Historically some of the pastoral pipes had one or two regulators, so I thought I’d like to add one and see if it would expand my playing experience. Because the pipes are made of blackwood, I didn’t want to send them back to Geert Lejeune in Brugge, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t make regulators.
I was pretty nervous, and wonder if Brad could match not only the blackwood, but also the horn, and blend it to the existing style in looks and sound.
Brad exceeded my expectations ~ he was able to match the blackwood and the horn looks fabulous! I feel the quality is first rate, and I’m a goldsmith, so I should know. Not only did he deliver, he did it in the time he said.
The sound of the regulator is not overpowering, and it is in balance with the rest of pipes. It will won’t respond the same as on an uilleann pipe because of the length of the chanter gets in the way, but it adds a nice touch. Now comes the hard part of learning to use the regulator musically.
Brad is quite the interesting character, isn’t he? I’ve been over to his place a few times to have work done. Always get a good story or two from him, and there is usually a project on the bench that makes me drool. It’s really handy having him so close.
I already replied to your other thread, but I just wanted to reiterate here that Brad is definitely a master at the craft. My full set was made by him, and it’s a beauty. And yes, there are plenty of good stories to go along with a visit to his shop.
Yes, it is a baritone ~ I thought I would be using it mainly to add a note to make a chord. There is is D,F#,G & A. And like I said It’s going to take me a while to learn to make it musically pleasing. If you are just interested in hearing what a Pastoral pipe sounds like, there are some videos on YouTube, There are some nice ones by Remi Decker.
Brad is one of the most interesting and talented pipe makers out there and I don’t think there is anything he can’t do. It constantly amazes me how little buzz you hear about him.
He makes everything himself, including rolling his own tubing, to get just what he wants. If he had space he would probably tan his own leather.
Brad is also a very fine piper which comes in handy
in regard to what an instrument can and must do.
I sent him a chanter that never was reeded properly
and it comes back playing like it never had before.