Your chanter...

[djones]

My chanter: no tape, no wire rush, all holes as maker set them. The reed sits where it should and it's in tune without any modifications.

[PJ]

Aahh, no to all the questions except the last, which I'd qualify with a "kinda"

[snoogie]

But its definitely the reed (made by me) which is requiring a bit of wax here and there. I have another reed by the maker and it is spot on in tune, no wax required..but a bit hard to play.

[Uilliam]

This looks to be a disturbing trend. if over twice as many o ye have chanters that need gizmos then it doesnae say much for them does it.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

[giles b]

In some weather (drier) I put a small roll (about 1cm x 1.5cm) of paper in the end of the chanter to bring the hard D into tune with the rest of the notes. In more humid weather the paper can be dispensed with.

I think that all chanters would need at least slight adjusting with changing seasons etc.

[Joseph E. Smith]

With swings in climate both the chanter and the reed may do a little swelling or contracting, by no means is the aid of a rush or some tape (I hate tape) a derogatory mark on the quality or skill of the maker ot the instrument. It is more of an issue with the materials used for chanters and reeds.

Duirng the "happy months" (spring and fall for me) my chanter is quite happy to be rush free. During the other "not so happy months", rushes are required, the amount of them varies from day to day. Simply the nature of the materials folks.

[AlanB]

Just one piece of tape for me. Minor, but critical!



(In reality, a roll of card up the Bell End is all I have at the moment).

[Joseph E. Smith]

Just one piece of tape for me. Minor, but critical!



(In reality, a roll of card up the Bell End is all I have at the moment).

There have been some days where this image isn't too far from the truth in my experience.

[Mark Byrne]

(In reality, a roll of card up the Bell End is all I have at the moment).

Alan, The pain must be unhuman, you should really leave your bell end alone.

Sory folks couldn't resist

[billh]

Benedict Koehler (whose own chanters are very well regarded) is occasionally quoted as saying "show me a piper without any wax or tape [on his chanter], and I'll show you a piper who is out of tune."[*]

I think this is a fair statement. I think the goal should be to keep the gizmos and tape to a minimum, but it may be unreasonable to eliminate them entirely.

Given the materials issues, the climate issues, and reeds, reeds, reeds, I think this is par for the course. While I agree that a good piper can and must "play the chanter in tune", i.e. coerce certain notes into behaving via subtle changes in bag pressure or shading of toneholes, the ideal would be for these adjustments to be so minimal as to be subconscious. Some people are, IMO, struggling with machines which require herculean effort to play in tune, and are covered in tape - clearly not optimal - so it's a matter of degree. Only by spending time with a variety of chanters and reeds can one learn to set expectations.

My favorite set of pipes of any I have played is an original Coyne set which is set up absolutely magnificently, with a reed that is exquisite in response and tone. Even so, the chanter features two small bits of tonehole wax and one regulator note tends to be flat unless it is finessed into tune. Although it is possible that it did not require these things when it left Coyne's hands, I reckon it's the nature of the beast.

Bill

[*] - another take on this is, show me a piper,,, and I'll show you a piper who is out of tune

[Marcelo Muttis]

Just a little cardboard roll at the bell. No tape anywhere. I hate tape too.

[BigDavy]

Hi djones

There is no option for both, for those of us with multiple chanters.

David

[simonknight]

Benedict Koehler (whose own chanters are very well regarded) is occasionally quoted as saying "show me a piper without any wax or tape [on his chanter], and I'll show you a piper who is out of tune."[*]

I'm with BK on this one. I've heard a number of chanters with no tuning aids that the owners believed to be in tune. They weren't. I think to some degree it depends whether you're playing the chanter alone, with drones, or regs.

The human ear except for very exceptionally gifted and well trained individuals (not me) can't distinguish relative pitch closer than about 5 cents.

When you play with the drones, there are multiple pitches for some notes that will blend and sound OK.

When you add the regulators and you want unison Gs not to beat and tune with other notes for example, and your pressure options are reduced to keep both the regulator and chanter together, then I don't see how you can avoid wax or tape or a rush, especially as the climate changes.

On both my K&Q and Gallagher chanters, G and A are particularly sensitive with these notes sharpening as humidity falls.

[Cayden]

'm with BK on this one. I've heard a number of chanters with no tuning aids that the owners believed to be in tune. They weren't. I think to some degree it depends whether you're playing the chanter alone, with drones, or regs.

The fact some unrushed chanters were out doesn't mean ALL unrushed chanters are necessarily out.

[Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa]

I have to laugh when people point at the maker or the chanter about this issue. Every peice of wood is at least slightly different; each region of the world is different; seasons bring about changes in humidity; and locations air heated and cooled differently. Therefore, when you introduce all these variables, and assume that the same measurments are applied to a chanter, that you will have varied outcomes. Therefore, the variables need to be addressed. If your chanter plays without the "junk on/in the trunk", you got lucky. If it keeps playing without it and yet stays in tune, you are even luckier (or tone deaf) or live next to, or with, the maker of your chanter and reeds, and probably have a uni-season climate. I have heard BK say the same thing as in the post above, many times. Froment's chanters come from him new with a rush, as do Gallagher's. I have seen several Woof Chanters on this side of the ocean with thrushs/tape, and most of the Leo chanters that I have come accross have all kinds of "extras" as well. With chanters made by some of the worlds best living and deceased makers, aided to keep them in tune, I think that tells you something that we all know, and that something is that this is a difficult and sensitive instrument, and not a change in the quality of the present great pipe makers as compared to those of years past (we know who they are). This is an excerp from an article in the Irish Times from January 07:

"Tales abound of pipers coaxing and cossetting their pipes back into tune for a plethora of reasons, ranging from the horrors of humidity and how that impacts on the reeds of the pipes, to the varying condition of the keys, the drone, the chanter, the bellows and the bag. Uilleann pipes appear to have more moving parts than a clock, and more sweet spots than a corner shop. Small wonder then that the skills required to create and repair such a demanding instrument are in short supply, in an age of increasing built-in obsolescence."

I can post the whole article if anyone is interested.

Neil