I finally took the bag that came with my set in 1979 off and replaced it with a new one by Jackie Boyce. I have to tweak the main stock tie-in a bit because there is a very slight leak and I didn’t get the angle quite right, but the bag is comfortable and does its job well. In disassembling the set, I found that the air intake and the small tube that feeds air to the main stock (Ginsberg’s odd way of attaching the cup) were both partially blocked by big globs of wax, the bagpipe version of arteriosclerosis, I guess. Unsurprisingly, it’s easier to control air flow with the wax removed.
One thing I didn’t expect is the sound of the bag. I have heard pipers talk about how the bag should resonate with the pipes, but I’ve never experienced it before. Wow, does this bag resonate! I can feel the chanter notes in the bag, and even hear it ‘thump’ now and again with tight pats and staccato passages, but the main effect is in the overall sound of the instrument. I can hear the chanter and the drones all working with each other to produce something that is way bigger than the just the sum of their individual voices. Wow! Not sure if it is the bag, cleaning out the wax, or both, but I like it!
Ken