Rejuvenate old cane reeds?

[el gaitero]

Anyone have a tested methodology for this?

. Lots of us have a drawer full of old reeds....I know I do..... Many probably/maybe still quite ok...sent to the grave yard only due to syn reed dominance.

I'm looking to set up some nice bass reeds .. hopefully without buying more/new to add to the drawer..

[Jens Olsen]

I think this is not a easy process...
I have mostly done this with chanter reeds...

I would try out the reeds, blowing by mouth - Just to get a feeling. - You know... does the reed "respond"?
How does the resistance feel?
pick out 2 or 3
Try them in the drone, and feel to the "in--put" and "out-put." Is the resistance hard, but you dont get a lot of volume? Does it feel vibrant?
Try them in the pipes. For 3-4 practice sessions.
And then see, if any of them will do.
If not...
Try all over, or try some different reeds.

Well, I think most reed should work, but if you want an older (or new) reed to work is has to be given some time, before you can dertimene if it will really do.

[Piperalpha]

Put the reeds in a Tupperware container that’s big enough to have a moist towel or sponge next to them. They should soak up enough moisture to spare you the nightmare of trying to get a bone dry reed going. From there you should be able to use the regular tricks to get them going.
I almost did that the other day. I’m happy I chose a synthetic bass. I had it going in minutes. Got the Pipes locked in and I played for 45 minutes. No fuss. I think I’ll carry on with my canning bass and black kelt tenors.

[Bram]

Are they your old reeds or someone else's? If they've been previously played or otherwise discarded they might be no good even if you get them going. I once got an awesome bass drone reed from an old pipe box, so it's possible. But new reeds may be a better bet. Older reeds can get a set in the tongue making it hard to set them to pressure or stay stable. Still, it's fun mucking around with reeds, as long as you have a tolerant family...

[el gaitero]

What raised my zeal ( again) very recently was to hear a former top student play a few tunes at his home party....he was at the open stair hall balcony at the 2nd level and the drones volume cascade down..enhanced by the balcony ~20' clear ceiling height.

I was berserk how well big and booming the bass sound came thru...and with puffed chest was proud they were my McCallum acetyl parade pipes ....and how great this 2x world champion titled player was making them sound.

NOT!!...Turned out they were his own McCallum abw pipes we'd acquired new about 15 years ago as his first set. In his current Grade 2 world champions band he was playing a cane bass with EZ tenors.

So the quest is now on to see if I can get my acetyl McCallum set sound as well ...BIG... using a cane bass.,..figuring they are both McCallum pipes.

Granted ...his set has a hide bag... whereas my own set is on a hybrid bag.

[Graineag]

I'd wondered about this. Since switching to playing a hybrid synthetic bag years ago, I hadn't bothered even thinking about trying cane reeds; I figured I'd need to be playing a sheep or goatskin bag for them to work well enough, and wasn't willing to put in the time, effort, and $$ to keep a sheepskin bag going just so I could futz around with cane reeds... But I do have a set of Kelt tenors that have a wonderful cane-like tone (the bass didn't work at all in my pipes)...

Are there many others out there who are able to keep a cane bass going well in a hybrid bag like a Canmore? Hmmm....

[Pip01]

To quote an old source...

Nothing... sounds like... cane...

[johnsog]

I used a cane drone reed with my Ballantyne hybrid bag for a couple of years and really liked the sound. Alas, it wasn't long before the reed "gave out"; I'd been told they don't last long. I went back to a synthetic bass drone reed with the inverted tongue and like it OK. This thread gives me hope that my old cane reed, which I still have stashed away, might be revived or perhaps I should try a new cane reed. What are some good sources for cane drone reeds?

[McThistle]

I have resurrected a worn out drone reed by gluing the tongue shut
and cutting a new tongue on the opposite side of the cane
It works !

[johnsog]

One can't lose for trying... Great idea!!

[el gaitero]

I have resurrected a worn out drone reed by gluing the tongue shut
and cutting a new tongue on the opposite side of the cane
It works !

Wow... ....and I thot I was..... frugal.

[Calum]

You don't even have to glue the old one. Cutting the fresh tongue will often get the old one to behave anyway, and if not it will just spring shut anyway.

[el gaitero]

You don't even have to glue the old one. Cutting the fresh tongue will often get the old one to behave anyway, and if not it will just spring shut anyway.

iirc there was actually a double tongue drone reed on the market for a while in the early 2000's....wonder if still..or how it fared.

[McThistle]

After posting about cutting a new tongue on an old drone reed,
i should mention that I have a box of over a hundred cane drone
reed tubes under my bed that have been aging for the past 20 years.
I can make a new one anytime. But It is a challenge to be able to use an old one.
Also , I have chanter reed tubes that have been aging for 16 years and are nice and hard.
Having made over 500 chanter reeds, It is time to set back and play them.

[Kevin]

iirc there was actually a double tongue drone reed on the market for a while in the early 2000's....wonder if still..or how it fared.

I think they were Wygent Duatones. I never got to try them but I would imagine they were good just like Wygent's other reeds.

Maybe not what you are looking for but:

• humidifying them,
• tying a new bridle,
• curving the tongue by placing a dime or business card under the end and sliding the bridle part way down the tongue,
• adding an opened paperclip inside the reed to keep the tongue open,
• adding a chest hair under the tongue, or
• drilling and tapping a hole opposite the free end of the tongue and turning in a nylon set screw to hold the tongue open a hair; and
• humidifying them again (and again)

...are a few tricks that might help.

Good luck,
Kevin