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Duck Call Tuning
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:58 am
by Bankermane
This subject has come up several times lately. At the Wooley Swamp gathering Don Miller and Champcaller tuned some calls and others wished they knew how. Again in Stuttgart this past weekend Ole Don's call went flat and a guide from Rich n Tone worked on it a little bit. Thought I would borrow the "How to" from someone else if you don't know how.
Okay...here's how to do it so you don't have to hunt down Bo Whoop at a show everytime your call starts to sound like crap.
Anybody can do this...with very little experimentation: (Just buy extra reeds before you start so you can have spares....and have extras when you wack too much off with your scissors.)
The cork needs to be replaced much more often than the reed....lot's of times you can just use the same reed. Just put it aside and go on and experiment with a new reed. (You might find that you like the way it sounds better if you change the length a bit. )
1) Take the new reed, which should be stick up about 1/8th of an inch longer than the slot cut into the sound board of the insert...and place it all the way down in the cork slot.
2) Take the new cork..(place it in your mouth and chew on it a bit to get it wet and easier to work with)...making sure it fits TIGHT, place it over the reed and push ALL THE WAY down into the cork slot. (Take something like a file, or the back of a knife blade, and push the cork hard to make sure it is bedded well in the cork slot). You don't want air escaping around the cork.
3) On both corners on top of the reed, trim off the corners and cut VERY small 45 degree angles with your scissors.
4) Blow the call to see if you got lucky. You probably won't...but try each time you make adjustments to the reed. It won't take much to hit your sweet spot..neither will it take too much to cut too much.
5) Continue cutting the reed shorter, taking off about 1/64th of an inch or so at a time. Each time cut the 45 degree corners...and then check how the call is sounding. Stop when it suits your calling style and leave it alone.
The cork is usually the prob if your call begins to sound 'dead', loses it's 'ring', etc. During a hunting season when I blow a call alot...I'll change mine about every couple weeks...or more.
Heres some guidelines to reed length:
Longer reed:
Takes more air too blow
Increase call volume
Also tends to lower the tone
Shorter reed:
Takes less air to blow
The 'oscillation' of the reed speed increases..makes a higher pitch
Tends to decrease the calls volume.
So, to summarize about tuning your call and reed length:
If you want a louder call or more 'back pressure' built into the call....you need a bit longer reed.
If you want a quiter call that is easier to blow...you want a shorter reed.
But too much of either is too much....so trim the reed down slowly so that you don't bypass the right reed length for your style of calling
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:01 am
by torch
Does that work on any type call?
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:10 am
by Bankermane
I'm sure it will. Be prepared to go through a few reeds though. first thing I do is change the cork and turn the old reed over and try it . Sometimes that's all you need. I'm no expert. This was taken from another source but I know its correct. Maybe a comment from Champcaller would clear up any questions or is he in Geography right now?
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:42 am
by olemissduckhunter
first of all dont every turn the reed over. there is only one way the reed should be in. take the reed between your pointer finger and thumb longwase. and bend it which ever way the reed bends thats the way the reed should be in your call. if you look at it like a bow the rounded part should go against the tone board. good luck and if anyone is gonna be in stuttgart stop by the sgc booth and i will show you what im talking about and tune your call for you.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:52 am
by vader
I'm no world duck caller but I used to test blow duck calls for a living so i hope these tips help. Those tips will work on any type call that has cork (i.e. RNT) but will not work on calls that have a plastic insert (i.e. Haydels).
As bankermane has mentioned, if you don't know what you're doing, make sure you have plenty of cork & reeds. The only advice I'd give is that if you like the way the call is blowing prior to changing out the cork, use the same reed & simply change the cork. And don't flip the reed over. Most reeds have a slight bend in them so if you flip the reed, it'll make the call sound different. Honestly, I change the cork in my calls after every hunt but leave the reed alone. The more moisture you put into the call, the quicker it goes flat and I like my calls to sound crisp everytime I blow them.
If you want to change the sound of a plastic insert call, simply pull the barrell and stopper apart and adjust the plastic insert. The further up the tone board you move the insert, the easier and higher pitch the call will be. The lower you move the insert, the deeper and harder it is to blow.
Hope this helps.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:19 am
by Hays Creek
vader wrote: I change the cork in my calls after every hunt but leave the reed alone.
man, I can barely remember to wipe down my gun.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:33 am
by vader
Sorry about the double post. Not sure what happened there.
Hays Creek, guess I should have prefaced that by saying... if I blow a call that has cork, it gets changed out after every hunt.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:09 am
by Blackduck
Where can one find such a large supply of cork? Seriously.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:11 am
by Greenhead22
It's all trial and error, best way I can put it. I've got a perfect setup on one of my echo's that I have caught major heck trying to reproduce in my other calls.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:13 am
by Bankermane
I have bought new calls that I didn't like the way they sounded and turned the reed over. I liked the sound better. Easier to try that than go thru retuning. Just an option to try before chenging reeds.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:21 am
by Greenhead22
If that reed doesn't bend back between your fingers, then it's not going to sound worth a flip.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:28 am
by vader
Blackduck, that's a good question. Unless you know someone who makes/tunes calls, it's virtually impossible to find the cork already cut to the thickness and size needed for a particular duck call. I'm not sure how every call manufacturer buys/orders their cork but from what I saw while working in the industry, it's either bought already cut by an outside source or it's bought by the pallet load and then cut to size in house.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:29 am
by Dogzeye
Bankermane wrote:I have bought new calls that I didn't like the way they sounded and turned the reed over. I liked the sound better. Easier to try that than go thru retuning. Just an option to try before chenging reeds.
I think the dissent was over the detent you find on some reeds that are there to gap against the soundboard... if the reed is curved to prevent lock up instead of detent then you should have no problem flipping them.
I still don't get all the hoopla' over calling.... 95% of the hunt is being where they are going anyway.... and the other 5% is trying NOT to "bling" them out of landing.... mainstreet calling belongs on mainstreet, it's about calling consumers to the purchase racks.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:31 am
by Greenhead22
That wasn't mainstreetin' the other night. It was pure meat stuff.
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:35 am
by Dogzeye
Greenhead22 wrote:That wasn't mainstreetin' the other night. It was pure meat stuff.
Sure PAL, 28 note continuous brings em in everytime !!