- CLEARTONE - Plastic Drone Reeds -

- Setup Adjustment and Piping Tips -



    ...List of Contents......

  1. Foam Insert helps Strike in


  2. Balance and Stability Test


  3. Adjusting Reeds with Moveable Plugs


  4. What to aim for....


  5. Tuners - Bagpipe Tuning


  6. Frequently asked Questions


  7. Adjusting the Reeds General


  8. Adjusting the Reed (Reeds with moveable plug) (pdf)


  9. Corrective Measures etc ....



  10. ..... Back to Shopping Page .....



Adjusting the Reed









    ...Tip 2...Balance and Stability Test

  • Simple Test...........
  • Simple test for stability of pitch of the drones.......
  • Put a cork or stopper in the chanter stock and blow drones only.
  • Tune the 2 tenor drones to unison when blowing easy.
  • Increase blowing pressure and if the tuning drifts, adjust one drone to bring both back to unison.
  • If the drone needed to be tuned out (lengthened) then.......
  • ...The bridle on the reed in that drone needs to be moved down a little (towards the free end of the tongue).
  • ......and vice-versa......
  • If the drone needed to be tuned in (shortened) then.......
  • ...The bridle on the reed in the other drone needs to be moved down a little (towards the free end of the tongue).
  • Only adjust in small steps until the drones are able to stay tuned in unison for small variations in blowing pressure.
  • Also check that each drone is taking the same amount of air and has similar tone and volume.
  • Also check that both drones stop at the same point when the blowing pressure is increased slightly above normal.
  • Test the bass drone by a similar action.


  • Back to List of Contents



    ...Tip 3...Adjusting Reeds with Moveable Plugs

  • Adjusting Reeds with Moveable Plugs.......
  • Adjust the bridle as per instruction leaflet "Adjusting the Reed" to get drones to correct pitch and tuning on the hemp...
  • Adjust for balance and stability of pitch as in Tip 2 above...
  • Adjust the moveable plug inward to "brighten the tone, this will also raise the pitch"....
  • Adjust the moveable plug outward to "mellow the tone, this will also lower the pitch"....
  • The plug will move with a gentle push in either direction and will stay in position without any fixing ....
  • A short plastic stick "a pusher" is provided with each 1YP and 2YP set, for moving the plug ....


  • Back to List of Contents



    ...Tip 4...What to aim for.....

  • When finished adjusting....your drones should be tuning on the hemp....
  • Both tenor drones should sound the same ... tone and volume ...
  • Cleartone Reeds are very air efficient and the Pipe Bag should feel solid under your arm ...
  • Both tenor reeds should look the same ... bridles same position and plug position same ...
  • Drones should stay tuned in unison for slight variation in blowing pressure ...
  • If not .... Investigate .... Remember the adjustments interact with one another ....


  • Back to List of Contents



    ...Tip 5...Corrective Measures etc.....

  • If the tongue has been "sprung" too much open making the reed not blow over into full tone OR "double tone" ...
  • corrective measures can be taken to straighten the tongue and make it workable again ...


  • This is not really recommended as it is better to try and not "over spring" in the first place ...


  • Option 1 .... Move the bridle down over the open tongue and hold the tongue closed for a few days and then try playing the reed again ...
  • Holding the tongue closed will tend to straighten the tongue naturally itself


  • Option 2 .... If the tongue has been badly "kinked" and Option 1 does not cure it then it is necessary to manually straighten it ...
  • Move the bridle up towards the fixed bridle to expose the "kink" ...
  • Place a "pin" or straightened "paperclip" under the "kink" between the tongue and the reed body ...
  • Press gently on the tongue at the "kink" until the "kink" is removed ...
  • Remove the pin and re-adjust the bridle position and try the reed again ...
  • Hopefully it will be OK and play satisfactorily
  • Be careful to not damage the surface of the tongue or the surface of the body of the reed ...


  • Option 3 ... Contact Cleartone for replacement tongue ....


  • Back to List of Contents


.............. Back to Shopping Page ..............