My son, who is 15, is interested in learning to play uilleann pipes. He has asked for the C J Dixon practice set for Xmas. Since this way out of the family budget, I was hoping to recieve reccomendations of a good practice set or a potential sale of a used c j dixon set. Thanks.
Try Robert Colley http://telusplanet.net/~rtc/
Wooden Chanter with an L&M bag $500
CJ has, from what I’ve seen and played, some surprisingly good work. Pat Sky and Uilleann Pipeworks of Boston are two others that may be well worth looking into.
I sent an Email to Robert Colley and it was returned as undeliverable.
Yes, CJ’s stuff has increased in price over the years, and even since I have ordered from him. However, he does really brilliant work, and for the price, its amazing he doesn’t charge more. He’s also a great guy to do business with. He takes half the total price as a deposite on the set at the time of order. So if you could afford half the cost now, and then depending on how long the wait is, have the rest saved up by then, there’s one option. That’s pretty much how I went about ordering my set.
Best of luck to you,
Beware of inexpensive options in this business.
I advise beginners to budget 1000 for a good quality practice set (and that’s euro!). It’s an expensive instrument, and unfortunately one where the difference between a mediocre set and a really good one is huge.
The least expensive options which I would recommend (as someone who has instructed dozens of learners over the past 5+ years) would be the Uilleann Pipeworks of Boston practice set or the David Daye ‘penny chanter’. Patrick Sky also makes beginner sets that are less expensive, and he has plenty of experience as a player and teacher of the instrument, so while I haven’t personally tested one of his sets, he has the necessary expertise. The David Daye practice sets and chanters use unconventional materials and are not so attractive looking, but the chanters are the cheapest thing I know of that offers acceptable performance for learning. Bag and bellows are also important, as they must be really airtight and properly sized, etc.
Whatever you do, read the FAQs at the top of this forum, especially the topic about what not to buy (for instance, no-name sets from eBay which are, in fact, made in Pakistan).
A decent practice set is not something you will be able to source (unless you are prepared to pay top dollar for a quality used set) in time for Christmas. Learning patience and dedication is key to making headway on this instrument anyway - perhaps it would better to buy an instructional DVD instead, place a deposit with a good maker, and offer “matching funds” to your son if he is prepared to save up his own pennies towards the purchase of a set.
Best regards,
Bill
Try Chris Bayley* in the U.K. His sets works superbly, and are completely upgradeable. Remember, there are no duties on bagpipe imports into the USA. Joseph Smith can reed Chris’s pipes if necessary
The resin D chanter from Uilleann Pipeworks of Boston impressed a few of us last week at the SoCal Tionól. It also has a reputation for having an excellent working reed.
David Daye’s penny chanter offers better perfomance than some much higher costing sticks.
Both are resellable.
I can vouch for Chris Bayley , just bought a practice set from him. He always seems to go that extra little bit to help.
J.S Scwartz:
Ignore everything said above, xcept for Bill, and buy a Andreas Rogge polycatel practise set. Just make sure to ask for a proper leather bag instead of the nylon one that comes with it.
It is a brilliant set.The chanter is out of this world. Much better than chanters by any of the above mentioned makers, and cheaper too.
For around 700 euros, you will not get a better starter set,unless you get a high qauility wooden chanter pracitse set, which will set you bck time and money.
Unfortunately for J Schwartz, the US dollar is not great value with the Euro at this time. Likely he’d be better off buying a used practice set or going with some of the other comments made previously (no disrespect to you WannaBe): Pat Sky or Boston Pipeworks would likely be a good fit.
JSchwartz - check your pm’s.
I just recieved an email from Robert Colley
rtc@telusplanet.net
So try that if you are still interested.