking straws, or thick nylon (not wrapped) guitar strings. With the straws, slit them lenghtways first. With either material, insert them up the drone - as a rush - with guitar strings you can insert more than one to get the balance you want. This will also have the effect of flattening the pitch so you will need sufficient length on the slide to sharpen. Fiddle around with the rushes to get what you want. Initially it's better than adjusting the reed as it is simply and completely reversable without making an already difficult process even more difficult.

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:25 am

....the other possibility is that your chanter is set up a bit too light for the drones....

Finding the pressure equilibrium for a half (or whole) set is always a challenge when you're new to piping. Having a good player nearby would be of such value to you just now

Boyd

liraman · Post by **liraman** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:34 am

David Daye (The penny chanter maestro) has an interesting innovation in making drones more mellow:

http://www.daye1.com/drones/reedmellow.html

The drones I got from him are made this way and it works great.
But his innovation is for artificial drones NB.
/The Liraman

glands · Post by **glands** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:13 am

Uhhhh...take the reeds out.

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 4:15 pm

maire_'s suggestion of the gum isn't too far off.

You could add a small blob of blue tack to the end of the reed's blade and mash it down. Start with a ball about the size of this letter "o" and mash it on the outside of the blade about 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch back from the end. This will quiet it considerably and make it a bit flat at the same time.

Adjust the bridal to bring it back into tune. If it causes the reed to shut off, then pry it open with the tip of your finger and let it snap back to place a few times to open the gap again so it will continue sounding.

You will find there is a sweet spot where the reed won't shut off unless you shut it off and it will be very stable and consistent at a wide range of bag pressures.

All of this is assuming you are using synthetic styrene/brass drone reeds. If you have the real thing, then get and prepare a whole fryer chicken (a bucket from the Colonel will do in a pinch). Eat all the chicken, save, boil, bleach and dry the bones.

Drill a small hole though the end of each bone and string a variety of sizes and shapes together with waxed hemp. Shake the bundles over your drones while chanting "ooh yah yea bomboli mbinga" for about 20 minutes.

It won't make your drones any quieter, but at least you will feel like you have tried to do something about it and you will have at least dabbled in the realm of voodoo that this sort of thing requires.

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 4:25 pm

Oh hey, also...

If you are recording for the purpose of detecting balance from a listener's perspective, put the mic as far away as a listener would be. 7-9 feet ought to about do it.

There is a principle in recording called the 3 to 1 rule. It proposes that the distance a mic is from a sound source has to be tripled to exclude the next nearest sound source. (at a good sounding gain level) It's one of those logarhytmic-dB-accoustic-math things.

From 7 feet or so, your pipes and all of their sound sources will effectively be in one plane and become one source, so you should be able to get a reasonable measure of your chanter/drone mix.

There are lots of other micing techniques for the pipes that vary from instance to instance depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Good Luck!

Scott