From Davy Stephenson:
“a fully ivory mounted narrow bore D half set, made in the blackest Srilankan ebony, I have one for sale, its made by my mentor Peter Hunter back in 89, its in immaculate condition and awaits a customer, pictures can be sent to any potential customer.”
Nice looking set, huh? Wow!
Joey
P.S. I’d hate to be a pipemaker in December - I’d imagine EVERYONE’S heckling you to get their sets done by Christmas!
(typo)
[ This Message was edited by: joey_schu on 2002-12-05 11:18 ]
yeah, they’re gorgeous all right, but what do they sound like? I’ve heard some recordings of Hunter’s wide bore chanters and they sound pretty good for wide bore instruments. Anybody here ever try out one of Peter’s narrow Ds?
Pat,
Pete’s stuff is usually very good. Narrow bore fine, flat stuff pretty outstanding generally, wide bore concert tonally very expressive(crisp bottom D, a good twangy Hard E). Late 80’s and early 90’s pipes are, in my opinion, his best work. My half set by him in lignum (progressed to different chanter/different maker since) has been trouble free. A friend is happily whacking away on the old chanter.
Cheers
Alan
how much is it?
I thiny Davy said it’s selling for about $2000. Which is, in my opinion, for a Peter H. 1/2 set a very fair price.
Thanks Alan. I had him sort of figured as an elite maker, his workmanship appears to be of a very high standard. It’s good to have some confirmation of that supposition. Except for recordings, I don’t get to hear his work much in the States, what a shame. That Hunter chanter Ronan Browne plays with his Harrington set sure is lovely sounding.
The features of that Hunter set are are such that the set REALLY looks like an early Coyne. The mounts, and turnings are patterned, it appears, directly from Maurice Coyne. VERY nice “old” style. That 1/2 set appears to be in stunning condition aesthetically.
I bought my half set from Pete in 1990, and from the first day they looked tarnished I got asked “how old are they, they look like an old set”. He really has an eye for details and makes it look oh so easy.
Alan
…yep…all that and from a TINY little shop with no fancy tools and equipment..no multi thousand dollar gun-drill setup for that gentleman!
…but I bet he’s got HEAT in his shop!
Davey
(suffering in chilly Minnesota…STILL with no snow!)
Davey,
Not even a shop, just a shed. No heating. Just 2 feet of lathe shavings. 
Alan
Maybe the shavings serve a “double” purpose.
My wood shavings serve only to anger my wife as I track them through the house, leave them in the baby’s crib and blanket…oh, and I usually throw in a beard whisker here and there for good measure!
DB
Just to pick Pat up on Ronan Browne’s chanters. The concert pitch is the Hunter -or more precisely the chanter Ronan made while apprenticed to Peter Hunter. The chanter he plays in B is a Harrington, or at least it was the last time I saw him and he let me play the thing. I think the sleeve notes on Ronan’s various CDs confirm this.
The set on offer is probably a very fine instument none the less and should give a lifetime of pleasure to the buyer - and maybe even his/her listeners.
All the best,
Ken
I emailed Davey Stephenson at Bagpipeworks about the item, and the asking price is actually $2,800. By the way, others have commented on what great customer service he provides, and I can believe that based on my email correspondence with him. He responds very quickly and helpfully, even to my most boneheaded questions.