How to Re-Tune Buck Gardner's Mallard Magic™ and FowlMouth™ Double Reed Calls

The “Quick-Tune Guts” in these two calls consist of the five parts listed in Figure 1.

 

Figure 1

 

 

First, place the plain reed on the trough as shown in Figure 2.

 

Figure 2

Make sure the reed is centered, square, and it is all the way to the back of the two locator pins. Then place the dimpled reed on top of the plain reed as shown in the Figure 3.

 

Figure 3

Both reeds should be stacked neatly, squared, and all the way to the back against the two locator pins. This step can be tricky, but it is vital that this is done correctly, so be patient and re-do if necessary.The dimple should be facing down creating a small gap between the two reeds. Again, hold both reeds firmly between thumb and index finger,making sure they do not move forward or to the side.

 

Figure 4

Then take the wedge and sandwich (Figure 4) all four pieces together (Figure 5).

 

Figure 5

Transfer your sandwich over to your other hand and hold like shown in Figure 6.

 

Figure 6

Take other hand and check one last time to make sure that both reeds are positioned correctly, I usually take my thumb and gently press back on the tips of both reeds and make any lateral adjustments at this time

 

Figure 7.

Now take the sandwich and transfer it back to the other hand.

 

 

 

Figure 8

Take the sandwich and gently force it into the insert (see Figure 8), until there is only 1/8 of an inch of the wedge sticking out of the insert.

 

 

Test and re-tune if necessary. Another tip: the plain reed can be turned over (flip reed over 180 degrees) to create a different sound and level of back pressure. This is just a personal preference type of thing, so try both ways and see what works best for you.