I never go to eBay, it scares me which is odd as I’m am pretty geeky. So today I checked it out as I need to sell a camera (Nikon D70 - any takers!). Anyway, I decided to check out the keyword “uilleann” to see what all the fuss was about (and maybe check in on everyones favorite misguided lass and her misbegotten set).
Well, this popped up. Finally, I can learn pipes the real way!
Uilleann Bagpipe Music Software - w finger positions!
Great composition software for generating sheet music score with finger positions (including gracenotes!), music wav files and image files.
Here is what people are saying about our current release of Bagpipe software:
“I have tried many different bagpipe software also being as registered owner of BagPipe Writer Gold. The sound created by Michael and his group in writing this new software is awesome. Never before have I heard a tune sound like the real deal as is produced by this software. No need to go and buy a Sound Blaster card that is required by most of the other Bagpipe software I know it is the real deal as one of my dogs started to howl as soon as I played Scotland The Brave using this software. She howled all the way thru playing the tune just as she does if I am playing the real bagpipes( poor old gal) I highly recommend if anyone wants the real deal and the real sound. Purchase this software and get rid of all the others This is the one all bagpipers have been looking for!”
Ian McCloy
Burnaby, BC
Canada
Comes with 300 great songs. Here is a sample of what you get:
This smells a bit funny. There is reference to Bagpipe Writer, whose creators I have contacted in the past. BW only handles notes for highland pipes, and the built-in samples in BW are synthesized highland pipe sounds. BW cannot handle the range of the UPs, and the author had no intention of developing for UPs.
If you read through all of the testimonials, they are all for highland pipe-related items, nothing for UPs. If you listen to the sound file examples in the eBay description, you will note that a). the sound samples are all highland pipe sounds, and b). the software cannot handle notes outside of the range of highland pipes (so they sound really wrong for the tunes chosen).
Looks like skunk oil from here. Don’t step in that, Elmer!
I was intrigued by this item late last year so I emailed the seller and they sent me some files to show what their program was capable of.
The sound of the files was terrible - just as DJM indicated, like listening to GHB sounds and ornamentations trying to emulate UP.
The seller then asked me to consider sending them a sound recording of UP scales and finished it off by offering to let me invest in their research and further development - suggestion of $40K.
Needless to say I haven’t bothered with any further correspondence with them.
Regards
Jimbo
If anyone is actually interested in hearing the ‘wav’ files they sent, PM me and I’ll forward them on - I don’t know how to post them here.
Ach, I forgot to use the tag. Next time. For now I’m off to work on my design for the perfect 2-octave mouth blown synthetic chnater reed. Patent pending.
I made a synthetic reed a couple years back using the plastic from a large Taco Bell cup. I think the recycle code is 6 printed on the bottom of the cup. The reed worked pretty well then I started tweeking it a bit too much and ruined it! sadly I haven’t been able to reproduce this experiment since. Once again life belts me upside the head.
-E-