Everyday i’m checking out new youtube movies where uilleann pipers play their instruments. There are many concert pitch sets around, which is logical to me, but
why are there way more people playing a B set than a C set, why does it seem to be that a B set is more popular than a C set? This is subjective of course but i’m wondering what you
guys think and have to say about both sets.
Kind regards!
I play both C and B (and D). C chanters can range in character from very D-like to somewhat B-like. Somewhere between CP and flat. For my money, if you are safely looking for that flat sound (without ambiguity), then B is your man.
t
In sessions it is much easier to play a piano accordian in C (no sharps) than in B (five sharps); thus there is less of the loathsome squeezeplay when you play in B. 
Well a bc accordion could handle either set at long as the player could play inside out or outside in.
Unfortunately in Europe there is the added disadvantage of the CBA player (Chromatic button Accordion) which can play in any key with the same facility… and they don’t care if you can hear your B (or C#) set either !
PS, I’ve made more C’s than B’s.
I don’t think I’d conclude just from Youtube search results that B sets are more popular - that only proves that B players are more likely to post Youtube clips. 
I agree with Mr. Kleen: there’s a spectrum of “flatness” character between B-C-C# chanters. It’s hard to generalize, though. My Koehler C chanter is brighter and louder than my higher-pitched Haneman C# chanter, like by a lot, though you’d never mistake the Koehler stick for a concert chanter.
So, this warmth/quietness spectrum spans pipemakers, not just keys, and the relationship isn’t linear. But with uilleann pipes, what is?
By the way, I’m not surprised Mr. Wooff gets more C orders than B. Many people have the impression that B chanters demand really long fingers (at least for the right/bottom hand).
I think sometimes folks don’t realize that since the outer diameter of most flat chanters flares out towards the bottom, the tone holes end up closer together than you’d expect. It is a different grip nonetheless, that some people find hard to get used to (anyhow, so say many of the listings on the uilleannobsession classifieds).
Sure is worth the effort!
Cheers,
Mick
Can’t speak for any B players, but I chose C natural for my flat set mostly because the tone/sound of the maker’s C sets just spoke to me on a visceral level, and to a lesser extent because it is a little easier to play with others on some tunes anyway in C rather than B or Bb. Some day, I will have a Bb set though. The Ginsburg Bb set that Ted posted for sale is soooo tempting!
Mick… I dont see that the ‘flare’ of a chanter is going to make the finger holes closer together, however the B chanters that I make have very little extra span over the lower hand holes than my C’s. The main problem with the longer chanters, as I see it , is that the lowest finger hole is further away from the end of the stick,which makes the player’s hand higher off the regulators.. this can be compensated by a change of position but once we are talking Bb things do get a little more difficult. Also the regulator keys can be further away from the stock.. more ‘reach’ needed ,suits taller players etc.
i can’t help but think that the recordings made by players like Tommy Reck, Robbie Hannan, & Mick O’Brien have influenced a few to go down to the B pitches. I believe i once heard Robbie Hannan mention that hearing Tommy Reck was the reason for himself playing so flat.
so it’s pure coincidence that there are way more B sets played on youtube than C? sir Geoff wooff mentioning that he made more C’s than B’s as well.
Especially the last comment makes me wonder if people are perhaps ‘pushed’ into playing B sets more often than C’s.
I’ve always very much liked the sound of Cillian vallely’s ‘Lark in the morning’ C playing, but it was one of the few C sets I could find for a long time 
Heres Mick playing in C
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n9VVZS6TLY
RORY
Very nice sound, sounds marvelous!
That was something a (different) pipemaker had told me – that flaring the width of the lower part of the chanter diameter created more depth between the tops of those holes and the center of the bore, with the result that right-hand holes could be placed nearer the left-hand holes than with a cylindrical outer profile.
Seemed plausible enough. However, I stand gratefully corrected!
Regards,
Mick
Joe Kennedy has just finished a FS in C for me. I think my C chanter has a slightly larger reach than the B in the bottom hand. Tonally, this C chanter sounds like the tracks in C on Ennis’ “40 years…”
Personally, i like both B & C and the most (but not all) of the many flavours they come in!
Ah, well, that is a slightly different case. I was refering to the span of the lower hand holes, which is what might bother some people, the stretch of the hand. However, with a thicker walled chanter a note will issue at a greater length from the reed and thus be slightly lower in pitch, or one could use this extra wall thickness to advantage by drilling the tone holes at angles to the perpendicular, as is done with the Bassoon and thus it is possible to compress the stretch of fingers.
If, on a long chanter, the aim of the maker had been to place the right hand holes closer to the left hand holes this would suggest that the lower group would be further up the chanter , putting the lower hand further away from the regulators. Lots of compromises can be made.
I wouldn’t turn down a B chanter, but I think C is my true happy place, in large part due to Louise Mulcahy’s C set. The first time I heard her play it, I thought “those pipes say everything I could dream of wanting to say.” Peter Laban’s C playing with Kitty Hayes was another big influence.
(Although I like my C# chanter too; it’s a very happy balance)
Right hands & great reeds & both can sound amazing…
Few favorites in different styles - it is obvious that playing technique has the biggest impact on sound result.
nu1. ***Benedict Koehler on C set http://pipersgathering.org/Audio/Benedict%20Koehler%20-%20Dear%20Irish%20Boy%20.mp3
nu2. Mark Neilly on B chanter http://hunterpipes.co.uk/Sounds/Hunter%20B%20(2005).mp3
nu3. Cillian Wallely on C set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoiB1-Ubn2I
nu3. Mark Redmond on B set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT-QNvymOkQ
Best, AA
the 1st B sounds like it’s been worked on, if that is the absolute true sound of that chanter, holy **** wauw! but the C chanters sound very nice too , I already knew the cillian vallely one! it’s nice.
What kind of wood is usually/best used for flat sets btw? soft woods like plum/pear/apple woods? or hard woods like ebony/cocobolo, or anything else?
The set Mark Redmond is playing in that clip is B flat.
Even I would sound good with that much reverb.
Seriously, it’s hard to judge the sound.
First time I heard Mr. Redmond, lovely. Where is he located?