Most bagpipes players are aware that they have the choice of traditional cane drone reeds versus contemporary plastic ones. In our opinion, here are the pros and cons of both:
Cane reeds:
Give a very mellow tone if set up correctly and possibly a bit less volume. These are more suited to the solo player. Can be a bit tricky to set up, due to moisture within the bag and outside humidity as most new cane drone reeds will have a tendancy to shut down, so you have to keep springing the tongues. Many people put a hair in the gap of the tongue which helps to keep it open.
You can adjust the bridle of the reed. Bringing the bridal down the reed will close down the tongue and make it take less air, making it sharper and resulting in the drone top tuning lower down the pin. Moving it up the reed will have the opposite effect and will allow more air to pass through, vibrating at a lower frequency and producing a flatter tone, and tuning further up the pin. You have to set the reeds just right, for the strength of the pipe chanter reed, so that just enough air is getting through the reed for the pressure you are putting on them. Too much air and the reeds will sound too loud for the chanter. Not enough air and the reed will stop when you are playing.
Plastic reeds:
Probably more suited to the band player, as bands are looking for a big drone sound and they want the sound to be in unison. In principle, plastic reeds operate the same way as the cane ones, but being made of different materials, they can react differently when blown in the drones. Generally speaking, they are easier to set up and get going for the novice player. Most sets of plastics are tested by their manufacturers and therefore can be put straight into the drones and be played successfully. This still depends on the strength of the pipe chanter reed being played with them. A strong chanter reed needs more pressure on the bag and therefore you have to have your drone reeds set up accordingly, to take a decent amount of air. A weak chanter reed means less pressure and you can therefore adjust the bridals of the drone reeds and make sure just enough air is getting through.
Verdict:
Plastic reeds came in around the mid 1990's and there are some very successful makes out there, doing a great job. Cane reeds still give you the ultimate tone however !
