Ok, so here’s the story: I’m seriously considering a Daye PC + drones. I’m totally new to the pipe, but aside from the lure of the low wait and desire to start learning as soon as possible, I also have several personal recommendations for Daye.
I am convinced, but I’ve noticed that there are some people on here who seem to hold disdain for Daye’s instruments. I hate asking this question, because I feel like I’m stirring things up, but I really would like to know ‘why’ people have the opinions they have? I trust the people who have recommended me to Daye, and from what I’ve seen of Daye, I admire his dedication to the pipes, and the amount of time and effort he puts into both the pipes and providing information for the community. Having listened to recordings of his pipes being played, I also am quite fond of the sound.
On the other paw, I know little about pipes myself. I’ve seen them and heard them in person, I’ve sorta figured out how they’re played, generally, and I’m trying to gather information about them (Being totally obsessed) to further my goal of playing them.
So my question, I suppose, is this: How do you regard Daye’s pipes as learning tools, but also as instruments?
Thanks in advance for your input; I sincerely hope that I don’t stir the pot too much. I have tremendous respect for pipers in general, David Daye, and my friends who recommended him to me. I don’t want to dig up dirt or cause trouble, but I’m really keen on the UP, and I want to hear the gamut of opine before I make a decision.
My understanding is that some Pipers want wood sets and will not even consider a set if it is not wood. I have also heard things about the quality of his pipes being on the bad side. You would be better off getting some thing that generally gets good reveiws a budget set made by Pat Skye. I would advise not to get a Half set if you have no experience on any type of Bagpipe as Drones + Bellows= not good for begginers.
kysh, I have heard good and not so good accounts of the penny chanter. But in all fairness, every one that I have heard or played has had a great tone and played with ease.
That aside, I recommend you get a practice set from a reputable maker, yes, and wait for it too. Sooner or later you are going to have to wait, might as well get it over with now for a wood chanter, bag and bellows. The nice thing about going this way is you will be able to add on drones and possibly regs, all made by the same maker, meaning your set matches, and you have a pipemaker who knows intimately how they work because they built your set… all of it.
While you are waiting, practice your ‘piping skills’ on the tin whistle, and hopefully by the time your set arrives, you will already have a bunch of tunes to play on it… right away.
Starting on the whistle before I got a set of pipes was the best thing I ever did. I shudder to think what it would have been like if I didn’t have a clue how to play Irish tunes and had to struggle with that as well as do battle with the bag-bellows-chanter mess that is the pipes. I’d marry the people (there were more than one, I think) who suggested playing whistle before pipes. And my whistle-playing isn’t particularly good, either, since I only started whistling in September, but I’m competent enough to understand the structure of tunes and play like two-dozen-ish. Hence I can squeeze out a few tunes on the pipes. So my point is that whatever time you can get on the whistle – even if it’s only four months – before you have to deal with a set of pipes will make your piping so much less painful.
For the record, I already do play whistle. :> Have been playing whistle for a very long time. Doesn’t mean I’m good, but after hearing the pipes in person, I simply must play them. :>
I dearly appreciate all the input thusfar, and hope I get some more replies on the subject.
Hevia make a half set for under 3000 euros with a 4 month wait. I’ve haven’t played one personally but I’ve read a couple of good reviews of Hevia’s instruments. Has anyone tried their half set, how’s the tuning and sound quality of the chanter?
To second the suggestion for Patrick Sky, you’ll get an actual wooden chanter
. I’d also suggest looking into a good quality bag from a reputable company. L&M seems to be one of the better makers out there (Gallagher now uses them exclusively) and having played several of their bags, I can highly reccomend them. I think you can order one from Seth for about $115 or so inclusing shipping.
But definitely save yourself some trouble and look into a maker like Pat, or even Gallagher. Seth’s lead right now is only about 10 months, and the quality is superb:
Lets face it, there are also some snobs out there who would never even consider the possibility that anything other than a wood chanter made by a recognised pipe maker is anything but crap. And to be honest, if I had invested thousands of my hard earned dollars in a set of pipes, I’d not like the idea that someone else could pay a few hundred dollars and have something sounding just as good.
That said, if you’re serious about taking up the pipes, I still think that the best way to go is a practice set which allows one to add drones, regs, keys, etc. Otherwise, when you want to add regs and keys, you’ll have to sell the Daye set, and I don’t know what the market is like for used Daye sets (this isn’t a criticism of Daye’s work, I really don’t know if his sets keep their value on resale).
not made of wood = not a witch
Get the Daye half set. It sounds stupendous. I’m tempted to get one myself just to spite the piping community, then release a CD and say my pipes are from David Daye, master pipemaker. Frankly, I thought people wanted to play the pipes because of how they sound, not what they look like. If I wanted to play an instrument based on what it looks like, I would NOT want to play a bag with sticks poked in the poor thing. I think it is a very noble thing to make something out of nothing.
Oh, also I can get a half set from david daye for less than the price of Patrick Skye’s practice set, and have a C-natural key on it. I bet with a little tweaking, I can build a fairly beautiful Penny Chanter that has all 4 keys. Supply and demand. The poor pipers of this world demand cheaper pipes. David Daye supplies inexpensive pipes, and with a monster sound. Not only does he do that, but he gives all the instructions how to make them–for FREE! I haven’t seen anyone else who has done better in that regards.
I thought so myself at the beginning but since becoming a member of this discussion group, I become shallow and fickle. I follow the crowd (which is what GHB pipers do anyway), and the crowd says:
“Plastic is cheap and cheap equals bad”
Serously, you do make a good point, and I’d certainly buy your CD, just to poke one in the eye of the noble pipers.
By the way, why does Daye’s penny chanter have an air of semi-respectability amongst pipers while Pakistani chanters have absolutely none?
That reminds me of a friend of mine, a fiddle player who had his fiddle repaired. When collecting it the fiddlemaker said ‘here you are she sounds like a bell’. My friend immediately gave back ‘well ding dong, if I wanted that I would have played glockenspiel’.
A monstersound. Roar. Not necessarily what all of us want. :roll:
Looks aren’t everything, it is true, but when it comes time for you to add drones and/or regs, you will want something consistant with the tone of your chanter… it is easier to accomplish this from a maker who makes all of these things… and I do not think the Mr. Daye makes regs for his sets yet… I’m not even sure his drones are compatable with other chanters/regs.
When you open your wallet, you have to weigh in all of the possibilities and options you WILL want further down the road. If all you’ll ever want is a chanter, bag and bellows, go with whomever you like. As I stated earlier, I have yet to encounter a Daye chanter that didn’t sound or play nice. There have been those who have, but honestly, there’s really no need to reopen that Pandora’s box here.
I personally don’t understand all of the fuss over Daye’s penny chanter. It’s a viable option. From what I’ve read here the majority of folks seem to like them. However, based on Daye’s website, there is a “wait list” for the drones.
For myself, cost was a concern, but I really wanted a set in ebony or rosewood. I looked at the O’grady set (http://www.songsea.com/uilleann.htm) but was a wee bit turned off by the aesthetics. I also decided against Pat Sky’s budget set because of the lack of upgradeability.
Dave Boisvert’s pipes win the aesthetics award IMHO. He has some chanters ready to go apparently (and at a very reasonable price). http://www.greenwoodpipes.com/basement.html I also looked at CJ Dixon’ practice set (http://www.cjdixon.com). Even though Dixon is new, I thought he was worth looking into (Even Froment and K&Q had to begin somewhere).
I was seriously flip-floppin’ between the two when I found a second hand practice set made by Pat Sky. Since Sky lives only 20 minutes from me, I thought that having one of his sets would be advantageous. That being said, when I progress to the point that I am going to upgrade to a half set, I will purchase drones from CJ Dixon or Dave Boisvert. (I’d love a set of Pat’s drones, but they are $700 more than Dave’s… must keep the DW happy yes?)
Even though I am a complete newbie to the UP’s, I also have a set of Northumbrian Smallpipes… so I felt that I might be in a better position to start off with a half set. Based on my 3 weeks with the Sky practice set, I can say that the drones would SEVERELY steepen the learning curve. When folks tell you to work with a practice set for 6-12 months before adding drones, they’re not just whistling Dixie.
I have sampled quite a few Daye PC’s, and am impressed by how they fill a void in the market for folks looking to get started without a huge investment. A few of the folks I helped get started had PC’s… they play as a chanter should.
I would consider them to be a great threshold into the piping tradition, though I certainly would agree they are not a chanter in the fullest sense. I have seen some fairly decent folks out there WITH full sets still using their PC’s (not advocating per se) so there is definitely something to be said for them… many a good piper has started with 'em.
on the other hand, I can certainly vouch for the quality of Pat Sky’s work… again, filling a void in the market for the uillean-curious folks. I have in my collection of chanters an old Britton-Pakistani chanter. Do not play it really, but it sounds really very good. May not be typical, but it is a real chanter in a sense… wood and crappy keys to boot.
Have not seen the Daye drones yet, but those I personally would think about… why rush into drones whilst still learning to play a PC and saving for a traditionally made one?
Thanks, Joe. I think the biggest problem with the Pakistani pipes is the lack of consistancy. Tim Britton’s reworked ones are great for the money and his service for them is just as good as if they were his own. Unfortunately, he’s not listeng them on his website anymore. I don’t know what the story is there.
And my whistle-playing isn’t particularly good, either, since I only started whistling in September, but I’m competent enough to understand the structure of tunes and play like two-dozen-ish. Hence I can squeeze out a few tunes on the pipes. So my point is that whatever time you can get on the whistle – even if it’s only four months – before you have to deal with a set of pipes will make your piping so much less painful.
Frankly, I thought people wanted to play the pipes because of how they sound, not what they look like. If I wanted to play an instrument based on what it looks like, I would NOT want to play a bag with sticks poked in the poor thing. I think it is a very noble thing to make something out of nothing.
I haven’t seen anyone else who has done better in that regards.