Hi,
Can someone tell me what is the loudness of Concert Pitch chanter, drones…
In DB (decibels)? I know that everage drummers produce 110 Db of noise…
…but I don’t have a clue how loud concert pipes can be in Db???
Thank you very much 
I can’t answer your question Eric as I don’t have any pipes at the moment, but I do have access to a sound level meter. You need to specify at what distance from the pipes you want to know the level. Also different environments will give different results due to relections or absorption from surrounding objects and walls. I’ll also be suprised if a set of pipes will achieve the same output level over its full frequency range. I guess for true comparisons to another instrument you’ve got to measure each under exactly the same conditions. Another minefield 
Paul.
If you have an iPhone there is an SPL meter app.
I have an actual sound meter and as a point of reference, my Great Highland Bagpipes are about 100 dB at my left ear (which is also about 1m). I don’t have Uillean Pipes, but I’d guess that they’d probably be more like 85 dB at 1m. Interestingly, according to the sound meter, they are 100 dB both inside and out, but they sound a lot louder to me when I’m inside. I’m guessing the walls are reflecting some of the high frequency harmonics that don’t contribute much to sound pressure level, but do contribute to the overall impression of volume.
You can measure your own pipes but putting that question out on the net will give you a different answer from anyone who answers. I know some folks have theirs set like a quiet fiddle while my teachers can drown out Billy McComiskey on box. Its all in the reed.
Thanks for all answers
I’ve tested some chanters… follow the link:
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/pain-in-the-hear/10563/1
Hi Tony,
I agree that folks should be mindful of their hearing.
However those numbers (in the other thread) are implausibly high. You’ve got flat chanters, for instance, that are subjectively half as loud as jackhammers (i.e. only 6 dB less). Are you sure your meter calibration was correct? Also, you didn’t report the weightings used. It’s easy to get units mixed up when dealing with SPL, SPI, dB, etc.
best regards,
Bill
it’s not the chanter that’s loud, it’s the insults being hurled at the bodhran players…
Bill… this information dates back 7 years ago.
New analog DB meter purchased from Radio Shack.
Price: $30 (certainly not a laboratory quality instrument)
I don’t remember weightings. I turned it to the setting that didn’t ‘peg the meter’
I expected the readings were in DB per the scale and settings.
It was in a 5 x 7 (feet) room with tile on the walls. (acoustically very live)
The meter was 2 feet from the chanter pointing directly at it.
All my chanters seemed to play loudly, except the Angus B/Bb as it was reeded for a more colorful sound.
Did I leave something out?
Tony and Bill,
Tony’s measurements were from 2 feet away, while most sound level specifications are from 1 meter. Converting Tony’s measurement of 100 db to the standard 1m, we arrive at 95 dB. That’s about the same sound level of a circular saw from 1m. Quite loud.
If Tony’s measurement was actually from 18" away, and he rounded to two feet, then the sound level would be only 93 dB.
As a point of comparison, my VW is 85 dB while driving down the road – since dB is a log scale, a change of a few digits are pretty significant.
dB/distance calculator:
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-distance.htm
I heard Paddy Keenan play his pipes in person and I’m going to estimate that the dB level of his pipes at 1 meter was probably a bit under 90. It wasn’t nearly as loud as a set of highland pipes, and not much louder than a good fiddle (though totally different in character, obviously).
Sometimes when I play in a small room, I think my pipes sound loud, but my test for volume has always been to pull out my D tin whistle and blow it while playing C# on my chanter, or blow by bflat whistle and play an A on the chanter - my reeds will usually play slightly quieter or at the same volume as the whistle.