Fully keyed cocobolo chanter with maple mounts. Leo Rowsome book and another tutor on CD. Asking $500.
A good price for a good sounding chanter IMO.
Marshmellows on a stick is the official desert food of the Province of Newfoundland. This explains Neil’s unique design. 
Interesting how whenever a NO’G set…oh…never mind…
Ah come on Ausdag, it is only humour. Humours of Ballymarshmellow.
Sorry Gregory, I saw the humor. I forgot to add a few smilies to my post 
Plus I’m a little disturbed by a dream I had last night. I dreamt I was eating the world’s largest marshmallow…when I woke up, my pillow was gone 
DavidG
Interesting that you had that dream on the same nite I dreamt that I got in a fight with a weed eater… when I awoke, my hair was gone!
I’ve had the opportunity of playing O’Grady pipes and IMHO, they’re good.
But there is no getting away from the fact that they are ugly ,and in this day and age when all makers are making “good” pipes ,ugly will not put them high up on the most wanted list
RORY
… might help keep the waiting list down and the work load light. 
It is interesting to me that Neil hasn’t upgraded or simply changed his design by now. For any who have seen his work it does seem a touch amatureish in its styling when compared to just about any other maker. Big bulging turnings, and brass tubing used with no trace of detail work leaves a bit to be desired in the market today I would think. Certainly not my first choice.
They do have a nice tone however, and I will admit that a set of drones by Neil that one of our locals plays sounds great with their set of synthetic reeds.
I am thinking it may also be a bit of a signature for NOG. There is no way anyone could mistake his work for anothers’… when you see his pipes, you know exactly whose shop they came from.
I have had the pleasure of playing a number of his chanters, and liked the ease of playability and tone I was able to get from them. I confess that I like my pipes to look like I have spent several K on them, but I also like them them to so the same way too. NOG’s pipes sound very nice.
The only real issue I have with his chanters is the bulky block for the Fnat key mount… it is a bit cumbersome and makes holding the chanter more work than it ought to be… IMHO.
One quick word from a fan of Neil’s…
They’re posted for $500!:boggle: (I’ve seen whistles posted for more than that). I picked up my O’grady half set for $1100 and sure they aren’t much to look at but quite frankly neither am I, and they do sound great. I ordered the regs (they’ll be done in another month) and that set me back about 2K putting the total cost just $500 over what a paki set would have cost to have an honest to goodness working full set while I sit out the four plus year wait for a new set from a more tony maker. Plus because they didn’t cost me my life savings, I don’t mind wrenching on them myself (modifying the drone switch…grinding down the Fnat mount…hell if you want decoration so much you could get an engraver and a wood burning tool and go to town). So if there’s someone out there with shallow pockets and a burning need to play…here’s your chance.
The look of any set of pipes is part and parcel a big aspect of purchasing the set for a lot of people. NOG’s pipes are good instruments as far as I can tell, and they are reasonably priced compared to a lot of other sets of equal quality. But when somebody spends a few K on an instrument, wouldn’t you think it reasonable that they would want the set look it’s best?
Having said that, those who purchase from Neil are aware of the visual aspects of Neil’s sets, and obviously aren’t too picky about such things. They are concerned about quality of craftsmanship, tone and playability, and these instruments are all of the above. Hey, they probably find the pipes they are buying attractive… I do not. However, I am not purchasing a set from Neil O’Grady. If I were, I could always chat with him about how I would want it to look, and take it from there.
Having a good-looking set of pipes is certainly a plus, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. For me at least, having a nice sounding set is more important. The MOST important thing is that I should be able to make my set sound good. So, with that, I’m off to practice…bye…
…I don’t mean to imply that cosmetics are not a big deciding factor…I just wanted to inject a bit of perspective (albiet perhaps a warped one) as to cost and playability (coming from a working class bloke). I don’t think anyone who currently owns a set is going to rush out and bid on this, and I’m not trying to convince all of you playing other makers to switch up, but how many times have we seen the post “Newbie desperately needs practice set!..willing to do anything, etc”. Or on the flip side, people dropping 4K for a halfset only to sell it three months later. Well here you go: affordable and playable: a good intro set (…with a marshmallow stuck on the bottom)
… and one on top too. 
good point
DavidG
good point
DavidG