Reed adjustment tips

The way the E responds « lives » in the bark along the edges of the reed’s scrape. (Koehler)

The octave E (pitch) « lives » under the bridle and at the root of the scrape. (Koehler)

A flat octave E may indicate insufficient airspace inside just above the staple (could result if any, or too much, cane was carved away inside the roots to make room for the staple, or if the staple has walls that are too thin) or excessive bridle compression on the blades to keep the lip opening from being too great. (Daye)

All the way up the edges controls the behavior of the E but not the pitch. (Koehler)

A growling or gurgling octave E may indicate excess thickness along the outer sides of the scrape. (Daye)

Thicker edges of slips gives a duller tone. (Koehler)

Opening the lips flattens the reed and it will need more air to play. (Koehler)

Closing the lips sharpens the reed and it will need less air to play. It can cause you to lose the « hard » D and gain an autocran. (Koehler)

High A is supposedly made to vibrate better by shaving the sides of the reed. The A’s amplitude is maximized at the center of the reed. Scraping the sides would reduce the edges stiffness and allow the middle to vibrate more freely. (Murray)

Pushing the reed in or pulling it out of the chanter affects the 1st octave most. So if the 2nd octave is sharp, seat the reed deeper into the chanter thereby sharpening the first octave. If 2nd octave is flat, seat the reed further out, etc. (This may make the chanter play in tune with itself, but is independent of adjusting the chanter to play with A at 440 – SP) (Sky)

When the reed is opened by squeezing the bridle edges, or by sliding the bridle toward the lips, the reed becomes tougher, flatter and the back D goes sharp. If you slide the bridle toward the binding or squeeze the flat, the reed becomes softer, sharper and the back D goes flat. (Sky)

A new reed follows a reverse bell curve. When it is new and first starts to crow it is hard to play and really sharp and loud. As the reed is shaved it gets weaker and starts to drop in pitch, the volume goes down and the tone gets softer. Further shaving will eventually reverse the results so that as the reed becomes very easy to play, it rises in pitch and the back D sounds flat. Opening the reed a bit makes it harder to play and flatter – the opposite of when you started. (Sky)

How far the reed protrudes from the chanter also affects the relative distances between the reed and each of the holes, so that the higher holes are affected more than the lower holes. If a reed is too far out, the back D will be flat to the lower notes and vice versa. (Britton)

The size of the shaved portion of the blades: The more it is shaved the flatter it plays. It is important in any case to stay within a general V or U shape. Where it is shaved will affect certain notes, especially the back D. (Britton)

Variable that affects pitch: The internal volume of the reed in relation to the length. This affects how the octaves are in tune with each other. The more internal space, the sharper the second octave will be to the first. This is affected by the diameter of the staple, how much the staple is flattened, and how open the lips are. The length of the blades also affects this in two ways. First of all, the shorter the reed, the greater the inside volume will be in relation to the length. Secondly, the tip of the lips is where the smallest amount of volume to length is, thusly, by removing a bit off the length, the average ratio of volume to length is raised. If there is a collar on the reed, closing this down would lessen the inside space, and vice versa. (Britton)

The amount the blades are shaved. If the blades are too long and/or too wide and shaved a lot, the reed will be ungainly, playing easily in the first octave, but resisting the second octave, perhaps « breaking » and/or being flat on the back D, and having the tone of a duck quacking. This can be alleviated by trimming off the end of the lips. This may leave the lips a little thick so that further sanding may be necessary. A small burr is often created when the lips are trimmed. This can be burnished off by pressing the lips of the blades together with the thumb and forefinger and flexing back and forth pushing the staple in one direction then the other. (Britton)

The amount the lips are open: The closer the lips are the easier it will be to play. Also, the angle at which the staple is flattened will determine the angle at which the blades are pressing on one another and consequently the opening of the lips. (Britton)

The shape of the opening at the lips. Sometimes the sides collapse after a while so that it becomes harder for the middle portion of the blades to make contact. The pressure needed becomes greater and the tone and volume are reduced. This can be alleviated by using a small slip of sandpaper approximately the size and shape of the head of the reed. When this is inserted and moved in and out, the sides close to the edge naturally exert more pressure on the sandpaper and push the middle portion of the blades away from the sandpaper. The tapered shape of the sandpaper ensure that a step isn’t created at the edge. The outside can be sanded to maintain full uniform thickness at the lips. (Britton)

I have found with my chanter that the bridle position and opening at the lips cause the differences between the two octaves. If I slide the bridle toward the lips a bit, it will bring the 1st and 2nd octave E’s into tune when the 2nd octave E is sharp. Moving the bridle up also opens the reed lips so then I must then squeeze the bridle together to close the lips. If I close the lips too much at this point then my 2nd octave E goes sharp. It’s a trial and error adjusting process til I find the right combination of bridle position, opening at the lips and seating height. I’m assuming that your scrape and sanding are all in order. Because if your reed is too thick then your octaves won’t line up. Sanding and scraping will flatten the reed and make the 2nd octave easier to reach giving you more ability to control tuning with pressure. Sand and scrape too much though will send it too the graveyard. I tried a larger staple size once but it didn’t work for my chanter. Also remember that your 2nd octave E should play at or very close to the same pressure as your back D. Ideally the same pressure. (G. Burman)

A staple that is too narrow will produce a scale of notes that is flat in the upper octave. (Hegarty)

A staple that is too wide will produce a scale of notes that is sharp in the upper octave.

The degree of opening of the eye (of the staple) seems to affect the G note. (Hegarty)

The extent of the eye opening and flattened portion of the staple may effect overall the high octave, and the eye may also effect low G and high octave G more than some other notes. (Hegarty)

Further insertion of the staple into the reed will sharpen the high A and B relative to other notes. (Hegarty)

Reed is sanded too much. (Hegarty)

Overall volume of the reed is too small. (Hegarty)

Bind tip, unwrap from the staple and insert the staple approx. 1/8″ further into the blades. (Koehler)

Staple is too far into the reed. (Hegarty)

Head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Sand the last 1/8″ of the lips a little and it will flatten the back D and sweeten the tone. (Britton)

Trim blade tips ever so slightly. (4) Cut a little off head and thin lips by sanding. Cane may be sanded or gouged too thin. Reed may be made too sharp. (Hegarty)

1) Move the bridle: Try moving the bridle (towards the lips) to open the reed a bit. This will strengthen the note and sharpen it a bit.
2) Trim it: Trim 1/64″ from the lips. This strengthens the reed. Trimming the reed will sharpen the 2nd octave. (Sky)

1) Close the staple lips: Unbind the reed and, with the pliers, close the lips a bit. An opening of around .060″ will usually work. 2) Rebind and trim the reed: the reed has been shaved too thin. Remove the reed head an pull the staple out 1/8″ from the lips. This should make the reed tougher and more stable. You might have to shave a little more. (Sky)

Send the chanter to your pipemaker. (Sky)

Tape it. (Sky)

Treat the reed: David Daye and others have had success by soaking their reeds in « Neatsfoot Oil). Seamus Ennis used to rub kerosene into the his reeds. (Sky)

Head is too narrow. (Hegarty)

Head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Can gouge a bed for the staple. Lips too open: squeeze the bridle or bring it down to close the lips. Head leaking at side: An application of nail varnish and cane dust may stop edge leaks. Lips too strong: sand on flat to thin further. If leak is near top of head, cutting off corners may also help. Try using a staple with a more open eye. Head width may be too wide. A more tapered head may give better performance. Check for leaky chanter keys. (Hegarty)

A wire can be inserted. Staple can be shortened or a staple with a smaller diameter can be used. Bind tip, unwrap from the staple and withdraw the staple approx. 1/8″ out of the blades. (Koehler)

Scrape or thin head overall to thin slightly. Where bridle is moveable up and down, move it down a little. Close lips slightly with fine pointed pliers, never between fingernails. If done too soon after manufacture, the reed may not last very long and may become weak. (Hegarty)

Lips too thin or mouth too closed. Open a little carefully, with pliers-or if bridle is moveable, move it upwards. This will flatten reed overall and if too open maybe too hard to blow – dulling response. (Hegarty)

Leaky dry binding where reed is inserted into chanter socket. Possibly too much cane removed from heart of scrape, or possibly cane gouged too thin, or possibly leaky sides. Shortening reed by cropping may correct. Risk of making reed too sharp. (Hegarty)

Overall extending or thinning of scrape near back may cure this – to lengthen overall « V ». Scrape a little at bottom of « V » on both sides especially as cane may be a little strong here – work in the « W » area. A bent rush, or matchstick or piece of cardboard, kept in place in the bottom of the chanter may also cure this. Throat of chanter too large (may have been interfered with) or reamed out too much. If this is the case, a small piece of rush or paper, rolled up and inserted/wedged in with the reed – into the socket, could serve to reduce the cross sectional area of the throat, stabilizing the bottom D. Sinking the reed farther into the chanter may help. While a rush, a piece of cardboard, etc., may cure the problem, it may also make it worse. (Hegarty)

Ensure reed sides are not leaking. Ensure fingers are not leaking. (Hegarty)

Reed is leaking along the edges of the reed head. Take a small bit of the red wax that comes from Gouda cheese and rub it lightly along the edges of the reed. Reed is leaking, adjust the collar. (Sky)

Tape top of hole. Head of reed could be too narrow. If back D is corrected, then the low E is likely to be somewhat sharp. Extending or lengthening scrape may bring back D into tune. May flatten overall pitch and cause back D to break. May make high octave more difficult to obtain. (Hegarty)

Head too long. Crop a little off lips and retest. Insert a rush or wire into the chanter – extending up to and opposite all notes which are to be flattened. Rush may quiet chanter, may cause gurgle in bottom D. May cause snarl on high E or other upper octave distortions. (Hegarty)

Tape holes as necessary. A piece of rush inserted in the chanter opposite note hole may correct these. Quiets chanter. May have greater effect on high octave. (Hegarty)

Tape holes as necessary. Reducing note hole size can cause squeaks. More open playing may be necessary or note hole moved downwards. (Hegarty)

Flattening the staple for a little longer than the 25mm may help to correct this. Or disassemble the reed and reassemble it with the staple going not quite so far into the head. Requires the reed to be disassembled. Lengthening the reed may make the overall pitch slightly flat. (Hegarty)

Reduce the amount of flattened portion of staple, but keep the eye the same size and re-assemble the reed. Or disassemble the reed and reassemble with the staple going a bit further into the head. Risky. May require new bridle. (Hegarty)

May require alteration of chanter bore. (Hegarty)

Experiment with different head shapes and scrape lengths. Wider staple eye may help. (Hegarty)

Appears to occur only in wide bore chanters. More open or varied fingering may help. Sides of reed may be leaking. Rushes may help. (Hegarty)

Staple eye is too open. Reed requires disassembly. (Sky)

Staple eye is too closed. Reed requires disassembly. (Hegarty)

Bridle may be too high: reposition it lower down nearer back. (Hegarty)

Refix or replace bridle. (Hegarty)

The reed may be leaking, check collar, also check corner. If the corners are leaking, trim them at an angle slightly. (Sky)

It’s a bad piece of cane, start again. (Sky)

These steps are intended to be done sequentially.
1) Reed is hard to play: If the reed is hard to play, it may be too open; you need to close the lips a bit to see if that makes it easier to play and raises the 2nd octave. If a reed is adjusted to play easier then the 2nd octave will rise in pitch. If the reed has a sliding type bridle, then slide it a tiny bit back toward the staple end. If it has a permanent bridle, (you can also do this with the sliding bridle) take the needle nosed pliers and gently squeeze the bridle on the flat to close the reed a small amount.
2) Re-seat the reed: the reed is now a bit easier to play, but the 2nd octave is still slightly flat. Remove the reed from the chanter and wind a small amount of string around the bottom of the staple, so that when you put the reed back in the chanter it does not go in as far.
3) Adjust the bridle: Try readjusting the bridle toward the lips of the reed and squeezing the bridle on the flat side to close the lips. What you have achieved is to shorten the reed head.
4) Trim the lips: Shave a 1/64″ sliver from across the lips of the reed. This will also sharpen the back D.
5) Re-bind the reed: remove the binding, loosen the head away from the staple, push the staple further into the head (1/16″ or so) and tie the head back on with fresh binding. Now start from the top and try the different steps again.
6) Sanding the scrape: Sand the scrape a few strokes on both sides, readjust the staple and play it. Try and apply pressure so that more is removed from the « heel » of the scrape to produce more of a U shape rather than a V. As the reed gets weaker, the 2nd octave will rise. Shaving the corners can ruin the reed
7) Try another staple or unbind the reed, remove the head, insert a tight fitting mandrel into the bore and taking a small hammer, tap along the body of the staple to expand the inside diameter of the staple.
8) Try an extension of the staple: Get a small piece of tubing and fit an extension to the bottom of the staple so that you can seat the reed further out of the chanter. If the chanter is close to concert pitch 440-A then this can flatten the chanter so that it is not a the desirable pitch. (Sky)

Use a staple with a larger bore, or insert the staple deeper into the chanter head, or trim the lips to shorten the reed head. (Sky)

These steps are intended to be done sequentially.
1) Re-seat the reed: Generally the reed head is either too short or has a staple that has a bore that is too large, or both. First see if the reed will sit deeper into the chanter.
2) Tape or rush
3) Adjust the bridle: Readjust the bridle toward the binding or squeezing the bridle on the edge to open the lips. What you have now achieved is to lengthen the reed head.
4) Re-bind the reed: remove the binding, loosen the head away from the staple, pull the staple out of the head (1/16″ or so) and tie the head back on with fresh binding.
5) Insert a wire: take a small piece of .010″ x 1″ guitar string, bend one end to form a loop to hold it in place, insert this into the bore of the staple. You can somewhat fine tune the staple by varying the length and/or diameter of the wire.
6) New staple: Try a new staple with a smaller inside diameter. (Sky)

Start with a new staple right away. (Sky)

These steps are intended to be done sequentially.
1) Scrape the scrape: This problem is usually caused by a reed that has been sanded too thin along the center line of the scrape. Shave the edges of the scrape on both sides to make the lips thicker in the middle. You may have to remove the head, lengthen the reed by pulling the staple out a bit, re-tying and clipping the lips to make them thicker.
2) Edges are leaking: Remove the head and take some find sandpaper and thin the edges so that they close properly.
3) Staunch the leaks: a small leak along the edge can be sealed with wax. I use the soft red wax that can be found on Gouda cheese at the supermarket. Make a small (1/2″) ball of wax, hold the reed in your hand and rub the wax ball along the edges of the reed head two or three times until it seals. Do not glue the edges. This will ruin a reed. (Sky)

1)Control it: Develop a technique where you raise the chanter slightly off the knee whenever you play the 2nd octave E, thereby raising the pitch.
2) Tape it and play it: Place a small piece of tape over the small E hole covering around 1/3 of the hole more or less. This will flatten the first octave and to a less extent the 2nd octave also. Flattens 2nd octave, but less than the first octave. (Sky)

1) Play it: try increasing the pressure and see if it goes away. The E should take the same amount of pressure as the back D.
2) More tape.
3) Try a rush: take a short piece of wire/rush and cut it to length so the wire extends almost to the F# hole, and insert it in the bell of the chanter.
4) Alter the staple: remove the binding from the reed after wrapping thread around the head. Remove the staple and close the eye a few thousandths of an inch.
Some say that reeds that have a tone chamber avoid the problem with the E note. I have not verified this. (Sky)

Take a length of wire the size of a coat hanger or smaller and insert it into the chanter bore the entire length just past the back D hole. This will flatten the entire chanter. (Sky)

…the accuracy of the second octave may be controlled by the dimensions of the staple. To a certain extent, the lower octave’s relative intonation is also controlled by the staple. By varying the length of the staple, and therefore the working length of the reed, you may affect first octave intonation. All other factors being equal, a longer reed will make the upper notes of the first octave flat, relative to the lower notes. Similarly, a shorter reed will produce sharper upper notes. A change in length will affect the pitch of all the notes of the gamut, but since such a change is proportionally greater for a tone hole closer to the reed than for one farther from it, the effect is greater for the higher tone holes. The relative accuracy of the scale in the upper (i.e. left-hand notes) and particularly of the thumb note D, is also affected to some extent by the width of the cane blades, which will be discussed later. (Quinn)

The accuracy of the notes of the second register, or upper octave, may be controlled to a great extent by the internal dimensions of the staple… …By increasing the diameter of the bore at a point where an antinode is formed for a particular note, that note will become sharper. Antinodes for most (of) the notes of the second octave are formed in that section of the bore which is the staple. Local adjustment of the accuracy of a range of notes can be made by adjusting the size and rate of taper of the staple. (Quinn)

This has little if any effect on the performance of the reed, but may reduce the risk of chipping or splitting the reed when inserting the chanter into its stock. (Quinn)

Cover top edge of hole with sticky tape and/or ease blowing pressure on faulty note. Excess tape quiets note, blowing irregularity complicates playing fast tunes. (Daye)

Use tape and/or rushes to flatten other notes and/or blow harder on faulty note. Excess tape quiets note, blowing irregularity complicates playing fast tunes. (Daye)

1) Slide bridle downwards and/or pinch bridle more closed. Reed becomes more sharp in first octave except for back D, easier to blow on 2nd octave, more likely to gurgle on bottom D and vary with pressure on back D.
2) Sand entire surface of blades lightly and carefully making them very slightly thinner. Reed becomes more flat overall, easier to play, may become more difficult to jump to 2nd octave. Back D may become more willing to vary in pitch or gurgle. (Daye)

1) Slide bridle upwards and/or pinch bridle more open. Reed becomes more flat in first octave except for back D, harder to blow on 2nd octave, less likely to gurgle on bottom D or vary with pressure on back D.
2) Trim end of blades very sightly making them very slightly shorter. Reed becomes sharper especially in 2nd octave, may be resistant and gurgly or squeaky in 1st octave requiring sanding as above. (Daye)

1) Pull reed out in reed seat. Flattens top holes more.
2) Add wire « rush » inside bore. Tone more mellow, 1st octave notes flattened more.
3) Loosen bridle carefully and move to lower position if there is room; retighten carefully to restore desired strength. Flattens top holes more, may make back D more sensitive to pressure. Hard D may become easier to make.
4) Sand entire surface of blades lightly and carefully making them very slightly thinner. Reed becomes more flat overall, easier to play, may become more difficult to jump to 2nd octave. Back D may become more willing to vary in pitch or gurgle. (Daye)

1) Push reed deeper into reed seat. Sharpens top holes more.
2) Remove « rush » from bore if present. Sharpens 1st octave more.
3) Loosen bridle carefully and move to slightly higher position; retighten carefully to restore desired strength. Strengthens and sharpens back D. Hard D may become more difficult to make, may gurgle.
4) Trim end of blades very sightly making them very slightly shorter. Reed becomes sharper especially in 2nd octave, may be resistant and gurgly or squeaky in 1st octave requiring sanding. (Daye)

1) In dry air: Add wire « rush » or push bridle up or more open. Tone more mellow, 1st octave notes flattened more. Strengthens and sharpens back D. Hard D may become more difficult to make, may gurgle.
2) In usual or damp air: sand or scrape lower half of scrape thinner. Test frequently. Hard D flatter and easier to play, reed easier to play overall.
3) In usual or damp air: lengthen V of scrape at the bottom. Remove bridle, scrape with blade toward binding. Unwrap top of binding and extend V up to 1/4″ into binding area. Rebind and fit bridle. Test frequently. Overall pitch lowers permanently and significantly. Reed can become slightly easier to play, flatter on bottom notes.
4) Or trim reed slightly shorter to sharpen 2nd octave, sand entire scrape to re-flatten entire reed. Reed becomes sharper especially in 2nd octave, may be resistant and gurgly or squeaky in 1st octave requiring sanding: Reed becomes more flat overall, easier to play, may become more difficult to jump to 2nd octave. Back D may become more willing to vary in pitch or gurgle.
5) If making own reeds: be sure staple is correct size /shape; make next reed blades wider or with more inside volume. Back D flatter, may be more pressure sensitive. (Daye)

1) In damp air: remove rush if present (sharpens 1st octave more) or pull bridle lower or more closed (Sharpens 1st octave more. Reed becomes more sharp in first octave except for back D, easier to blow on 2nd octave, more likely to gurgle on bottom D and vary with pressure on back D).
2) In usual or dry air: insert thin straight wire rush into staple, hold with spot of glue. May make back D more pressure sensitive.
3) Or sand reed edges carefully to make reed slightly narrower (1/64″ or 0.4 mm). Back D stronger and sharper.
4) If making own reeds: be sure staple is correct size /shape; make next reed blades narrower or with less inside volume. Back D sharper, more stable. (Daye)

1) Reed too open/strong, tighten/lower bridle. Flattens top holes more, may make back D more sensitive to pressure. Hard D may become easier to make.
2) Reed easy & very free in first octave: Centerline too thin especially upper half. Trim reed length slightly as discussed above, take care not to over-thin centerline when re-sanding. Reed becomes sharper especially in 2nd octave, may be resistant and gurgly or squeaky in 1st octave requiring sanding as above. (Daye)

1) Tighten/lower bridle. Flattens top holes more, may make back D more sensitive to pressure. Hard D may become easier to make.
2) Trim reed slightly shorter (especially if more than 3.25″ long: Penny Chanter reed only). Reed becomes sharper especially in 2nd octave, may be resistant and gurgly or squeaky in 1st octave requiring sanding as above.
3) 1 or more edges too thick/stiff. Sand/scrape along the sides of the scrape possibly as far as any thick edge(s), especially upper half. Back D more likely to gurgle. (Daye)

If making own reeds: be sure staple is correct size /shape; make next reed blades narrower and/or longer above binding, possibly staple slightly longer.
2) Take reed apart, squeeze upper end of staple thinner over top 1 1/8″ of length but leave the eye unchanged. Reassemble to exactly the original length. Reed will become slightly more open; edges may open if bridle is moved up for strong, loud reed. (Daye)

1) If making own reeds: be sure staple is correct size /shape; make next reed blades wider and/or shorter above binding, possibly staple slightly shorter.
2) Take reed apart, squeeze upper end of staple fatter (more open) over top 1 1/8″ of length but leave the eye unchanged. Reassemble to exactly the original length. Reed will become slightly more closed; lips may shut if bridle is moved down for easy, quiet reed. Take apart and gouge slightly more room for staple below the eye level.
3) Take reed apart, superglue paper or thin metal or plastic .010″ – .020″ over top 1 1/8″ of length of one side of the staple up to the eye, to make staple fatter on the outside. This makes cane head contain more air space. Reassemble to exactly the original length. Reed will become slightly more closed; lips may shut if bridle is moved down for easy, quiet reed. Take apart and gouge slightly more room for staple below the eye level. (Daye)

Trim blade tips ever so slightly. (Sky)

A wire can be inserted. Staple can be shortened or a staple with a smaller diameter can be used. (Hegarty)

Open the blades a tiny bit. If this fails, try shaving the base of the reed. Sometimes this problem can be cured by inserting a rush in the bottom of the chanter.

1) Open the reed: adjust the bridle.
2) Shim the chanter throat: the chanter throat is too large and sets up sympathetic vibrations in the bore. Take a small piece of thin stiff paper around 3/8″ thick long and roll it into a small tube and insert this into the chanter throat. You may have to increase the thickness of the paper.
3) Create a tail: Take a paper match and peel it in half, then tie a tail onto the bottom of the reed. (See illustration in Pat Sky’s publication, but this is just like it sounds.)
4) Shave the scrape: If the reed is too stiff it will gurgle. Scrape away some of the material from the « heel » of the scrape.
5) Close the staple lips: This problem can be caused by the staple having an aperture that is too open. Open the reed and with the pliers, close the aperture a bit. Can effect some of the other notes on the chanter. (Sky)

Head leaking at side. A tiny drop of nail varnish may stop leak. If not, a new head is needed. Be more accurate with sanding. (Climo)

Turn in the ends, and keep the bridle hugging the reed’s shape. (Climo)

Blades are still too thick, so keep on scraping & sanding. Take care not to thin the lips too much. (Climo)

Reed may be loosely seated in the throat of the chanter. Rub beeswax on the binding where it sits in the throat, and re-seat it firmly. (Climo)

Scrape or sand head to thin slightly. (Climo)

Lips too far apart so close them slightly. Squeeze the bridle gently between its sides with pliers, not with fingernails. Add and/or move the bridle nearer the staple. (Climo)

Lips too thin or too close together, so open them slightly. Squeeze the bridle gently between its front and back, with pliers, and/or move the bridle away from the staple. NB: if the lips are much too thin, the reed may have to be discarded. (Climo)

1) Lips too open.
2) Head leaking at side. A tiny drop of nail varnish may stop the leak, if not, a new head is needed.
3) Lips too strong, sand on flat to thin further. Check that both lips are of equal thickness. If leak is near top of head, cutting off corners may often help.
4) Use a reamer to chamfer the inside bore of the staple at the bottom of the reed. (Climo)

Play the reed for a week or two before thinning further. (Climo)

1) Scrape cane at the bottom of the V.
2) Chamfer the lips of the reed (to about 1/16″ back), by sanding at a slight tilt on fine sandpaper..
NB, there’s a danger of sanding right through cane, especially at the corners, so frequent checking is needed. (Climo)

Lips too thin or too close together. Open a little, carefully, with pliers.
Alternatively cut a little off the reed’s head (1/32″ approx.) (0.8mm).
Cane may be gouged too thin.
Corners of the blade shaved too thin. New head required. (Climo)

Place pieces of masking tape or adhesive tape partially over note hole until in tune.
Alternatively, take a wine cork, and cut a thin crescent out of the edge of the cork, experimenting until you have the right amount of cork covering the hole. Note that this has the advantage of not altering the « feel » of the chanter when you are playing (Ginsberg). (Climo)

Push reed further into chanter, or adjust bridle or trim blades of reed. (Sky)
NB: If C is also out of tune with the rest of the chanter, and the chanter is flat overall, these 2 problems may disappear of their own accord as you bring the chanter up to concert pitch. (Climo)

1) Open lips a little, with pliers, by squeezing the sides of the bridle.
2) Scrape a little at bottom of V on both sides as cane may be a little strong here.
3) A bent rush or matchstick kept in place at the bottom of the chanter may also cure this.
4) Insert a home-made washer of rubber or cork in the bottom of the chanter.
5) Throat of chanter is too large (may have been interfered with?) (Climo)

Insert roll of paper in bottom of chanter, or washer of rubber or cork in the bottom of the chanter. (Climo)

Staple diameter too small. (Climo)

Staple diameter too large. Fix a length of rush up inside the staple to compensate. (Climo)

Usual advice is to part-cover hole with tape: this is effective but obstructs the fingers when playing. Alan Ginsberg’s tip is to cut a sliver off the side of a wine cork, bend it and insert it into the finger hole. It will stay in place by friction or you can use a dab of glue. If the note is still too sharp, try a thicker sliver. If the note is too flat, cut a thinner sliver and try again.
Note that the effect on the note varies depending on whether you insert the cork at the top, bottom, or side of the hole. If you’re worried about the appearance of your chanter, colour the cork with a waterproof marker pen. The older method is to place a piece of rush in the chanter, opposite the note’s hole — this may also correct the fault. (Climo)

Take off a few turns of hemp from the staple, push the reed further into the chanter (Garvin).
NB. This technique alters the overall length of the air column in the chanter. Naturally, this has more effect on the higher (shorter air column) notes, than the lower (longer air column) ones. (Climo)

Add hemp to staple and withdraw the reed. (Garvin).
NB. This technique alters the overall length of the air column in the chanter. Naturally, this has more effect on the higher (shorter air column) notes, than the lower (longer air column) ones. (Climo)

Reed too long or not sunk far enough into chanter. Cut piece off top of reed to sharpen, although this may adversely affect bottom D. or cut piece off end of staple with hacksaw and clean, removing all burrs. (Climo)

Withdraw reed a little from socket. If still too sharp, a longer reed is required. (Climo)

Move bridle towards staple. This tends to close the lips, so open them by pressing bridle at the sides. (Sky says that this flattens the note). (Climo)

Move bridle away from staple. This makes the note flatter but opens the lips so the reed is louder and harder. Pinch the bridle at top-bottom to close lips. (Sky says that this sharpens the note.) (Climo)

Attach rush to wire loop and insert up chanter bore. (Note that this dulls the chanter’s tone) (Garvin). (Climo)

lips too thin, or too closed–chop edge back or open with bridle. (Gallagher)

Lips too closed, or not vibrating freely enough–open with bridle or scrape more. (Gallagher)

Reed too short, or scraped too much. (Gallagher)

Blade edges too thick–untie and resand on cylinder (Gallagher)

Lips too open, or cane too stiff–close with bridle, may require more scraping. (Gallagher)

Bottom of V needs more scraping, possibly into U-shape. (Gallagher)

D-hole needs to be closed with tape, sanding the lips will also flatten the back D. (Gallagher)

Reed needs to be shortened–chop the edge back a bit, or insert rush to flatten notes below the back D. (Gallagher)

Staple size [internal volume, not length] needs to be reduced. (Gallagher)

Staple size needs to be increased. (Gallagher)

Blades too open, too thick or too long –close with bridle or scrape more. (Gallagher)

Blades too short; staple volume too small; volume of chanter from thumb-hole to throat too big for reed–try wire rush in this area or staple with larger internal volume. (Gallagher)

This may be caused by leakage, but is usually the result of the blades being too thin, having been brought to that point in an effort to control overall pitch. For the back D to be stable, there must be enough thickness at the very mouth of the reed to support the note. For every appropriate bore and staple combination there is an ideal head width which will yield good intonation, a stable back D, and the proper overall pitch, assuming the chanter is a well made one to begin with. The width must be determined by experimentation, rather than prescription. (Quinn)

If the lips of the reed are thinner than they ought to be, several problems may arise, most notably the « sinking D » and lack of responsiveness in the second octave. (Quinn)

A reed which is too sharp may be flattened by further thinning. As the thinning continues, the reed becomes softer to blow. Opening the blades slightly by squeezing the copper bridle at its folds will also flatten the reed and make it somewhat stronger to blow. When opening the aperture with the bridle, it is best to lift gently the ends of the copper strip out away from the cane before squeezing at the folds. If you squeeze at the folds without first slightly prying out the ends, they will be forced back into the cane, placing an asymmetrical force on the reed. A reed that is sufficiently thin but still hard to blow may be softened by closing the blades slightly. Be careful, when adjusting the reed with its bridle, not to allow the edges of the blades to separate and cause leaks. (Quinn)

If the upper octave is flat or sharp relative to the lower, the cause is usually a staple of inappropriate size. Within certain limits, the smaller the internal volume of the reed, the flatter will be the upper octave, and similarly, the larger the volume of the reed, the sharper the upper octave. The internal volume is the sum of the volume of the staple and the space between the two reed blades. The volume of the staple depends upon its length, inside diameter, and rate of taper, any or all of which may need to be adjusted to suit a given chanter. The space between the blades is determined by the width, length, inner curvature and shape of the blades. For example, a reed with parallel edges will have a greater internal volume than one with tapering edges, all other elements being equal. (Quinn)

The upper octave may be made easier to produce and maintain by slightly thinning the blades at their lips. Removing too much cane from the tip can make the second octave more difficult to achieve. (Quinn)

This may be a result of leakage in the reed or of air entering the chanter at the base of the reed. If the reed leaks along it’s edges, you can make them staunch with beeswax or a light smear of Soboâ„¢ glue. A short length of thread coated with beeswax may be placed around the bottom of the staple to eliminate leaks in the reed socket. The sinking D may also be caused by reed tips which are too thin. Often it is necessary to experiment with the size and shape of the slips to find the right combination of factors for a good match between chanter and reed. It should be mentioned that the back D does tend to become somewhat more stable after the reed has been played in for a few days, so it is best not to be too hasty in your attempts to remedy it. (Quinn)

A gurgling sound in the low D may often be eliminated by opening the reed slightly with the bridle. This same adjustment often improves the clarity and response of the second octave E. The low D gurgle may sometimes also be eliminated by inserting a suppository, such as a twist tie, a loop of pipe cleaner, or a wire, in the bell of the chanter. This often has the effect of encouraging the production of the hard D and flattening the soft D. Cane may also be removed near the bridle, causing the parabolic V-shaped scrape to become more U-shaped. If all else fails to eliminate the gurgle, try rolling a piece of paper and forming a sleeve to reduce the effective size of the throat of the chanter itself. Place a small tube of paper, perhaps 10 to 15mm long, just below the narrowest section of the bore. The tube may be removed, if necessary, with a slim knitting needle or a wire of similar size. (Quinn)

If the lowest hole is partially covered with tape, this will often help an unstable E, without noticeably flattening its pitch in either octave. (Quinn)

…many times it simply needs one or two more scrapes in the mid section to loosen the vibration up. A slight leak can cause this too. Also, edges that are too thick will keep the vibration from working in high B. (Burman)

Reed head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Reed head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Reed head is too narrow. (Hegarty)

Reed head is too wide. (Hegarty)

Push reed deeper into the chanter, or adjust collar, or trim blades, or all three. (Sky)

Reed w/ wide head suits wide bore pipe. (Hegarty)

In no instance should the width of the head be greater than the bore at the bottom (wide end) of the chanter. (Concurred by Koehler) (Hegarty)

Reed scrape shape influences overall tone. (No specifics given) (Hegarty)

Width of reed head is a component of internal volume. (Hegarty)

Thinner blades flattens the reed overall, but the second octave flattens compared to the first. (Koehler)