Maybe me point got lost in the entire rumble but in the case between a poor, or mediocre to a good expensive chanter I think the choice is quite obvious.
I dont know anything about the Pennychanter as I never seen it or heard it live. But I know there are respected makers that make very good chanters in the price range of 500-1500 $ (maybe even less or more depending on keys and other options). I just can’t see why I would become a better player if I start out on a very good 1500$ chanter instead of a very good 500$ chanter? If it is good, its good, no matter the price, right?
As for economics, if you buy a very good set from a top maker it will likely hold its value. But if you buy a very good set from a new maker it might even double it’s value in a few years. And if you want to try different chanters as you progress there will perhaps be more people interested in buying a good 500$ chanter than a good one for 1500$.
So as a beginner I am interested to hear about others experiences both novice and expert. And of course I would be very interested to hear about the pitfalls and the makers to avoid from experienced players. However this is the kind of review that’s not really accepted here at C&F, and I guess it is what this thread originally was about. I think others have pointed out some good ways this could be done. But a few problems will always remain; reviews are always subjective and not static. Both the reviewers opinions and the makers product can change over time but a written judgment on the internet can remain way too long.
… I know there are respected makers that make very good chanters in the price range of 500-1500 $ (maybe even less or more depending on keys and other options). I just can’t see why I would become a better player if I start out on a very good 1500$ chanter instead of a very good 500$ chanter? If it is good, its good, no matter the price, right?
Dunno if I agree, at the low end of that range. I still think there’s a huge difference between what you can get for 500 and what you can get for 1500. Your point about cost not equalling value is of course correct, for better or worse.
My opinion is still that you have to spend around 1000 for a good chanter unless you get a second hand bargain. As I said, I have limited firsthand experience with chanters that are currently available for less than that.
As for economics, if you buy a very good set from a top maker it will likely hold its value. But if you buy a very good set from a new maker it might even double it’s value in a few years. And if you want to try different chanters as you progress there will perhaps be more people interested in buying a good 500$ chanter than a good one for 1500$.
Well, you might gamble that your new $500 pipemaker will be tomorrow’s $1500 pipemaker, but s/he will have probably improved his or her craft in the meantime (as you yourself pointed out), so I don’t really buy this argument.
If one maker is getting three times as much as another for a chanter, there’s a reason. Sometimes the reasons include fashion, scarcity, or hype, but they may include more practical and functional considerations as well.
So you’ve got to see them and hear them (live, preferably), and talk privately to knowledgeable players, to have the best chance of making a decision that’s right for you.
I’m’ sure you are right Bill and even if I disagreed I’m not experienced enough to assess the sound quality of different chanters.
Question is if you think I need to spend at least 1000$ for a chanter to have an instrument good enough not to limit my progress into piping? As an experienced piper I guess your criteria for sound characteristics and playability is quite different from mine, so are our piping ambitions.
Thing is that I have had a Robbie Hughes practise set for a few years now and just decided to move on to a half set. But all the makers I considered have chanter prices well below 1000$.
Still these are makers whose pipes I have heard live and liked, or have got favorable reviews by experienced pipers I respect. I just can’t see the need for me to move up to the top end. That can off course be due to inexperience or the fact that I never tried any of the high end expensive sets.
I would hate to ride a top model team bike and end up with a mediocre result in a bike race.
Same goes for my piping. I would feel very uncomfortable having an expensive top model full set at a tionol or a session and not being able to play it good enough.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
Brilliant contribution, it sure cleared up things
I take it you mean that I should spend more time practicing instead of hanging around this forum.
You might be right.
I’ve been thinking about this since I posted it. Besides the fact that I feel I should have inserted the word “traditional” before the word chanter, I am not sure how confident I am of my initial assertion. Maybe the magic figure should be $800 instead of $1000, but I still think that at best you get what you pay for (and at worst you pay for what you do not get).
You’re right that by analogy it would seem a waste for anyone but a virtuoso violinist to play a Stradivarius. But we aren’t really talking Strad/Coyne here. My impression of most chanters that I’ve played (and/or attempted to reed) below, say, what would now cost $900 or so new, has been disappointing. As I’ve said before, there are a number of options that I haven’t had an opportunity to try (for instance Pat Sky’s offerings), so I really can’t make a blanket declaration,
Are top-of-the-line racing bikes much easier to ride than midrange models? I doubt it, though they may be that little bit lighter and faster. But there’s a big range of playability out there in chanters, I think it’s a different ball game (if you’ll pardon the metaphoric potpourri).
You can do without the extra keys, fancy mounts, and wooden tops (though all are nice). What matters is the bore and reed, if we’re talking about something “holding you back”. I’ve seen a lot of players with pipes that were IMO doing just that. If you can try stuff out before you decide, that’s the best way to go, especially since this isn’t your first set.
