Does anyone know why Mr Keenan bought pipes from two different makers I tought it was usual to buy a set from the same maker so they would be balanced and so on
Paddy was here in town last weekend. He was playing a Taylor-style Quinn chanter I believe, with a bore based on Paddy’s Rowsome chanter. The rest of the set looked like his Howard set (?). Chime in with corrections, all those who were there.
t
Because he could?
The last time I saw him he was playing his new (Williams? Howard? Darn this memory) drones for the 2nd time in public and his Rowsome chanter.
Was he playing the Koehler/Quinn boxwood chanter?
Last time I talked to him, we were looking at his pipes. He plays a Dave Williams set (regs and drones) but had the Koehler/Quinn chanter made exactly to the deminsion of his old Rowsome that he’d filed and scraped on as a kid (he says “almost ruined”). He says he loves the sound of “box.” I took that to mean it’s mellow sound and perhaps it offsets the volume of a normally large bore chanter. I understand his boxwood chanter is also thin-walled.
I’m sure David Quinn can tell us more.
Last year when he was at my house 
(ya I’m bragging) he was playing a Koehler-Quinn chanter ala Rowsome style Boxwood with a Dave Williams stock drone and regs…If i knew how to attach Photo I would 
, but Im too busy learning the Pipes.
anyone want to help here and I’ll post a photo or two? 
e-mail the pictures to me and I’ll post them.
‘tony at digital dot net’
If you already have the pictures on a website the instructions are:
Paddy makes his own reeds, first of all, and has been doing so since he was a boy. His dad put him to work making reeds at a young age so he can make a reed now without any measurements - just a tube of cane, a sharp knife, a sanding cylinder, a piece of sandpaper, a staple, and a bridle are all he needs.
So if he gets a chanter from one maker and drones and regs from another maker, he can get the whole thing to work together because he can supply the right reeds for the job.
Paddy likes the new chanter, he finds it a bit mellower and less shrill than his Rowsome, and I have to agree having heard both chanters in person at one time or another.
I think this is Keenan’s new K/Q boxwood chanter, a link David supplied us with earlier last year (Keenan’s is the top chanter, but both chanters are the same wood, according to Quinn)
and his DW set, linked from Cobblestone’s web site…
…
Hey Mypipes,
Here is a picture I took that evening of Paddy Keenan playing the Williams UPs with the Quinn boxwood chanter.
JVF
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/vanfleet/uilleann.html
ps: side note; in an earlier discussion someone mentioned that Paddy plays without a popping strap, as shown. They also opined that he rested his left hand on his left leg and rarely took it off, but watching him play I did not find that to be the case.
BTW, the tuning pins on Paddy’s set are “hops” carved out of real ivory, I think. Nice connection for a serious piper. 
minor correction: Koehler and Quinn chanter, boys. David is very insistent that Benedict receives proper acclaim for his contribution to K&Q instruments. I agree.
Thanks Tony and proper credit for the above Photo goes to Jim Van Fleet
Not sure what looks better…Paddy Keenan in my kitchen or the stout on the bench? 
Setting a full glass of beer next to a recovered alcoholic is about as funny as walking up to an Auschwitz survivor with a swastika necklace.
Paddy’s such a brilliant musician he could get most any set or chanter going beautifully. Plenty of pipers in the past mixed and matched pieces from various makers, usually after the makers were gone but not always so. Some still do, if they’re finicky about these things; or some makers have a reputation for good drones but not chanters, etc.
This topic seems to come up quite often. I’m not quite sure what the attraction is in keeping tabs on Paddy Keenan’s pipes. Isn’t he good enough to sound brilliant on anything he plays? And will knowing which bit comes from which maker make me any better a piper?
djm
One of the most frustrating aspects of the piping scene is hearing about the endless pursuit of instruments from people that cannot deliver.
So, naturally, why it may seem odd that there is extraordinary interest in what pipes Paddy plays, in both instances here, it leads to excellent pipemakers, K&Q and Dave Williams. Both good paths to pursue!
But Paddy Maloney goes for a Gallagher, Mick O’Brien plays a (I forget).
I always want to know who makes a great sounding set of pipes, even if nobody knows the piper’s name making the beautiful sounds. I had rather know both, however.
Just so. Thank you, Pat. It was only a matter of time.