491 - Do You REALLY Need Tone Enhancers? (Dojo U Friday Strike-in Q&A Session)
High altitude tuning, dry climate disasters, and the great tone enhancer debate take centre stage this week as Andrew and Carl tackle another round of real-world piping problems.
From managing a stubborn high G at elevation to why soaking your reeds is a bad idea in dry environments, the conversation is packed with practical advice you can actually use. Things heat up with a passionate discussion on tone enhancers β including why Carl wants to rip them out of your drones and Andrew is (slightly) more forgiving.
We also dive into memory tricks for tricky pickup notes, the psychology of learning tunes, and whether you really need to take your burls so seriously. The episode wraps with a grounded look at competition score sheets and how to read judge feedback without spiralling.
Hereβs what we cover this week:
- 00:00 β Intro & Welcome
- 00:00 β High G Hole Tuning at Elevation
- 07:30 β Moisture Management in Dry Climates
- 12:00 β Plastic Bag Storage & Humidity Control
- 19:00 β When Your Mid Tenor Drone Wonβt Stay Off
- 23:00 β The Great Tone Enhancer Debate
- 28:00 β Graduating from Tone Enhancers
- 31:00 β Balance Tone Drones (Andrew Admits Ken Was Rightβ¦ Sort Of)
- 33:00 β Why Pickup Notes Are Easy to Forget
- 40:00 β The Deer on the Road Analogy for Learning Tunes
- 43:00 β The Great Burl Consistency Question
- 48:00 β Reading Competition Score Sheets Without Overreacting
