Hi everyone. I just put my spare chanter up for sale on eBay. (Who can afford to have a “spare” chanter these days!) This is the first chanter I ever owned, and it was a good one on which to learn the pipes. It was made by Bruce Childress. It has keys for F and C natural, Bb, and G#, and is made of blackwood with imitation ivory and brass mounts. Bruce made a reed for the chanter a few months back, but it was winter here and I wasn’t happy with the response and tone, so I put it away. I stuck an extra Koehler reed in it just for laughs and it sounded pretty good! Go figure! The new Childress reed and the Koehler reed will go to the new owner. Bruce is a great guy and stands behind his work. I feel sure that if there are any concerns or tweaking to be done, he’d be very happy to do it. He has always been great to work with.
I also have a spare bellows, blowpipe and chanter stock, and I would be happy to sell these as well. Thus, one could put together a practice set relatively easily and at far less expense than a new one from Bruce. Incidentally, Bruce charges $1020 for a new chanter with all the keys, and he has quite a wait the last time I checked.
Some have sent PMs enquiring about this chanter and I could not get the server to let me respond. My responses would just sit in the “outbox” for days. Has anyone else had this trouble? Anyway, perhaps the best way to ask questions is through the open forum or via eBay. Thanks, everybody. Skip