A friend of mine was just talking about his first time playing a full set with a straight bass reg (as opposed to the wrap around of the Taylor Bros.), and said it changed the way he held the pipes and how he played.
What do people have to say about this? Seth Gallagher is the only maker I know of who does the wrap-around style as a regular feature of his pipes. I know it’s different strokes for different folks, but I don’t have or play regs yet, and I’d love to hear different opinions on this topic.
Standing from the outside looking in, I like the compactness of the wrap around, but a straight bass reg seems to encourage a piping position that is more beneficial to reg playing. But I’m just speculatin’ on a hypothesis…I know I don’t know nuthin’.
Aaron, I haven’t tried them, but from seeing pictures of others using the wrap-around bass reg, I can see what you mean about the difference in the way the set is held. They (wrap-around owners) seem to hold the bag and stock much lower than someone with a straight reg would. The regs are almost flat across both thighs. I’m sure changing from one style of set to the other would be quite a shock. I wonder if there are any pipers out there who have both styles, and are familiar with changing back and forth, and what their impressions might be.
Your Mileage May Vary (you get full marks for your attempt )
I have both style bass regs (a Seth Gallagher w/wrap-around in D and my Peter Hunter w/Brad Angus regs. in B). The biggest difference I notice taking them in and out of the case! There’s a lot more assembly/disassembly with the straight bass bar. I started with with wrap-around, so the long bass bar did take a little getting used to, but it wasn’t a big deal.
How much difference in length (spread of the regulator keys) between the two sets??
It would be easier to compare the playability to the different styles on the same pitch pipes. I would imagine the wrap-around style lays flatter and moves around less when wrestling… err, playing the regulators.
My pipemaker would prefer to create the entire bass regulator and install it all at once. This blew my idea of obtaining the bass regulator bar by itself at first – to get used to it.
I was visiting some incredible pipers/-makers and they suggested getting a broom handle and taping it to my drone stock to imitate the bass regulator bar. I did it, and in my opinion must work just as fine as the bar. And it only cost me $3.95!
At least on my B set, I can’t imagine how I’d possibly reach the regulators if it didn’t have the bass bar. The bottom of the chanter is so long that the raised elevation from the bass bar brings the regs up to where my hand hovers, and even then, it would be even better if they were even a bit higher… If they were down flat on my lap, I’d never be able to reach them…
