Tenor Drone Reed - Highland Bagpipes

Please also see the description for the remixed Bass Drone Reed. I'm attempting to bring a cheap set of bagpipes into working order and the original reeds that shipped with it weren't working so well, and were flatter than normal pitch. For the actual vibrating part of the reed for these I used some hobby store styrene, dimensions .38mm x 6.3mm or .015" x .25", about 1.5cm or so long, just enough to go from the flat edge in the middle part to covering the hole at the bottom. To hold this in place I used the original clear bands that shipped with the bagpipe parts. This same material could also be used for the bass drone. it might be a good idea to pick up some varying thicknesses/widths to see what difference, if any, can be made :-)

You could either print something form fitting to the design, use small rubber bands or waxed thread knotted in place to hold the styrene reed in place. Anything that fastens it securely down at the back and a second piece to help tune the overall sound of it would work I imagine. Waxed hemp or thick thread is wound around the top section to fit it into the pipes themselves and make an airtight seal. The extra bit of string you see is intended to be smooshed in with the thread on the drone itself and hung outside in case the thing falls out when trying to make sounds with the bagpipes, look up “bagpipe lifeline” on your favorite video site for more details.

As for printing you should probably print them solid, I went for 10% infill and 2 or three walls which turned out nearly solid anyways. This might become a moisture trap and lead to micro-organisms, who knows. I was also trying to push a newly built printer to it's maximum speed to see how it would turn out, explaining the rough looking texture in the photos. 

Where the bass drone reed sounds like the devil's own duck call these kind of sound like the world's worst and loudest clown horn when unplugged from the pipes and tested. Extremely annoying. Feel free to remix this into a literal clownhorn if you want but please don't credit me if you receive death threats from the neighbors/famliy.