Hello, i have renewed all the pads on my 7 keyed northumbrian smallpipe chanter myself. i did have problems with leaking pads and i removed them, put Vaseline on the pads and pushed them in to the key seats. this has solved the problem of squeaking notes, loss of pressure and false notes...
but my main problem now is the D note on the bottom of the chanter, when i press the key the note is not in tune as before. it is nearly a quarter tone flatter than before i changed the pads. i have taken the key off and cleaned the hole, i have oiled the inside of the chanter, i have checked for leaks.... but the low D note is still flat where as all the other notes are in tune with the drone (i am comparing all notes against the drone), this was not the case before i changed the pads. can the pads have a drastic change to 1 note? is there any thing i can do to solve the problem? has this happened to anyone before? i have also put cotton wool into the bottom of the chanter. in my 30 years of playing i have not come across this, i do not want to undercut the D hole to make it sharper as i am sure it is another problem.
any adivce
many thanks,
kevin