I am selling my C# chanter by Geoff Wooff included as a practice set with pipe case on Ebay starting at 8pm tonight. The item number is 160032090095
What is the provenance of this chanter? How well does it play?
As I state in the listing, I bought it from Ken McLeod ( from Northern Ireland,) in May 2004. I know nothing else other than Geoff reeded it for that sale.There are no tuning or playing issues. Thanks for your interest.
Could you provide us with a link?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Uilleann-Pipes-Practice-Set-with-Geoff-Wooff-C-Chanter_W0QQitemZ160032090095QQihZ006QQcategoryZ16226QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Starting bid: GBP 750.00 ( Approximately US $1,407.98 )
No reserve
Thanks. 
What happened to the original Wooff wind cap? Or is it also thrown in with the set?
The chanter was originally made to go with Ken’s Egan, possibly it was made to fit another windcap. I have a vague recollection of the chanter being made but I can’t remember what the story was with the windcap. Talkign to Geoff yesterday, before it was stated it was Ken’s, Geoff couldn’t think of a stand alone Csharp.
So how old is this stick? etc etc…
I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful. All I know is already on the listing. I bought it as a second chanter with a half set. I then sold the half set, hence no windcap. Chris Bailey did a first rate job of making one to match, with detailed photos of the mounts and measurements for the stopkey etc.
Practice set went for 1750 sterling. Still quite a strong market for pipes made by certain makers I would say. What is the going rate for Fromment, and K&Q cghanter’s these days?
I was curious to see a lack of bids on this as late as an hour ago.
That’s automatic bidding proxies for you… ! There was a serious feeding frenzy in the last 60 seconds.
I think we may have a new record price for a practice set
You cetainly get your chanter cheaper directly from the maker
They were bidding on the practice set?
If you can stand the 10+ year wait. Maybe the bidders really do believe that time (less of it) is worth the money.
dave boling
Really, though, these prices on eBay are getting the attention of instrument makers. On the flute side, Patrick Olwell is selling his remaining stock of bamboo flutes only on eBay because he consistently gets three times his normal asking price that way. A secondhand keyless wooden flute made by Chris Wilkes recently fetched more than US $3,000 on eBay, also close to three times the price you’d pay for one new.
If you were a pipemaker, how would you feel if you knew that the person you just sold a set to could turn around tomorrow and sell it for several times what you were just paid? Issues of integrity, ethics, and concern for the future of piping aside, it would make business sense for makers to cancel all their orders, return their deposits, and sell only via eBay. I don’t think that will happen, but it’s a crazy situation.
Double that sterling figure to get the figure in US Dollars. I hope the stick works. I’m not saying that its too much money but it is a lot for a stick sans original chanter top.
This is “Leo” league pricing without extrapolating for the value of a fully original chanter top. I am glad that the interest is still strong though, as I thought perhaps there was some weakening over the past year which could reflect on the levels of interest. Perhaps if there is any weakening, it is only occuring at the second tier and below. You don’t find many K&Q, Woof, Fromment or Williams sets out there for sale (though we keep looking), and even more rare are the Rowesome, Egans, Taylors, Coynes and Harrington’s. Like everything else, the real art work never looses its value, but the wannabees and newbees (relative to the list of living and deceased makers above) are up and down with the market (some maker’s sets are selling for less than cost in secondary markets now). No offense to any makers intended.
Neil
Wow!
PD.