http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=900058955
Is it just me or is that one ugly chanter?
jeff
I enlarged it to see the detail… but I can’t tell what those rings in the middle of the chanter are. Looks like boxwood with a tobacco sunburst paint job.
added notes:
I went to the website listed. They are making pipes in Canadian Maple and mention that dark stains are available. I know of (rock) hard maple (used in guitar necks) is light blond in color and soft maple, darker slightly greyish used mostly in furniture including turned pieces.
O’Grady in Newfoundland uses maple, also some American makers have used it. Bassoons (at any price) are nearly all made in maple.
[ This Message was edited by: Tony on 2002-08-16 08:51 ]
Instead of futile speculation wouldn’t it be easier to email the seller to get a description?Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think it is a fine looking chanter you cannot tell a lot from the picture nor indeed the other set for sale by Brian howard.What is more important however is DOES IT PLAY WELL!!!
Slan Go Foill
Liam
Hi Liam,
Welcome to the C&F board.
Our comments aren’t futile speculation… it’s more like by-standers at a car accident, just looking to have a little conversation. No harm intended.
Agreed eBay photo size limitations do leave out a lot of detail.
Hello Tony thanks for the welcome.
No harm taken look forward to the forum to come.
Slan go foill
Three hours left in the auction and not a single bid was placed.
Tony,so whats your point?Maybe there were no left handed players .
Speculation…
not enough left-handed players,
the maker isn’t well known,
the starting price was too high,
interested parties contacted the maker via website listed and bought direct.
So what’s the point? I’m in it for the conversation. I’m waiting for Dionys or someone else to comment and we can share some ideas. Since you’ve asked me two direct questions about this eBay auction, I’m beginning to think it’s bothering you. Are you connected in any way to the seller?
Most well known pipemakers have 2+ year backlog and used lefty pipes I’ve seen go up for sale don’t stay unsold for very long.
I was thinking along the same lines. There can’t be too many lefty UP players, and I would assume that they, like anyone else, would go for a known maker instead of someone unknown. Add to that the fact that it looks strange, it’s an untried instrument, there’s no return policy listed and you get an ebay auction that doesn’t complete.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that someone decided to purchase the pipes through the web site. It would save the person who posted the auction a good percentage of money that would have otherwise gone directly to Ebay.
I don’t think it’s boxwood. Boxwood in the proper size for UP chanters is really difficult to find in the quality you need, and I can’t imagine some lesser or unknown maker finding a source easily and using it for some of their first set of pipes. I, myself, am having a hard time securing boxwood that I’d like to purchase and save for a few years down the line (or maybe more than a few) when I know I can make very good pipes and the difficult to find wood is worthy of my work. It is possible, however, that it is boxwood. It could very possibly also be short-lengths of boxwood joined underneath those odd looking turned knobs (or brass ferrules). It’s speculation. Honestly, though, the color looks off for boxwood.
One book I have speculates that had more modern instrument making originated in the Americas instead of in and around Europe they might have used Maple or Oak. Personally, I wouldn’t use either. Even if your chanter turning block costs $2 instead of $20 (maple/oak versus blackwood - Approximate values, of course, for a 1.5x1.5x15-18) you’re not going to save yourself a lot of money in materials cost unless you’re making bargan sets. While I believe in the need for affordable sets, I also believe in a certain pride of quality in construction. When I make chanters, I want them to be something that 100 years from now someone will say “what a beautifully crafted chanter, and how perfect it sounds after so many years despite all it has been through.” Maple or Oak, I suspect, just won’t cut it for my personal demands.
You want affordable, I say go with one of David Daye’s Penny Chanters. They have a good timbre, you learn a hell of a lot putting them together, you have the pride in building your own set, they work, and they will more likely than not last a very, very long time if you’ve constructed them well.
I have to agree with Uilliam that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Plus it’s not really the most important part of purchasing a set of pipes. For instance, a lot of people LOVE Taylor pipes. Personally I think the regulator keys are the butt-ugliest setup I’ve ever seen. I’ve been told they’re hard to reed (I’ve never had the opportunity to work on a set myself) and while I like the timbre of the sets I have heard, there are sets by other makers I enjoy just as much or more. Anyhow. Ugly chanters are like ugly babies. Someone(or someones) will fall in love with it and think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world, and that is exactly how it should be, because nothing should be unloved.
What matters is how it sounds(and plays) and I have no idea and no references as to how this set sounds and how it plays. That is more than enough for me to stay away. The same goes for the newly launched mouth-blown rosewood practice chanter. No information on the reeds (they’d have to be synthetic to work more than a few times before being warped), no sound files, no info on the maker(s). Same also goes for the Calmont chanter, though they provide a sound file which is more than enough for me to say “sorry.. No ducks for me to call.”
Just my opinon(s). As always, take everything you read with a grain (or barrel) of salt.
Dionys
\
Tir gan teanga ↔ Tir gan Anam.
[ This Message was edited by: Dionys on 2002-08-25 19:49 ]
Speaking of maple… I happen to have a maple chanter made by Kirk Lynch. He told me he thought it was the second chanter he made (and also that it’s been reamed umpteen times). I keep it around as an emergency backup and to practice late at night as it is quieter. Kirk sold it to me for $50.
I can upload a pic if anyone is interested.
Jeff
Dionys, I wouldn’t doubt they are in maple.
I’ll say it again… it suprises me that bassoons are made in maple, even the expensive ones. I have a friend who repairs them, so I think I’ll have to call and find out why it’s been the wood of choice for so many makers.
Jeff, I didn’t see you post.. yeah, upload a picture.. please ?
Dionys, are you looking for boxwood seasoned more than 5-7 years??
Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder as I loved the chanters that Davy Stephenson highlights on his websites and many of the better looking ones have (self) mounts that match the chanter.
I’ve mentioned something light in color like plumwood (or boxwood) would certainly show off better on a stage.
Speaking of which, Tony, have you got your flat chanter from Davy yet? My drones are due very soon. I’ll upload the picture of the Lynch maple chanter tomorrow as I’m stuck at the hospital tonight (these women think they can interrupt my U.P. playing to have a baby… pshaw… 
Jeff
Not yet. The last update was the chanter is finishd less the keywork. It’s not far from completion.
anima, since you mentioned it, how is your Davey Stephenson practice set?
Elbogo, I love my set. I can think of few things that I’ve bought that bring me as much pleasure. Seriously.
here’s a couple of pix
http://www.animavitae.com/uilleann/chanter1.jpg
http://www.animavitae.com/uilleann/chanter2.jpg
http://www.animavitae.com/uilleann/bagbellowchanter.jpg
If you have a source for boxwood aged 5-7 years, that’d be pretty incredible and I’d owe ya a favour. I’d be happy with somewhat recently cut boxwood of the correct size to season on my own.
Dionys
Let’s go back to the boxwood thread we were in earlier this week…
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=5687&forum=6&3
well… speaking of boxwood, the mounts in my practice set are boxwood.
see pix above
Jeff