Simply accepting wet blowing?

[Pip01]

The old-school cure for wet blowers was to take up whisky and cigarettes,

Ah... for those Halcyon Days--of Yesteryear!! :-)

[Jim McGillivray]

Connecticut. It's generally quite humid here. And maybe it is overkill, but I think it would slam the door shut on my problem. Going with another Gannaway could well be sufficient, but at this point I kind of see it as a half-measure.

edit: I also generally try to play until I'm exhausted, or my reeds shut off. Right now, with Canmore and trap-dri tube, drone reeds shut off at about an hour. I want to be able to get a lot more time before I overwhelm the reeds.

If you're getting a straight hour of playing dry with only a tube and trap-dri, in my opinion you are doing really well! Back in my sheepskin days when I played only a tube trap, I could play for about 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the room I was playing in. If it was a cool room I might go 35. Eventually I got tired of that bs and put in the moisture control system.

JM

[David Corbett]

My view of "wet blowing".. your chanter reed is to hard. Rationale: natural reaction to anything in your mouth is to salivate. For some reason, it has been my experience that even when I've been playing consistently for a while, thus "in shape", if I put a harder reed in the chanter, I am spitting, sputtering, and slobbering fairly quickly. If I put an easy one in, I can play and play and play, and sometimes my mouth even gets dry. Thus, easier reed - less "wet", harder reed - wetter. Please test this out for yourself. It has been my limited experience, a great many people play reeds that are much harder than necessary, and to their detriment on many levels.

[bprints]

if moisture is a huge concern then just get a flux blowpipe. looks a bit jank but it works.

[iunderwood]

~1920's Robertsons, ~2003 MacLellan poly chanter, Shepherd ridge cuts in the chanter, Redwood tenors and Ezee bass.

My drones, unless they're drowning in water, are actually super stable. After about 25-30 minutes, the F on the chanter gets a little sensitive and some harsher harmonics start coming out. That's always accompanied by water droplets forming around the reed seat and the reed starting to feel a little squishy.

Edit: As an aside, what would be the best way to remove rather wide stocks from rubber collars on a Canmore? Should I push down or pull them up and out? Wanting to reuse this bag on the backup set.

[el gaitero]

Outside, yes. Temp in the 60's, pretty humid.

Has anyone asked...what maker pipes,chanter,reed are you playing?

[iunderwood]

Outside, yes. Temp in the 60's, pretty humid.

[EquusRacer]

Forgot to mention this new problem! The last several practice sessions, 30-45 minutes, I've had water collecting in the DRONE TOPS. They get very, very wet. One one gig, after a break for the service, I went to strike up again, and the bass drone would never settle. At the end, I took the pipes apart, and water came gushing out the bass drone mid section.

I'm quite, quite done with this Canmore, and will relegate it to a new backup poly kit.

Egads! Were you outside? Was it cold? (Trying to think what could cause that level of condensation, assuming that's the cause). Regardless, that's more extreme than I've ever observed in anyone's pipes. Wow.

[iunderwood]

Forgot to mention this new problem! The last several practice sessions, 30-45 minutes, I've had water collecting in the DRONE TOPS. They get very, very wet. One one gig, after a break for the service, I went to strike up again, and the bass drone would never settle. At the end, I took the pipes apart, and water came gushing out the bass drone mid section.

I'm quite, quite done with this Canmore, and will relegate it to a new backup poly kit.

[el gaitero]

My Moose valves are down in the stock a fair way, and, depending on the weather, collect a fair bit of moisture. I pour off every 10 minutes or so.

No singling out anyone...a cube of sugar is the approximate volume of space around a moose valve in the stock...with the insert stub left in place...and regardless how deep in the stock.

Once that volume is satisfied..( filled) excess condensation will spill over /be blown into the bag.

Using a Trap-Dri /upturned vinyl tube trap is an excellent solution....but ineffective to the extent that pouring off the condensation is impossible with a moose valve in place.

A simple and properly tied flapper is needed...to let the tube and trap-dri do the intended job before pouring off.

[Greenpipe]

My Moose valves are down in the stock a fair way, and, depending on the weather, collect a fair bit of moisture. I pour off every 10 minutes or so. If it is warm and dry, little moisture gathers. Only when it is cold is there a lot. I also have a corrugated tube going to the back of the bag from the blowstick stock which contains a TrapDri. At the end of playing I open the bag, remove the Trap Dri and shake it out. Usually there is some moisture in the tube which I swab out upstream and down from the TrapDri. Sometimes the seasoning is a bit gooey (the bag is a goatskin wihich requires a tiny bit of seasoning) but there has not yet been any condensation in the drones. This set up is only a few months old, so it remains to be seen what if any difference cold weather playing makes.

As for public pour offs, I see no difference from what brass players do.

[Jim Fogelman]

Alrighty, so here's a question for players that have experience with both sheepskin and goatskin: Are they equal in moisture control, or is one superior to the other? I could see trying goatskin for the added longevity, but not at the expense of moisture control.

I've been staring at a shopping cart that's got a Murray sheep bag plus a set of poly pipes as a bad/cold weather/SHTF with my main pipes backup set. Looking for every reason to delay pulling the trigger, haha.

From what I remember of the goatskin bag I had, they're pretty comparable, but sheep does have a bit of an advantage.

[acadianpiper]

Where???....there’s almost no space volume around the Moose...even if leaving the insert riser in place.

I won't argue with your measurements, but, equally, I cannot argue with the amount of moisture I routinely pour out of my Moose valve.

[iunderwood]

Alrighty, so here's a question for players that have experience with both sheepskin and goatskin: Are they equal in moisture control, or is one superior to the other? I could see trying goatskin for the added longevity, but not at the expense of moisture control.

I've been staring at a shopping cart that's got a Murray sheep bag plus a set of poly pipes as a bad/cold weather/SHTF with my main pipes backup set. Looking for every reason to delay pulling the trigger, haha.

[Melodiethegreat]

Ok, so....I'm also a relatively wet blower, and for a while now I've been using the Falk Water trap in my pipe setup and it actually collects a TONNNNN of moisture without transferring it to my reeds. I don't typically play for hours on end, I'm still pretty new and my embouchure can't hold out for too long, but I've liked the Falk Water trap. I'm also using a Canmore Hybrid bag. You can't use it with the moose valve though. Hope that helps in some way.