Hi Folks,
New member here, I would like to get a general concensus on Neil O’Grady’s pipes. Any comments or experiences are welcome.
Best to do some research. Near the top of the page is a search feature… type in “O’Grady” and Uilleann forum. You’ll probably get 117 matches where his name is mentioned.
I’ve played 2 or 3 NOG cocobolo sets. They sound very nice and you don’t have to bust a gut trying to get a sound from the chanter. They’re not very loud which might or might not be an advantage, depending on what you plan to do with them - i.e. they’d probably not be the best for busking in a busy street but on the other hand you won’t be bothering the neighbours unnecessarily.
Some people don’t like the look of NOG sets. That’s a matter of personal taste.
The intonation of one of our regular’s O’Grady sets seems to be somewhat variable. Some days are better than others - and some are all you can do to play along - reed issue? Hard to say, most of the reeds he uses seem to have similar intonation and certain notes seem to consistantly be more trouble than others.
Good pipes, no problems…
I have a set by Neil and I think they’re fab. The chanter has a sweet lilting quality (heading into narrow-bore territory). I did have to put a silicon seal on the seam of the bag (but that cost like two bucks) and I modified the drone switch (more on that mod if anyone is interested). As people are want to point out they are a bit on the plain side (I think they look great and I’m more concerned with my ornamentation…or sad lack there of… then those on the pipes). Plus at just over three grand out the door for a full set…what’s not to love?
I play one of the 2 or 3 sets that PJ mentioned trying above. A few members of our club play O’Grady sets and overall are quite pleased.
I have recently come to realize that any woes I have are more due to my fickle hands, poor technique, as well as the weather, which can go from quite dry to quite humid here in the Montreal area.
A wise man told me recently that instead of ‘fecking’ with the reed or the pipes when they’re not behaving, just put them down and try another time. For example, a few days ago, my set was playing sweetly, vibrating nicely under my fingers. Yesterday, it was nothing but a fight. Today, they were decent again!
Have a look at the comments at our club homepage:
http://pages.infinit.net/jamie/Uilleann.html
Jamie
Thanks for the insight folks,
I’m not good enough to be concerned that they are a bit differerent aesthetically. As far as being slightly quieter, thats maybe a good thing, as I’m sure my wife will emphatically agree.
As far as the reeds go, I’ll have to just hope for the best.
Thank you for your input.