I had heard that Brian Bigley had put out an excellent album, but I was frankly blown away when I first heard it. Brian is an excellent piper and his piping on this album does not disappoint. It is an incredible album and I highly recommend it.
Available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/brianbigley
Thanks for the tip.
I listen to the tracks, 5 with piping, and I really don’t know what to say.
I’m sure he is a very good piper and talented musician, but I just don’t like the sound of the pipes
or the way they are being recorded/played.
It bugs me that I can’t really say what it is that I don’t like.
But I’m glad that other like it and buy it, as it increases the sale for UP recordings and hopefully
aspires other to give out CD’s.
Cheers!
/MarcusR
I listened to 3-4 of the tracks and to me they all sounded almost totally legato with no or little staccato. Nothing wrong with that, but staccato adds some spice to the recipe.
Glad to see some more piping CDs out there.
-g
It sounds like many of the older recordings with all the squeaks and squawks left intact. Nothing wrong with that.
Perhaps there are some tuning issues, but I like track nine. The flute is also simple and not a full-on Molloy clone.
I did notice something on this CD that I have heard in other recordings with much higher production values.
The drones sound distant from the chanter.
I have seen several live pipers playing with separate microphones on the chanter and drones, and I wonder if CD recordings are done in a similar way.
I doubt even the most skilled sound engineer could produce the essential drone-chanter combination from separate tracks.
Mukade
I really appreciate being able to hear sound samples of the tracks before I buy. This saves me so much money. I wish CD sales sites like Claddagh and NPU would adopt this method.
djm
Brian is a talented young piper. I have heard him play several times. He was impressive in the “piper’s chair” at the last (or maybe it was two years ago?) EC Tional in East Durham. He also worked in Seth Gallagher’s workshop for some time.
Neil
As I said before, I’m sure Brian is a very good piper and I had no intention to criticize his playing, nor his recording.
I was just curious to why it didn’t appeal to me, and if others had similar experiences?
Maybe it had been better to start a new thread but I felt that these CD tracks were a good example of what I was after.
I have had similar experiences before, when I have been recommended to buy CD’s of piping legends and true UP masters by fellow pipers.
The “thing” that raise the hairs on the back of my neck just isn’t there. It has nothing to do with lack of skills, its more of a sound thing, and I’m sure others have different tastes or preferences.
Maybe mukade is on to something when it comes to mixing drones and chanter in solo piping?
Or it could just due to my own lack of experience?
Cheers!
/MarcusR
The pipes didn’t appeal to me as well. My poor beginner’s level doesn’t add up to anything but after the other thread about tone I realized how much effects are being added and did some experimentation myself.
I thought funny when I heard the mentioned track because it sounded very similar (I mean the tone, not the technique, of course) to some recordings I did in a large room (to have some natural echo) and after I equalized and added even a bit more of reverb.
I found exactly the opposite of Mukade and I don’t think it was left intact. It sounds “nasalized” and “muffled” to me
As it was said, maybe it’s a matter of the sound engineering
I quite like it. The pipes sound nice, they are a flat set so maybe that’s what you’re missing? It also isn’t drenched in reverb so you may be missing that?
Fair play to you Brian! Very nice tasteful CD.
Pat.
Are you coming to Japan to enlighten us or what?
Aside from the fact that I had to turn my speakers way, way up to hear anything (oh! I had my earphones plugged in!), I like it. Compared to a lot of debuts drenched in(and ruined by) reverb or accompanied by heavy “string” synth pads, it’s nice to have a clean recording. The drones are somewhat more in the background than one would expect, but this (likely) recording issue doesn’t ruin anything.
I agree with the Darcy-man. It’s quite well done. Listen to Track 3 (Port na bPucai) and then jump to Track 9 (Boys of the Town/Hag with the Money)… tasty, tasty piping.
PD, do you hear a C#, C or B on this?
Cheers,
BC
Sounds fine to me too. Except for maybe the drones being a tad under-miked, I think this is probably “true” sound..ie very close to what they’d sound like in real life.
arrgh, duplicate post…
These pipes are in B. They are also way overcompressed (or rather, these digital recordings are overcompressed) and I think the impression of the sound suffers for it.
If you click on the “listen to all tracks (Broadband)” option they sound much better.
I am not crazy about the sound of those particular drones but that’s really a personal taste issue, nothing fundamentally wrong with them.
Skillful playing and the regs are nicely in tune 
Stylistically and tonally (pitch-wise as well) I am reminded a bit of Sean Potts, though it’s true that Sean Og uses considerably more stacatto.
Bill
I am hearing a B. I have been playing in C# for a couple of months now, so I rule out a C or higher.
I’d agree with Darcy and brianc. I bought this on a whim a few months back while ordering Kieran O’Hare’s “double-barrelled” with John Skelton. I was pleasantly surprised by his playing, although I do like more stacatto. I thought it was a B set, but then again, I usually have no idea what I’m talking about.
c’mon you lot, it’s wicked piping and very skilled. Lovely reg playing. For those of us who can’t yet play like Liam O Flynn, it’s nice to hear someone playing the whole instrument.
I totally agree. The piping is great and I love it. My only problem is that I buy piping-only CDs