Have recently seen a holly chanter and have fallen in love with it. However it is very expensive. Is it the norm for makers to make chanters in any wood that you request if it is suitable?
Dan
Depends on the maker, but most will work in a wood of your request if it is a suitable wood. They wouldn’t want to work with a wood that is not dimensionally stable, because over time it would warp or otherwise change tone and not be a good representation of their work.
Dionys
Thorpe,
I have just seen that you’re in Inverurie.
I’m in Grantown-on-Spey.
Have a list of active uilleann pipers in Scotland…there’s one already in or near Inverurie I think…maybe you know him…Steven Jaffray…
We have regular get-togethers for pipers in Scotland..there are 3 or 4 of us in the Moray/Inverness area, a dozen and a half in Glasgow and a handful in Edinburgh.
Total over 40 in Scotland.
Mail me or send a private message for more details
Boyd.
The reason it is so expensive is because it can double up as a Harry Potter Magic Wand!!
Slan go foill
Liam
I had a holly unkeyd chanter made by Cillian O’Briain for about 2 years. It was a great chanter with a lovely tone.
The price of his chanters are not cheap but you would be sure of a top quality chanter. O’Briains work is in my opinion among the best there is.
[ This Message was edited by: piperben on 2002-11-04 16:18 ]
Hey, Uilliam, speaking of magic wands…
Actually, one could really think of a well made chanter as a kind of magic wand, if you want to get Celtic about it… what a great mesmerizing sound it makes!
So the chanter was made of real “holly wood”? 
does cillian o briain whave a website? if not where can i find pictures of his work?
dan
Thorpe,
Cillian doesn’t have a website, though I think Pat D’Arcy has some nice pics of Gays (McKeown) set on his website.
Cheers
Alan
I recall seeing a website somewhere, but the only current link (and it’s whistle related) I know of is here:
http://www.shannaquay.bigstep.com/category.html?UCIDs=963379|1005858
He’s also listed in NPU’s site but there’s no mention of a website address:
http://www.pipers.ie/en/pipemakers.lasso
Here is a recent 2 month history:
Cillian O’Briain currently has a 4 and a
half year (at best) waiting list for a
full set of pipes. The current price,
via Shanna Quay is 8000 (eight thousand)
Euro, as mentioned, roughly $8000.
Cillian puts all
new pipe orders to the back of his line,
no matter what size you want. So, the
wait at the moment for a half set is
about 6 years! I’m not sure of the price
- but it wil be around 3-4000 Euro.
Piperben
What chanter are you playing now?
Boyd
Thx all for your help.
Dan
I have Cillian’s Feb 2002 price list, and a full set with a 2 keyed chanter cost 6900 Euros.
It’s widely accepted that you tend to get a better price if you just avoid going through a retailer, even a reputable one, and place your order directly with the maker.