I am new. I have actually been watching the forum for some time, and now I come forward to ask a question. A little background first.
First off, I do not yet play the pipes. I will, but not yet ($$$). I am a musician (actually hold a degree in Jazz Bass) and I play various instruments. I have been very interested in Irish music for many years now and have taken up low whistle and bodhran.
So I have a quesiton about inexpensive pipes and I’ll try not to duplicate any quesitons about this subject.
Antaine wrote:
I had a pakistani chanter that played in tune and really sounded nice, >>so i’m copying that one.
And led me to this question. I intend to invest in the best possible pipes when I am able to (known, reputable maker, preferrably wood), but I am also trying to scratch the itch and really inexpensive solutions do exist.
So the question.. has anyone had success with Pakistani made product, any success at all, and if so, which particular product?
my successful pakistani practice set was had for about $700 from silverbushmusic.com/irishpipes.html they have a whole page of uilleann and bodhran. Mine is listed as “model #5” and played with nice tone and in tune.
in addition, my full set is a rebuilt pakistani set from tim britton ($2600 + $20 shipping), which turned out to be a rebuilt version of “model #4” although tim didn’t get it from silverbush world music. He said that when he received my set from pakistan it was virtually unplayable until he rebored everything and reset the keys et cetera (tho it plays beautifully now), so i recommend only getting that particular set from tim.
it depends on what you’re talking about when you say “a little money” and how much set you want to start off with.
ps the cheap pipes that ethnicinstruments keeps putting on ebay are also the same model, so avoid them, too. Also, even though they sell it in pieces you can’t stop until you buy all the parts to make a full set and still be able to play them.
A Practice or Quarter Set consists of chanter, bag and bellows for inflating. The “chanter” is the melody playing part of the pipes that is held in both hands with the fingers laying flat across it to cover the holes. The chanter on the uilleann pipes plays two octaves and on a good instrument will play one or two notes above that also. The chanter can also have keys included to make it fully chromatic ie. capable of playing a scales tones and semitones.
Listen to Patrick D’Arcy. That comes to mind first. Take him up on going to the meeting/get together. You’ll get to hear specific makers pipes and hear good/bad stories.
There’s a reason lark in the morning is known among the community as Shark in the morning.
There are messages on this board from the past dealing with inexpensive chanters/setups/practice sets. Both what to consider and what to avoid.
I would personally avoid the mouth blown practice chanter (yes, I have used one, even adapted one for bellows use). Use the money you’d spend on it to purchase a good practice set. That way when you move up you don’t have to eat the cost of your practice set. You can either expand or sell your decent practice set to buy a 1/2, 3/4, or full set. I would also avoid a pakistani-made set unless it has been reworked by a pipemaker, or you’ve had the exact one you are going to purchase tested by a knowledgeable, experienced piper.
Consider a used set by a reputable maker (ebay/NPU website)
Welcome to the board and the wonderful world of piping! You’ll learn a lot, find some help and frustrations here and there, but it’s worth it.
I was not really thinking about Pakistani pipes as an option. I had never considered it even until I heard an actual positive comment on a previous post. I needed to get the scoop on that.
But thanks to all. I have been in touch with a member of the SCUPC for those concerned parties. I do intend to take advantage of the local resource.
Of course, pipes ain’t cheap so I am still a bit away from being an actual practicing memebr of the Uilleann community. Someday…
