hi all
I’m an italian guitarist from Genova, and for a long time I’ve been attracted by bagpipes world
I’ve hesitated a long time on buying such an instrument due to prices for non-pakistani stuff, and also to my total lack of training on wind instruments
Recently I found an used half-set UP, sold reasonably close to home at a reasonable price ( 300€ ) and from a semi pro-musician
still, before giving up to sheer excitement and buying an instrument that’s not really cheap for my wallet, i wanted some advice from experienced pipers. here is a pic of the instrument - sorry it’s a little blurry :
does anyone know this instrument ?
do you think 300€ is a reasonable price?
are there any checks to perform in order to ensure that the pipe, the bag or the reeds are “healthy” ?
if I understand correctly, someday I’ll need reed replacements : are these generic/ easy to find ?
or will I have to identify the pipes maker and buy specific / expensive reeds with both variable delivery time and unknown future availability ?
If I were you I would be very careful. I personally think they are probably cheap pakistani pipes → look at the drone switch, it’s huuuuge (most pakistani pipes have gigantic drone switches). I would keep the money and invest it in a practice set of a known maker.
There are lots of good sets for sale on uilleannobsession.com pipers.ie and on this forum!
If you buy cheap you only pay more because you have to buy a new set.
Definitely Pakistani, but I still think that the drone switch isn’t huge on these, but installed backwards, which would also make it look like a left handed set.
drone switch isn’t huge on these, but installed backwards, which would also make it look like a left handed set.
What ?
Drone switch is always wrong on these but the idicator that it is a lefty is the bag (unless photos reversed)
St Chartier festival next month in France if you can get to it will have a number of makers and you can try before you buy or go to the NPU makers list
Be careful on Ebay unless it is from a known maker e.g currently a Mike Hulme (UK) practice set up at a very reasonable price
You’re right. The bag is lefty. However, if you look closely at this and similar sets, it looks like the switch is mounted so that the back of the switch is pinned to the plunger post in the middle of the mainstock and the middle of the switch is pinned to the hinge post., which should be at the rear of the stock, but is at the “front” of these, causing the drones to be mounted lefty. Note that the drones are on the top side of the stock where the regs should go.
hi all
thx for your help, I was really that close to getting fooled and buying this “nice firewood” for 300€
now either I’ll take some time and save some money to get a “real” instrument or I’ll buy these for a reasonable, firewood-compliant and significantly cheaper price
I wouldn’t bother with them at any price.. Get a practice set of good quality and learn to play it well before being “suckered” into drones and regs (at least that’s how i lost the spark and quit playing pipes altogether.. Too much trouble and too much to control at a way too early stage.)
You’ve been warned, and it’s your money to spend as you please. But as someone who’s had to tell several aspiring student pipers that the “bargain” pipes they bought would not work, and that no one would be able to make them work without costly surgery that negates the “bargain” with no guarantee of success, I urge you to think very very carefully if you are at all serious about learning the pipes.
300 Euros is a lot of money for a few pounds of firewood and scrap metal.
If you buy these, you WILL get frustrated, and will GIVE UP the pipes as too difficult (because you can’t get them to work). Why do you think they are being sold at such a “great” price?
In the US we have several makers who sell excellent practice sets for a reasonable price. Can anyone give Gouzou a specific reference to a European maker who builds a quality starter set and does not have a huge waiting list?
Richard L Patkós, Mike Hulme, Robbie Hughes, Charles Roberts spring to mind.. (Hughes and Roberts are people i dealt with in the 90’s though.. Mike H i know a guy who has a practice set by and Patkós i have only heard on Youtube and seen his gallery on website, but what i have seen and heard impressed me..)
I really want to thank you all for your help and for all the information you provided
sadly I was close to getting the pakistani half-set with a little stretch from my wallet,
so I guess I’ll have to to save a little more to get an “honest” starter set
thanks again . I hope I’ll be back soon with a nice instrument
