Instrument 0036
Published 2025-01-30
Last updated 2025-01-30
Permalink  lotos-lab.com/instrument/0036
Manufacturers’ Notes
Reed case contents
Three Theophrastian yokes in Phragmites australis harvested in Benevento, Fiume Calore, 2022-09-17; made by Marco Sciascia late December 2022; parented by Barnaby Brown 6 January – 10 April 2023:
- Lotos AABK (orange waist = internode 5)
- Lotos AABL (orange waist = internode 5)
- Lotos AABM (gold waist = internode 7)
Reed sheaths made from birchwood spatulas and waxed braided polyester.
V-shaped pipe cleaner for drying inside reed stems. Use in conjunction with disposable tissues or absorbent towels.
Trimmed pigeon alula feather for oiling reeds (when completely dry) to stabilize behaviour. Oiling reduces the impact of changing moisture levels.
800-grit wet or dry paper for cleaning between blades and smoothing any superglue repairs.
Pipe case contents
N.B. In common usage, ancient and modern, ‘pipe’ (singular) refers to the whole musical instrument. This is true for Greek aulos, Latin tibia, Irish cuisle, and Scottish Gaelic pÃob. All are multi-pipe reed instruments associated with royalty, processions, and burials, allowing a single player to craft harmony.
Lotos 0036 was made in November 2022 in ebony with deer-bone syrinx plugs, leather bass hole sleeves, and waxed braided polyester thread. The high pipe is one-piece (like the Louvre aulos) rather than two-piece with a bronze ring (like the original Berlin aulos). So far, practical experiments leave the makers unconvinced that the original ring was intended to turn. Keeping it operational under professional working conditions presents difficulties and costs that appear to significantly outweigh any musical advantages. Our current hypothesis is that the bronze ring resolved a workshop situation, such as a crack or shortage of suitable wood.
Trimmed herring gull primary wing feather for oiling pipe bores (when completely dry).Case made by Barnaby Brown from extruded acrylic tube (Esacril) with high-density breathable foam plugs, fixed at the base with copper wire and tied at the top with polyester cord.
Maintenance case contents
Two sorts of oil: almond for wooden pipe bores (larger bottle) and rapeseed for cane reeds (smaller bottle).
Two sorts of super glue for reed repairs: high viscosity (for patching cracks with goldbeaters’ skin) and gel (for sealing side leaks).
Bamboo paddle skewer for applying super glue.
‘Squishy’ waxed thread for an adjustable airtight seal between reed and pipe (six colours to make it easier to identify individual reeds).
Beeswax to keep threads water-repellant, sealing well, and sticky. Beeswax avoids the need for knots, facilitating fine adjustment of the reed’s depth in the socket.
Bronze pull-through with absorbent Indian cotton rag.
Plasticine syrinx-hole plugs (an alternative to the bone plugs).
Goldbeaters’ skin (for super glue repairs, ideally before a crack develops). Watch out for a dark line that may begin to appear at the tip with usage. Patching before it cracks, or before a crack extends, will be more successful, so inspect reeds carefully every time you put them to bed and act immediately: further playing may cause irreparable damage. Use a pencil to mark the crack’s position on the opposite blade because as it dries it may close up and become invisible. Patch when the reed is dry (see parenting guide).
Feedback & data collection
Please share your insights and feedback below. What works well and what could we do better? We are committed to gathering collective wisdom in the spirit of open science, knowing that truth is expensive, inconvenient, often painful; unlike fiction, which is cheap and doesn’t need social media to win the race.
Thank you for your generosity uplifting the doublepipe revival for the benefit of all!
Barnaby Brown and Marco Sciascia