Deep sound in goose call

[kingdom calls]

Guys,
hoping for a little direction here.  I have been making calls for 5-6 years but have never really been able to get a deep sounding goose call.  I use shell creek goose guts, and I like them but I want to get the call deeper.  I have talked with a couple of different people and couple questions that I have.

1.  Do you feel that the dimensions of the call (barrel/exhaust) make a "significant" impact on the call sound (specifically deeper or sharper) ?   (PS:  I know material does/lets just default to acrylic call)
2.  Do you have preference on a set of guts that you think are deeper/lower ranges...a little more buzz?
3.  Do you feel that shaving the reed does all the above?

Any suggestions would be helpful...have a great day guys!!

[Moonpiecalls]

This is a hard question to answer really without hearing the call being blown.  I find with most goose calls you can almost always get a good deep low end out of it using the right air and voice inflection.  I know with my calls the shorter barrel/insert call that I make is a bit louder and higher pitch then the longer call I make.  I can still get a deep pitch out of both with the right air being pushed thru however.  Be tough to help without seeing pictures of how your guts are set up and maybe hearing a sound file.

[Joe Short]

Shaving the bottom of the reed makes them sound deeper.

[BLKDOGS]

Here are my suggestions, yes material will make a difference in sound and tone. you already stated that.

"1.  Do you feel that the dimensions of the call (barrel/exhaust) make a "significant" impact on the call sound (specifically deeper or sharper)"
 yes it changes everything in a short reed goose call along with who is using it. Take some cheaper material, like Maple.
Make a barrel longer than you think would be needed and the same with the Keg or Insert. step drill the barrel so you can adjust it as you work through the lengths . this way you can open up the inside a bit at a time and see how it affects your call.
Turn the outside of the keg and barrel so you can rechuck and safely remove material as you se how it works with those guts. 1/8" off here and there and you will notice a big difference. 

One Saturday afternoon of work will learn you a lot of knowledge.

[bloodbrothercalls]

1.  Do you feel that the dimensions of the call (barrel/exhaust) make a "significant" impact on the call sound (specifically deeper or sharper) ?   (PS:  I know material does/lets just default to acrylic call)
 Yes I would Say that the exhaust has a much larger effect on the deepness of the call but the sharpness would relate more to the barrel in general. But like others have mentioned, everything effects everything haha.

2.  Do you have preference on a set of guts that you think are deeper/lower ranges...a little more buzz?
No mater what set of guts you are using it comes down to reed exposure. How much reed is exposed from the tip to the base or pivot point at the wedge. I have found that the best guts are easy to blow with around 0.5-0.6" of exposure. It is not easy to make a gut with over 0.6" of exposure that still has clarity and range. That is why I made my guts using a radius vs using a flat slope. With a radius you can get more exposure vs a flat slope but a flat slope is easier to make because there is less variables.

3.  Do you feel that shaving the reed does all the above?
I personally do not like to shave reeds. I think maintaining the stiffness of a full reed is important to get a good pop and more volume on the low end. I like the feeling of a full reed and I think if you are not happy with the toneboard with a full reed, you should redesign your toneboard rather than tweak the reed to get the sound you want, but there are some advantages to softening the flex of the reed for specific types of calling. I just overall prefer to keep them full.

[Bob from Eames Custom Calls]

I have to agree with a couple of the points that were brought up. I don't like to shave reeds unless there is no other way around it, meaning that a customer does not have the air or form to make the call work as designed. This is usually a "band-aid" fix for a goose call and a caller that don't really fit together. I start some kids out on a shaved reed if they are having trouble getting the call to break over, but I always get them into a full reed as soon as possible. I find that you lose alot of the crack in the break between notes which tends to slow the call down considerably and shorten the vocabulary of the call a bit. You don't really notice this as much in a honker call, but something short like a lesser or cackler call it becomes a deal breaker to me.

 I've always found that there's a sweet spot in the barrel bore dimensions that you have to play with to find. Bills guts are great, and they work well in honker calls. I personally run a shorter barrel with a 3/4" bore over a 7/8" tenon to keep my note speed up, and a longer exhaust with a significant bell at the end to give that big, deep, hollow tone that works well on the honkers out here. There's give and take with each gut system, and you can't shortcut the work to find it. I got a good deal on a bunch of 2x2 poplar stock a few years back, and I used it alot when I was trying to figure out dimensions for a new gut. Just take your time and watch the length of the reed from the hinge point to the tip, as that dictates the overall tone of the call. I've found that the difference between a perfectly tuned call and a running call can be small enough that you can't see it, but you can definitely hear it.

 Keep at it, there's a ton of good goose in those guts!

 Bob