After half a year of playing my vPipes I’m quiet happy with it.
At first trial two or three years ago I though, “Well not bad, but the real Pipes are better, no doubt.” (… and that’s still true). But around Christmas I had an idea: It would be great to use them to be able to play at night or during holidays, while until then for me it was not possible to play like at skiing, staying in a hotel or on a camping site. So I ordered one and got the set around May 2013.
Now I’m happy! I can play as often as I want i.e. at 2300 hrs/by my ear phone. The sound is pretty realistic, sampled Rowsome Set, everytime perfectly in tune, playable in every key I want/tuneable up and down by semitones, drones in e for e-minor-tunes. Sometimes I play amplified. That sound is not perfect, but added by effects, reverb, echo, just and balanced intonation.
Is anybody out there who as an experience about vPipes?
I am a gadget freak. So i had to have one of these and bought one earlier in the year. I did have a problem with sensors falling out. And did have to send it back to Spain. But it was not as big a deal as I thought and i got the vpipes back within a week. They are not my main instrument to play as the real pipes sound so much better. But having said that i have used them and will continue to. My wife had a hospital procedure that took several hours…so in the waiting room… I am playing away. And i did not notice anyone staring at me. Been on a couple of vacations with my family where bringing the full set is cumbersome and my family will not put up with my playing very long (beginner) but i can play these pipes in my ear as long as i want. I also have a little jambox so that if no one is around i run the music into those intstead of the earphones. We have a 2 wk cruise coming up next year. I am pretty sure that i would not be allowed to play on the ship…2 wks of not playing…i would really miss it. But the vpipes pack easy and now i can play every day.
I think the fingering is similar enough that it adds to my playing capability. And its always in perfect tune and playability no matter what the weather!
I’d love a set of v pipes for the very reasons the both of you have outlined (ability to play on holidays, in campsites, resorts, hotels and late at night) and aim to get a set myself one day but they aren’t cheap! So I will have to hold off a year or two especially as I’m saving for a bass reg on my Andy Faden D set in about a year’s time.
I have a set too! I love that I can pick them up on a whim and try and pick out a tune that has caught my ear, without everyone hearing my fumblings. They’re portable and discreet as has been mentioned. I take mine to work and practice in tea breaks and lunchtimes. They have definitely helped to accelerate my learning. Well worth the money I invested in them.
I’d love to spend more than a few minutes with a set of vPipes. Kevin Carr and I did a duo together at the 2011 SCUPC tionol with him on the vPipes and me on my Uilleann Classic app for the iPad:
Here’s more info and demos of the app. It’s not anywhere near as sophisticated or as amazing as the vPipes, but if you have an iPad and $2.99, it’s does a pretty good job of filling a similar role, something to practice on in headphones when it wouldn’t be possible to play the real instrument:
I didn’t realise V pipes were still available to buy.
For some reason I thought they had stopped trading but that would seem to be not the case.
I bet there will be plenty of people interested in buying them…unless overly expensive.
It doesn’t say how much they are on the site, does it??
The retail price of the vPipes-Uilleann according to their web site is 1,490 Euros (not including VAT and delivery costs). Did you miss the “$” sign Dan?
The seller with appears to have changed his asking price from the $1800 in the Uilleann Obsession ad. By email he asked for 1850 euros, which even to my untrained eye, appears to be considerably more than 1490 euros. One can hope that the seller just mistyped both the number and the currency in his email to me. Or one can fear that he is trying his luck. I am with Dan…
Why such a rumor? On his web site it is clearly described to be sold for 1,490 €, plus shipping and VAT. Taxes were 21 % in Spain, Shipping was about 72 EUR from Spain to Germany, made 1,889.63 for me, EUR, noch US$. But the price is not the main reason I asked.
Are there others who are happy or unhappy? Bad or good experience?
No it’s 1490€ without VAT (21%). The price of new V-pipes with VAT and shipping & handling (= 76€ to the France) (and 21% of shipping & handling …) is 1895.83€.
I know that because I took an order 2 days ago.
I have a set and I really enjoy them. I don’t play them as much now that better piping weather is here, but when winter comes and our humidity dips they are a great alternative. I especially like them for working out tunes while watching TV or something. My only gripe is I wish the cable between the box and the chanter was a standard USB or something so you could both adjust length and pack the whole set down smaller for transport.
I hope Ramón and his partners keep producing them as they are a great practice device.
