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Bagpipe Drone Reeds
Drone reeds have come a long way in the last 40 years. When I started playing the pipes in the early 70's, we were still playing cane drone reeds like the Highlanders had done for hundreds of years.
Below is a variety of drone reeds. The original cane drone reed is shown in the first picture. There really wasn't much to it. The tube of bamboo was sealed at the end with ceiling wax and a slit or tongue was cut in the side and adjusted with some black waxed hemp tied into a bridle around the reed. As the tongue vibrated against the housing of the reed, it created the tone of the reed. By moving that bridle up and down on the tongue we were able to control both the timbre and pitch of the reed.
As I've said before, you really had to love this instrument to put up with all of it's challenges. Today, drone reeds come in a variety of set-ups. In most cases today, the bridle us used to adjust the tone and the pitch; however, some of today's reeds use a screw at the top of the reed or in the nose cone to readjust the pitch. As they are not made of porous materials, they are a lot more stable than the old cane reeds.
Today we have a vast variety of drone reeds made by different manufacturers. They all basically work the same way as the original cane drone reeds. I've used most of these products over the years and have my favorites, that's for sure. If you are looking for a set of drone reeds, the best recommendation as to the type you'll select might come from your own instructor or band mates. What do they play and why do they like them? I can definitely give you my opinion if you'd like, especially if you don't have anyone else to provide advice.
Below is a variety of drone reeds. The original cane drone reed is shown in the first picture. There really wasn't much to it. The tube of bamboo was sealed at the end with ceiling wax and a slit or tongue was cut in the side and adjusted with some black waxed hemp tied into a bridle around the reed. As the tongue vibrated against the housing of the reed, it created the tone of the reed. By moving that bridle up and down on the tongue we were able to control both the timbre and pitch of the reed.
As I've said before, you really had to love this instrument to put up with all of it's challenges. Today, drone reeds come in a variety of set-ups. In most cases today, the bridle us used to adjust the tone and the pitch; however, some of today's reeds use a screw at the top of the reed or in the nose cone to readjust the pitch. As they are not made of porous materials, they are a lot more stable than the old cane reeds.
Today we have a vast variety of drone reeds made by different manufacturers. They all basically work the same way as the original cane drone reeds. I've used most of these products over the years and have my favorites, that's for sure. If you are looking for a set of drone reeds, the best recommendation as to the type you'll select might come from your own instructor or band mates. What do they play and why do they like them? I can definitely give you my opinion if you'd like, especially if you don't have anyone else to provide advice.
To the left is an example of a traditional cane drone reed. It consists of a cane tube sealed at one end with ceiling wax with black rosined hemp on the other with a black rosined bridle around the tongue. This reed has been mimicked by the reeds below.
The Crozier drone reeds are a good product to use to show you the basic evolution of a drone reed. The Crozier Carbon Cane drone reeds are an example of the first plastic reed product. The first one was released in the late 80's with a plastic body and a cane tongue. As pipers wanted more stability in tuning, the cane tongue was replaced by a carbon fibre tongue. The plastic tongue neither expands nor contracts when exposed to temperatures and moisture. The nose cones of both of these reeds can be pushed in or pulled out for extra tuning capabilities. The Omega Drone Reeds are also made by Crozier. Their bridles are made of metal and have an adjustment screw to adjust the tone and pitch of the reed. There is also a tuning screw on the tip of the reed.
The next reeds are made by Ezee Drone. Again the premise is the same. Pictured here are the "inverted" drone reeds. Normally the tongue is cut from the tip to the bottom of the reed. In this case the tongue is cut in the opposite direction. I'm not sure about the benefit of this.
The Kinnaird Drone Reeds are my favorites. The whole reed is made of a carbon fibre material. There are tuning screws inside of the nose cones to adjust the pitch and rubber "O " rings are used for the bridles. This is a very easy reed to adjust and play and has an incredible sound (in my humble opinion).
I personally don't have a lot of experience with the next three reed sets. They are made on the same premise as the reeds above.
The question is: What is the best drone reed product for me, right? I think the best recommendation that you could get would be from your Pipe Major or Instructor. What are they using? Why do they like it? Again I have my personal favorites but they may not be right for you.
I have some experience with the Ryan Canning and the Selbie Drone Reeds. I have installed them on pipes that I have shipped to other teacher's students. I think they sound fine. The Ryan Canning reeds are a full carbon product where the Selbie Reeds have a wood body and metal tongues...an interesting combination for sure
The last set of reeds are the Shepherd SM90 drone reeds. I personally sell a lot of these. They are relatively inexpensive and are great reeds for new pipers. The are virtually indestructible. They have a sliding "barrel" bridle and are telescopic. They are a great reed to use in teaching your new student how to adjust drone reeds. They have a lot of versitility in the types of tones that they produce and because they are telescopic you can adjust the pitch easily enough. A truly great product.
The Crozier drone reeds are a good product to use to show you the basic evolution of a drone reed. The Crozier Carbon Cane drone reeds are an example of the first plastic reed product. The first one was released in the late 80's with a plastic body and a cane tongue. As pipers wanted more stability in tuning, the cane tongue was replaced by a carbon fibre tongue. The plastic tongue neither expands nor contracts when exposed to temperatures and moisture. The nose cones of both of these reeds can be pushed in or pulled out for extra tuning capabilities. The Omega Drone Reeds are also made by Crozier. Their bridles are made of metal and have an adjustment screw to adjust the tone and pitch of the reed. There is also a tuning screw on the tip of the reed.
The next reeds are made by Ezee Drone. Again the premise is the same. Pictured here are the "inverted" drone reeds. Normally the tongue is cut from the tip to the bottom of the reed. In this case the tongue is cut in the opposite direction. I'm not sure about the benefit of this.
The Kinnaird Drone Reeds are my favorites. The whole reed is made of a carbon fibre material. There are tuning screws inside of the nose cones to adjust the pitch and rubber "O " rings are used for the bridles. This is a very easy reed to adjust and play and has an incredible sound (in my humble opinion).
I personally don't have a lot of experience with the next three reed sets. They are made on the same premise as the reeds above.
The question is: What is the best drone reed product for me, right? I think the best recommendation that you could get would be from your Pipe Major or Instructor. What are they using? Why do they like it? Again I have my personal favorites but they may not be right for you.
I have some experience with the Ryan Canning and the Selbie Drone Reeds. I have installed them on pipes that I have shipped to other teacher's students. I think they sound fine. The Ryan Canning reeds are a full carbon product where the Selbie Reeds have a wood body and metal tongues...an interesting combination for sure
The last set of reeds are the Shepherd SM90 drone reeds. I personally sell a lot of these. They are relatively inexpensive and are great reeds for new pipers. The are virtually indestructible. They have a sliding "barrel" bridle and are telescopic. They are a great reed to use in teaching your new student how to adjust drone reeds. They have a lot of versitility in the types of tones that they produce and because they are telescopic you can adjust the pitch easily enough. A truly great product.
