Anyone care to share pros and cons of Ross, Fagerstrom and Deger?
In addition to low whistles and bodhrán that I play in an Irish band, I’m looking to expand our set list with Scots tunes. Most likely I’d be plugging into our sound system for amp’d performances.
I’ve doodled with a junior-size chanter since high school, but at this stage of my life, going the full monty on GHB is not in it.
I notice that most Ross chanters for sale are of the 7-key variety. However, Oliver Seeler has some negative comments about that particular version (http://www.hotpipes.com/ross.html), and he seems to be the only outlet I can find for the newer model.
Not to be facile here, but why not just play the tunes on the whistle?. This would save you the money you would spend on a chanter.
As for GHB, if you are playing in a folk band small/reel/shuttle pipes might suit better and would probably be available at around the price of a decent electronic chanter and look the part as well.
I’ve been playing Bflat whistle along with some guys in a GHB street band. Aside from volume, which hides many of my mistakes, I’m finding that I really miss the low G/A note and the high G thumbhole. I’m also looking for the warmer, reedy pipe sound, rather than a colder, chiffy whistle.
Tried shuttle pipes a few years ago and had some issues with holding the bag, working the blowstick, and a pinched nerve in my neck. I may look at bellows-blown as an alternative.
As an alternative, why not think of a practice set of UP in Bb ( get another one for the dark side), it doesn’t let you do things like birls as it would have no note below the tonic but you would have the thumb hole.
Or why not talk to Chris Bayley and see if he can make you a pastoral chanter in Bb then you would have the note below the tonic to play around with.
Hi Ned
I am a GHB and I would recommend a Deager Electronic Chanter. I am interested in trying this out with an amplifyer. It is probably the most realistic sound availble beside the real thing, it still sounds a bit electronic though.. Another thought, there is a Fagerstrom chanter out there that is getting great reviews as well. Good Luck and Happy Piping.
I’ve heard/played a Deger hooked to a small, portable amp. It’s really quite fun to play and the Deger chanter is tunable to A, Bb and GHB-Bb (and maybe higher but not sure) and there is a SSP option. The sound is pretty realistic and though it has an electronic timbre it’s not so noticeable when blended with other instruments. I know this from hearing Allan MacDonald do as such at a session/ceilidh. The only limitation is that Cnat is the only accidental and bent notes and vibrato are not options.
Fagerstrom has developed a ‘Techno-Pipe’ which is like the ‘Techno-Chanter’ but with a GHB sound option like the Deger.
Probably the best electronic pipe to date was Boyd’s but he ceased production some years ago. I believe if anybody is so inclined the rights and materials are available for purchase.
I tried a Ross briefly at a shop but don’t remember well enough to comment.
Yes, I did see Boyd demonstrate his electronic chanter and it was really good. I completely agree with your assesment. Have you tried the Technopipes with a small portable amp?
Very curious of your impressions.
Thanks
I have a Deger chanter, and absolutely love it! I use it “mobile” with a 5 watt practice amp over my shoulder, and a “guitar fly” wireless cable. Works a treat, I ranted about these on “THE ELECTRIC PIPES THREAD!!!” posted in this forum somewhere. Flagstrom are pretty nice too, but I’d say avoid Ross. Didn’t have the same quality as the Deger, and I may have had a faulty one, many times I couldn’t get the bottom c below Bb to play when it really mattered.
I was looking at getting the Deger pipes myself. I’m a whistle/flute/mandolin/guitar/pipes/spoons/bodhran kind of guy, being equally not-gifted on all of them. But an audience loves to see people change instruments during a show, and even if you’re just an average player like myself, it keeps the audiences attention to see what you’ll pull out next. I want the sound, but I’ve got to be practical with regard to PA’s and such, so here goes…
I tried small pipes, love the sound, but they were way too quiet to mic for the venues we play. I can’t blow up my old crappy set of GHB’s, and then sing afterwards, so that’s out. So I splurged and got some high $$$ border pipes, but the intonation is almost like playing a slide whistle–you never know where the note will end up and when you squeeze or un-squeeze the bag to effect the chanter pitch the drones shut down. Looks cool, but if you can’t play in tune with the band it’s useless. So I tried Ross electronics. It works fine, plays in tune, plays in 7 different keys, but sounds pretty electronic, and you can’t change the volume of the drones. So, the Deger. I saw Gaelic Storm on TV the other day and their piper used them to great effect, so now I lust after them myself. Having highland and lowland sounds in one gadget along with 3 octaves of in-tune scales, that’s for me!
So, if you’re playing very trad music in a low volume venue, get the real deal. John Walsh makes some great sounding mouthblown smallpipes in D for around $600. Ian Kinnear makes wonderful blackwood smallpipes, but they’re $$$, use bellows, and you have to wait. GHB’s take a lot practice, and everyone in your group has to play in Bb, or if you live in FL the rest of the band has to tune to you every set. If, like me, you’re cranking a loud PA out to a noisy pub on a small stage go for the electronics. If you get one, let us know what you think. If I get a Deger I’ll write back and let you know how they’re working for me.
I was looking at getting the Deger pipes myself. I’m a whistle/flute/mandolin/guitar/pipes/spoons/bodhran kind of guy, being equally not-gifted on all of them. But an audience loves to see people change instruments during a show, and even if you’re just an average player like myself, it keeps the audiences attention to see what you’ll pull out next. I want the sound, but I’ve got to be practical with regard to PA’s and such, so here goes…
I tried small pipes, love the sound, but they were way too quiet to mic for the venues we play. I can’t blow up my old crappy set of GHB’s, and then sing afterwards, so that’s out. So I splurged and got some high $$$ border pipes, but the intonation is almost like playing a slide whistle–you never know where the note will end up and when you squeeze or un-squeeze the bag to effect the chanter pitch the drones shut down. Looks cool, but if you can’t play in tune with the band it’s useless. So I tried Ross electronics. It works fine, plays in tune, plays in 7 different keys, but sounds pretty electronic, and you can’t change the volume of the drones. So, the Deger. I saw Gaelic Storm on TV the other day and their piper used them to great effect, so now I lust after them myself. Having highland and lowland sounds in one gadget along with 3 octaves of in-tune scales, that’s for me!
So, if you’re playing very trad music in a low volume venue, get the real deal. John Walsh makes some great sounding mouthblown smallpipes in D for around $600. Ian Kinnear makes wonderful blackwood smallpipes, but they’re $$$, use bellows, and you have to wait. GHB’s take a lot practice, and everyone in your group has to play in Bb/Eb. And if you live in Florida everyone has to retune to you each set. If, like me, you’re cranking a loud PA out to a noisy pub on a small stage go for the electronics. If you get one, let us know what you think. If I get a Deger I’ll write back and let you know how they’re working for me.
Border pipes are probably the most pressure sensitive of the bellows pipes. But once you know the instrument it is like flipping a switch. While I know they take some getting used to I’m surprised you ran into such extreme problems, especially with drones cutting out.
I’m sure it’s mostly my lack of experience. I’m self-taught on the pipes, and haven’t had an experienced piper look at my set of border pipes. I bought them from a Canadian fellow who set them up, but they didn’t play in tune down here in Florida so I went through 4 reeds finding one that played in true A. Now the low notes are pretty good, it’s the F,G, and A that go awry. If I hit one of those notes I have to under-squeeze the bag to keep them in tune, then the drones go out of tune, or shut off if I let up too much. If I tape the notes and squeeze the bag uniformly, I get a pretty good pitch but I can’t drop from the high A down to the low A, it stays the same note. My great drone doesn’t seem to hold pitch no matter what I do so I tape it closed. The pipes sound great, just what I want, it’s just the tuning I can’t seem to work out. So I’m debating about the Deger pipes. Not really piping, but the frustration factor certainly goes away and I can play with the band just by plugging in.
You need an Eb whistle to play Bb the mixolodian scale. Same fingering as the D scale except you start with A as the starting note. You have the flatted 7th below A (G).
Most American GHBs I have heard are sharp of Bb, though, most are slightly sharp of B. I have to cut off a few mm of my Eb whistle to get in tune with them.
Deger pipes have a fantastic feature where you ca n"fine tune" the pitch up or down a few cents at a time. Really handy for playing in a group! When I’m on stage with my set up, I like to put the Deger through a chorus pedal: to make it more deep and accoustic, and it sounds like there’s a “swarm” of pipers playing. Distotion pedal = what it ca nsound like when I try the accoustic GHB, and wah pedal… I’m gonna leave that to your imagination.
Deger pipes have a fantastic feature where you ca n"fine tune" the pitch up or down a few cents at a time. Really handy for playing in a group! When I’m on stage with my set up, I like to put the Deger through a chorus pedal: to make it more deep and accoustic, and it sounds like there’s a “swarm” of pipers playing. Distotion pedal = what it ca nsound like when I try the accoustic GHB, and wah pedal… I’m gonna leave that to your imagination.
GHBs are still about 12 flat of B, some grade 1 bands have bumped really close to 492 but for the most part bands don’t usally venture above 482. Last night at my grade 2 band practice we ended at 478. Today my solo GHB topped out at 475. A couple makers do produce chanters in B but they are more of a novelty.
There are makers you can go to for different chanter tunings for GHB. Hamish Moore makes GHB in A-440. I’ve got a chanter by Michael MacHarg that is spot-on B-flat and another that is A-440 (I’ve got a dedicated set of drones for this chanter).
The options are out there. You just need to find them.
get another one for the dark side), it doesn’t let you do things like birls as it would have no note below the tonic but you would have the thumb hole.
