A friend of mine, who is studying Uilleann Pipe playing, under the excellent Mick Dunn, in Limerick, Ireland, has been give a (long) list of Piper Makers, as recommended by the Limerick Pipers association.
If you had to draw up a short list of current pipe makers, who wouldn’t break the bank to buy from and who might make more than one or two sets a year - who would be on it?
All the best,
Steve Power
good cheap and quick. Forget it Steve, Those days are gone.
Steve, It’s amazing how much of an increase there has been in piping the last 2-3 years. I’ve inquired to several pipemakers and found those full time pipemakers that often turned out practice sets in 2-3 months are now booked as much as a year out.
I’ve been hearing quotes for full sets with wait times of 3-5 years and higher depending on the pipemaker and the configuration of these sets.
If you want good and quick, I would save up the money (or have a credit card available) and keep your eyes out for a set made by one of the better makers. Preferably someone you are close to geographically. As for cheap, that is a matter of luck and even that doesn’t happen often. Check ebay often and subscribe to the uilleann mailing list. People often put up notices of used sets for sale there.
You might also put the word out to makers you are interested in just in case they get a set traded in or returned. That is how I ended up with my Britton set with less than a month wait.
As for a short list of makers, you will find that people are a bit reticient in making one so as not to offend anyone they leave off the list. Check the Yahoo uilleann pipes group messages for a similar thread. If you read enough, you’ll get a feel for the top 10 or so. Keep in mind everyone has a different opinion as to what sounds ‘good.’ Some would easily prefer a narrow bore Bradley Angus soft-spoken chanter over a Childress or Gallagher. Find out what you like and who makes similar pipes (and who is near to you).
Best of luck in figuring it out. It took me quite a bit of time to decide on a maker, and even then I wasn’t sure I had picked the right person. Though I am extremely happy with my Britton set. My Ginsburg chanter has a very, very sweet sound. My Dunne set sounds nice, but the workmanship while quite nice isn’t “beautiful.” The sound is quite good, though.
Dionys
I can only speak for a few makers, since my experience is limited, but I like:
DM Quinn
Geoff Wooff (looooong wait, narrow bore, I’m still trying to get onto his waiting list)
Seth Gallagher
Kirk Lynch
Brad Angus (caveat: try b4 you buy)
Alain Froment
others with more experience will surely be able to recommend other makers. keep in mind that it’s often easier to get to a local maker for repairs/maintenance than one far away, although several (Rogge, Gallagher) travel quite regularly and hold maintenance workshops at Tionols).
Dionys,
Is your Ginsberg chanter narrow or wide bore?
dave
Ginzos are medium to wide.
Not to start anything…But David Daye would be quick. Well..At least for me it would be quick.Still havent made up mind yet whether to take the plunge yet and switch to pipes.
I’ll know more after my Dixon Low G arrives sometime this week. But if I do decide to get them,I’ll be wandering over to Dave’s place and buying his Penny Chanter. I’ll never be D. Parkhursts equal, so for me an antique (or modern) set of expensive pipes would truly be a waste of good pipes.
Dan
Dave,
I know of a guy in our pipe club who just got on Wooff’s waiting list a couple of months ago…his year old son (whom the set is supposedly for) will be 12 when the pipes arrive. Where will you be in 11 years??
I hope Mickey Dunne put his name on the list of makers, he’s turning out some proper nice chanters.
John,
If it means I could get a Wooff chanter, I’ll be wherever you want me to be! I’d kill for a narrow bore D by that man.
Dave, place a want ad on NPU (Dean’s list seems to be currently offline) you might get lucky finding someone not happy with their chanter (yeah, right!) this way, you won’t be on death row for murder one. I suppose you can get a list from Geoff who owns his narrow D’s and send out a mass mailing looking for one… better yet, tell them they’ve been recalled due to a bad batch of hemp and you’re the authorized US repair center… 
Regarding your statement about Brad Angus and trying before buying. Doesn’t he have a satisfaction policy? Have you played his narrow D?