Just a note to those who are waiting for their orders from Joe Kennedy: I have just received my full B set from Joe, so your orders are now one step closer to completion. Mark, you’re next. He has already started several of the parts, and says he is going to work hard to get the order finished soon.
My purpose is to inform only, and not to gloat, or in any way instil envy or jealousy of any kind.
Full set in B, based on an Egan design in Bb. Ebony with faux ivory. Nickel plating. Chanter has 7 keys, plus stop key and popping valve (haven’t made up my mind on this, yet). Gloat, gloat … oops!
Be careful, and closely monitor your inner most feelings as they imperceptibly get modified by indulgence in the flats. You may never return to the brighter high-strung way of life again.
If we don’t hear from you much…it’s understood. Enjoy!
Are they a normal set this time, d, or are they chrome plated with extra skinny reg keys and veneer stock?
Underneath it all I could tell the guy knows how to turn a set of pipes out. Those Boisvert pipes we saw last looked sweet, too. Too bad no one in the British Isles likes the look of the old sets, except Wooff of course.
Lorenzo, thanks. I still love my Ds too much to let them go completely. The Bs are a bit of a beast in that they’re so sensitive. I expect that they will actually improve my playing on the Ds by forcing me to be honest in my fingering. First tune was the Green Pigeon, followed by The Drunken Gauger.
Joseph, I have given my web site over to a non-profit group, so I don’t have any place to post. However, Joe got some shots that he intends to put up on his own web site soon.
Kevin, the reg keys are directly from the Egan design, so they are wider than the ones on my D. The Egan plans came from Wooff, so you are not far from the mark. Its a bit of a contortionist act to hit the bottom reg keys. They are soooooo far away!
Did I mention that the chanter connects straight up into the bag? Very old style. The neck is held open inside with a length of a type of split tubing used to gather wiring in cars. This makes the neck go way up head height with the length of the B chanter. The effect is that I can hear all kinds of resonance stuff going on in the neck next to my ear. Wierd! Makes me very aware of what my fingers are doing. No doubt this has an effect on the overall sound. I’m wondering if I should mic the neck.
If US Customs is giving Americans a hard time about their pipes at the airports, I wonder how much more trouble they’d give to one of those pinko Canucks with a howitzer tuned to B?
Wow! Glad to hear that you got the set! Talk about jealousy turning bright green But, as you point out, this means that the rest of us in Joe’s line are one set closer to the big day. Photos would be great, I suppose, but that doesn’t make the waiting any easier. Congrats on the set!
-Rob-
Since when has Miltown Malbay in the County of Clare,where Woof resides,become part of the British Isles.??? SHAME.
Liam
PS thats quite alright re the info I sent you for your unknown(to you) picture!!
As Mr. D’Arcy intimates, there will be major a swarm in L.A. this fall
On the B set, how exactly does the chanter plug in to the bag? I’ve seen old-style sets where the wind cap is tied directly into the bag, but it looks as though you can remove the chanter without untying it. Is it some sort of clever quick-disconnect, or are you using photoshop
Pat, Joe works in either brass or nickel silver - your choice. I, however, wasn’t satisfied with the nickel silver. Being a shallow, visually-oriented person, I like bright shiny things. So I paid a bit extra and got the nickel plating. Joe has some reservations about plating, as it will eventually wear, and would be marked if the key springs ever need to be replaced or retensioned. So what? I’ll plate them again.
Douglas, Joe usually does the stock in cherry. I, however, prefer burl, so he wrapped the stock in a walnut burl veneer. I think it looks spectular. He says he’ll never go through that again. (wait’ll I order the C set ) Joe has been unable to source mopane here. However, I have a flute in mopane on order from Casey Burns. We’re both curious to see this wood.
Larry, no tricks. It’s just a straight ebony plug on the end of the bag right into the top of the chanter (see first and second pics). The chanter looks like it would stick straight out the end of the neck of the bag. FWIW I use PaintShopPro.
Nice axes! Someday, when either my ship comes in or hell freezes over (both have an equal chance of happening in my world), I will be able to oggle my own pair D and B UPs. Have fun…though I suppose I really didn’t need to tell you that.
SHAME.
) Joe has been unable to source mopane here. However, I have a flute in mopane on order from Casey Burns. We’re both curious to see this wood.