Thought I’d post this before Dale shuts the forum down.
New URL for Brad Angus’s website. It’s drabber [sp?] than ever! Nothin’ but data! No fancy borders, no flash animations, no links. No.
It is not as drab as this forum has become! 
“I’m so sleepy, I can barely stay awake…”
The less time spent on the website, the more time spent on making those pipes.
Bb, 5 regulators ? How many of these can you sell ?
Bb, 5 regulators ? How many of these can you sell ?
It should come as no surprise that pipemaking is an art. Artists will create art for its own sake, because it begs to be created, sometimes for the experience and enlightenment that creating it provides, and often with no intention of selling the work.
The set might have been commissioned for all we know. Otherwise, the Q posed is irrelevant and implies a tongue in cheek “why bother if ye can’t sell it” attitude. I think we all should “want” for Brad Angus and other similarly inclined pipemakers to “bother” with this sort of thing. Its how evolution of concepts and improvements in materials and or design take place.
The 5-reg Bb set belongs to our own Kevin Reitmann.
I’m not aware whether Brad has made any other over-regulated sets before or since this one.
Brad mostly turns down requests for extra regulators etc. Anyways, the extra pipes aren’t always worth it, they add weight and potential for leaks. And it’s that much more tuning you’re in for, reeds needing attention, etc.
B.M. Angus has made at least one other custom, “over-reg’d” set for a Houston-based piper. It is a “Taylor” copy with 4 regs, in ebony, nickel-silver and mammoth ivory and can be seen on his web-site.
Every part, save the rods of the regulator tuning pins perhaps, is hand-made. I’m surprised Brad does not mine and smelt his own copper. It is quite heavy, stout, plays well and is a mechanical sight to behold. it says a lot about the dedication and workmanship of the maker…all good - quixotic, even. I don’t think he worries about the LCD.
I see I failed to express myself correctly (yet again). What I intended to say was that you couldn’t make a living from making such sets - the inference being that it was made for its own sake, as you pointed out. I certainly didn’t intend it to mean “why bother if you can’t sell it”. BA makes gorgeous looking and sounding pipes (from what I’ve seen/heard on the internet).
A Bb set is something I’d love to aspire to one day. Don’t know if I’d ever manage to 5 regulators though.
I see I failed to express myself correctly (yet again).
Hey…wait a minute…that’s my line!!! 