How to tune a duck call - The Rick way
Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 10:41 amBeen threatening for some time to put what I've found the most Murphy-proof duck call tuning method down in writing and finally got around to taking a couple photos to illustrate the process today. So here goes...
You'll need the call, a fresh cork, one or two new, uncut reeds, a sharp knife, sharp scissors and a fine tipped marking pen. (I prefer the "Extra Fine" Sharpie, but had what I had.)
Whether the call is new or not, if its current cork doesn't fit snuggly in its notch WITHOUT THE REED IN PLACE, change it before proceeding. It is impossible to determine the call's best tuning if the cork is not fresh enough to put proper pressure on the reed. Remove the reed and old cork from their “J” slot, wet a fresh cork with saliva and push it all the way into the slot by itself, without reed, so it’s centered in the slot and sticks out both sides equally. Then with a sharp blade, trim away the excess cork, working form its toneboard end to the back of the “J” slot, taking care to follow the insert’s bevel without cutting into the insert, itself. Remove the fresh cork for now and remember to slicken it with spit every time you push it back into the slot.
The "catch-22" of call tuning is that you can not know what the optimum reed length is until after you've trimmed too much. The work-around for that being never to cut your current best sounding reed. Always use your current best reed as a template for where to begin cutting on another.
We'll assume we're starting with a call that's reed is of at least functional length. If it's "heavy" and/or too low pitched, we should only need one new, uncut reed to help us find the call's best-for-us tuning. If it's "light" and/or too high pitched, it will require two new, uncut reeds to determine the call's best-for-us tuning. Though my personal preferences may play into it, I suspect calls are generally much more apt to come with too much, rather than too little reed length.
Before cutting on a new reed, we'll lay the current one on it and square up their butt ends:
and mark the new reed along the working end of the old one:
Naturally, if the current reed is too short, or even possibly so, you'll want to be extra careful to allow plenty of leeway before making your first careful cut. And from that cut on, it is critical to remember that it's much easier to trim too much than too little. The sliver shown here is too big:
If you're only getting such small slivers that you're not even cutting all the way across the reed, great! The reed doesn't need to be square, just properly tuned.
After each tiny slice, assemble the call and give it go. Again, don't get impatient, as very small cuts affect big changes. As soon as you feel you're close, nip small dog ears off the reed's corners and try it again, could be all it took. And when you find yourself with a better sounding reed than the one you began with STOP CUTTING ON IT!
If the new reed is now shorter than the original, you can start snipping a hair at a time off the original until it either sounds better than the new "best" or has been cut too far. In the later case, you've found that your new reed is as well tuned as the call will get for you. But if you manage to make the original reed sound better, you'll stop experimenting with it and repeat the trimming process with the now second best one. And so on until you've gone one snip too far with one reed but are left with a best reed in hand.
If, however, your new reed sounded better than the original before it was as short as it, you'll need a second new, uncut reed to begin experimenting with and can discard the original as no longer being of use. Just use your new best reed as a template to mark the other new one and proceed as above, again, until you have gone a tiny snip too far but still have the best possible reed in hand.
Sounds a lot more complicated than it is.
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Thanks Rick for sharing your method. Tuning a call is an art that I'm always trying to master.
You'll need the call, a fresh cork, one or two new, uncut reeds, a sharp knife, sharp scissors and a fine tipped marking pen. (I prefer the "Extra Fine" Sharpie, but had what I had.)
Whether the call is new or not, if its current cork doesn't fit snuggly in its notch WITHOUT THE REED IN PLACE, change it before proceeding. It is impossible to determine the call's best tuning if the cork is not fresh enough to put proper pressure on the reed. Remove the reed and old cork from their “J” slot, wet a fresh cork with saliva and push it all the way into the slot by itself, without reed, so it’s centered in the slot and sticks out both sides equally. Then with a sharp blade, trim away the excess cork, working form its toneboard end to the back of the “J” slot, taking care to follow the insert’s bevel without cutting into the insert, itself. Remove the fresh cork for now and remember to slicken it with spit every time you push it back into the slot.
The "catch-22" of call tuning is that you can not know what the optimum reed length is until after you've trimmed too much. The work-around for that being never to cut your current best sounding reed. Always use your current best reed as a template for where to begin cutting on another.
We'll assume we're starting with a call that's reed is of at least functional length. If it's "heavy" and/or too low pitched, we should only need one new, uncut reed to help us find the call's best-for-us tuning. If it's "light" and/or too high pitched, it will require two new, uncut reeds to determine the call's best-for-us tuning. Though my personal preferences may play into it, I suspect calls are generally much more apt to come with too much, rather than too little reed length.
Before cutting on a new reed, we'll lay the current one on it and square up their butt ends:
and mark the new reed along the working end of the old one:
Naturally, if the current reed is too short, or even possibly so, you'll want to be extra careful to allow plenty of leeway before making your first careful cut. And from that cut on, it is critical to remember that it's much easier to trim too much than too little. The sliver shown here is too big:
If you're only getting such small slivers that you're not even cutting all the way across the reed, great! The reed doesn't need to be square, just properly tuned.
After each tiny slice, assemble the call and give it go. Again, don't get impatient, as very small cuts affect big changes. As soon as you feel you're close, nip small dog ears off the reed's corners and try it again, could be all it took. And when you find yourself with a better sounding reed than the one you began with STOP CUTTING ON IT!
If the new reed is now shorter than the original, you can start snipping a hair at a time off the original until it either sounds better than the new "best" or has been cut too far. In the later case, you've found that your new reed is as well tuned as the call will get for you. But if you manage to make the original reed sound better, you'll stop experimenting with it and repeat the trimming process with the now second best one. And so on until you've gone one snip too far with one reed but are left with a best reed in hand.
If, however, your new reed sounded better than the original before it was as short as it, you'll need a second new, uncut reed to begin experimenting with and can discard the original as no longer being of use. Just use your new best reed as a template to mark the other new one and proceed as above, again, until you have gone a tiny snip too far but still have the best possible reed in hand.
Sounds a lot more complicated than it is.
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Thanks Rick for sharing your method. Tuning a call is an art that I'm always trying to master.
