Pros & Cons of Cane Drone Reeds (4K) | Highland Bagpipes

[@kav861]

That was a great summary. When I started 27 years ago, I had Sheperds, which even I, in my inexperience, thought sounded rough. I tried a couple of different sets of cane. I decided that it was not a good way to spend my limited piping time, though I did learn a lot while trying to make them work. I got a set of Wygents, and that's what I really learned on. Mark Wygent once talked me through some adjustments on the phone when I was still really green. Good guy. Thanks to him for making things easier.

[@JohnAnderson-wv6nr]

Hi matt, a very good video! I have been playing 60 years, and can verify the problems of cane reeds, iether solo or band. When i started with my 1st synthetic reeds(Ross) it changed my piping greatly! So much messing around, time wasted! When i plugged the Ross reeds in my now 100 year old lawries, they struck in srraight away! I now only use cane in my best set sinclairs for ceol mhor.keep up your good work as a younger player you will carry on our proud heritage! All good wishes from a 73 year old veteran. John Anderson. Sussex,England. 10:27 10:27

[@glenfletcher5746]

Totally agree with your summary...As a Grade 5 piper that has played around with cane drone reeds, they are a lot of work. I found it fun to get them going for a while but switched back to synthetic for summer competition...but i did play one competition with the cane reeds and had comments about a good sounding pipe!... Still, for most, best to stick to the most reliable reeds and focus on playing well!.. Thanks for covering this!

[@antonhuizinga1726]

I got a G1 cane bass yesterday. It was relatively plug and play. Had to open it up a bit, way easier to adjust than my canning. Only had two 30min sessions on it yet, but it seemed to stay in tune after about 5 mins of playing in both sessions. The strike in is also so forgiving, I could strike in the bag that’s been sitting there half full which would double tone me on a synthetic. Early days yet, only got it out of curiosity. My studio room is also stable temp and humidity so im not exposed to some of the cons mentioned here.

[@firstgenpiper]

100% on point! Cane drone reeds took FOREVER to stabilize and I remember buying handfuls just to find a set that worked. Ezee Drones are pretty good, but seem to get "waterlogged" a little too quickly, even the "Increased Absorption" ones. For me Kinnaird Evolution reeds are the best. When played regularly, they are in tune almost right out the case. Like you said, when you have to tune offsite, synthetic drone reeds are the way to go!

[@igorGriffiths]

As a returning piper, I played pipes with hide bags and cane reeds in the 80’s as these were the only options. However I do remember the pipe major always had a big box of cane reeds and much swapping and squeal checking was required to get a set he was happy for me to use. I have a set of 70’s Hardies as my old school set and have yet to get around to trying the cane reeds which came with them, I’ve already abandoned the original chanter for a Bb due to constant squealing, so old is definitely not better.

[@BenSpectre-oh3ws]

I've been playing since the 80s and when the first Ross reeds came out, they were a godsend. As a young piper back then, I practiced a lot more because I knew my pipes were going to misbehave less. I think synthetic reeds made a lot of young pipers of that time practice more because they could enjoy the instrument more without as much hassle. I went back to cane drone reeds in the late 90s because there was still the mystique of "cane tone". It really wasn't worth the trouble, especially doing gigs. I'm still playing a set of Wygent reeds as my primary set and they're going as well as ever (and sound better than Ezees). When or if synthetic chanter reeds "get there" you'll probably be able to glue your pipes shut and just play. The traditionalists harp about playing as the instrument was intended. I like to remind them that once upon a time trumpets and horns didn't have valves and you had to go through a lot more trouble to get a scale.

[@jeffthebagpiper681]

Thanks for that Matt. I have experimented with cane drone reeds. Just for fun mind you. I do like the sound but I have to say my kinnards are the way to go. I still have my EZ drones as backup .

[@umbertorossi9472]

Great analysis! I encountered all the problems you talked about, and I didn't even find the tone to be that better than synthetic reeds (I'm thinking about Cannings, Kinnairds and EZs), but that's a matter of personal taste. I find the fact that some top bands and soloists play cane reeds a bit misleading for two reasons: 1) There's not that many of them actually, even at the highest level. Every year you can barely find a cane bass reed at the Glenfiddich, which is the pinnacle of tonal quality, let alone a full cane set. 2) Even those who do play them, spend 40 minutes tuning only to play 5-6 minutes of music, 10-12 tops if it's a pibroch competition. Of course I'm not saying it's easy to play at that level, but you definitely are in the best possible environment to perform at your best, unlike ceremonies, parades, festivals, all those gigs where you play for very long periods of time, or you have to play with a cold instrument, or the weather changes twice during the day. I don't think they are suitable to be played in "the real world"

[@alanbeveridge7404]

An excellent summary

[@jeremyrusu9687]

Hey there Matt, I have never tried a set of cane drone reads myself, but have thought about it, although based on the way chanter Reed's operate, I can definitely see why the set up could move and change in the way that they do. Have you ever thought about doing a video on synthetic chanter Reeds? It would be interesting to hear them versus a traditional cane read. Other people have done this to some degree, but in my opinion they have not taken the time to set up the synthetic Reed optimally, in terms of tuning, and air pressure. The tuning has been quite atrocious to be honest lol anyway, interesting video again. I may buy a set one day and experiment with them to see if I can get them going, just to hear the sound firsthand and what the difference is in my set of bagpipes we will see. Also another thought, if I had a set of cane drone reads, I would be asking my wife to help me snap the tongues on these things and set them up, and I already asked her to do enough little instrument repair things for me as it is.

[@jeremyrusu9687]

Hey there Matt, I found your reply to this comment in my emails finally, I don't check my Gmail as much as I should, anyway, I am not surprised and what you're saying makes total sense. I did wonder about the whole synthetic chant Reed thing because there was one Piper I knew that swore by them but based on what I have heard on videos I went, how can that be?

[@JBrooksNYS]

I bought a synthetic chanter reed a few years ago. it was very unstable, sensitive and squeaked a lot. It did sound a bit different than cane, but if it was stable and playable i would have used it anyways. I dont think we are there yet

[@seanwennihan6191]

Great video Matt I prefer the synthetic drone reeds over the Cane drone reeds. for me the synthetic drone reeds work better & are very easy to set up. As where Cane Drone reeds for me are difficult & have trouble staying set.🍀🍀🍀🍀😊😊🙏🙏🙏

[@MAMDAVEM]

Like you I was brought up on cane drone reeds but thank goodness for synthetic drone reeds would not go back.

[@MeditationNation528]

G’day Matt. I have a small request for you if you’d be happy to indulge. Could you do a tutorial video on the tune Cocky Jocks? Would love to learn it and you do fantastic tutorials. Many thanks 🙏🏼 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Great tune there, but it's likely a ways off. Not part of my regular teaching repertoire, but I'll put it on the list. All the best!

[@malachygossett1674]

I've played since the mid 70s so I know how to deal with Cane very well. But, living in Central Texas does have problems, especially with Heat and that was with tuning in heat. I found I had to retune every 5 minutes anyway, so I went to EzeeDrone full time. They can be set with no strike required. What I don't like is the water trap system and a zippered bag.

[@tylerfoster6670]

I'm still curious if the cane sound will enhance my 60 year old Hardies, but good advice: won't put them in until performance season (right now) is thru.

[@theslayeryt9863]

I used to have cane drone reeds now I switch to ezee drones now for my pipes and it’s better for me

[@anmoljivani9561]

Hi! Can you make a video on how to tune plastic drone reeds. How do we know it is high A or low A

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

A drone video is coming... A more complicated topic than it might seem at first.

[@danh48176]

What's the name of the tune you use for the intro? I've tried to figure it out but haven't had any luck. Thanks!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

It’s “All the Blue Bonnets Are Over the Border” from Scots Guard 1.

[@almirrafaelarruda3295]

Goodness, you speak very fast. We foreigners have difficulty. Tanks anyway, man. ❤

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Sorry about that... Just the natural cadence of my voice. The CC/subtitles are also available after a few days (once KZbin has auto generated them) and might help

[@JBrooksNYS]

I spend 25% of my bagpipe time F'ing around with my cane chanter reed... Im not about to dedicate the other 75% on cane drone reeds. I pop in my EzDrones and they work out of the box... waiting for the day we have reliable synthetic chanter reeds. I did buy one years ago but it didnt really work all that well.. the technology isnt there yet.

[@billmoran935]

I love cane but …. I love easy too.

[@T.Ackland]

Hi Matt, I guess yo,u would need to put a curly hair under the tongue?

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Ha! So glad your reeds don’t hair to work!