The regulator under the Tenor has just the one long key - an ‘E’
I like this
What are these 2 switches at the end of the chanter
Carel, the “switches” affect how far out the popping valve on the bottom of the chanter moves out. When you turn the bottom switch all the way in the valve will stay totally closed (handy for marching).
I say! Those look like all-metal regulators. Rolf Knusel of Switzerland has a Taylor set that John Pedersen used to own, which had all-metal bass and double bass regulators, and also an all-metal mainstock (looked like a Gatling Gun). I seem to recall the decoration in the metal looked much like this one. There’s a fellow in Washington who owns Patrick Fitzpatrick’s Taylors, and that one has all-metal bass/double bass.
I agree though that this doesn’t look precisely like Taylor pipes, as Quinn defined them. But the proof’s in the pudding, perhaps they just felt like making those funny shaped reg keys for a change. Or to save weight - like the all-metal construction? (All-metal in this case means an inner tube with an outer jacket SOLDERED to the inner one, not machined from a solid piece of metal, which would weigh more than wood of course)
Two drones, right? Looks like the tenor drone is mounted “Outboard” - it doesn’t actually plug into the front of the stock but has its own socket mounted on the stock’s exterior. Amazing pipes!
Taylor made nicer drones than Rowsome if you ask me - Peter Laban once remarked that Rowsome drones typically sound “like a tractor coming up the road.” This is what gets copied nowadays anyway. Taylor regs were generally very powerful though - part of the style of piping in those days it seems, pipers liked a very punchy sound when they tapped the keys, and reg playing with the pipers in America then was very rhythmic, often syncopated with the chanter. The best Taylor chanters are very sweet toned even if (I’m told) very loud, again, for me, much nicer than many Rowsomes. Things to recommend, other than the incredible workmanship. Their father built organs, by the way, so they weren’t strangers to massive undertakings like this set.
Hi
the regulators have the outer german-silver sleeve and inside is wood,
the trim or deco is real ivory, these pipes passed through only a couple of owners hands before i got them,
i am at the moment doing a little research on the history of these pipes through the grandaughter of the previous owner, there is a photo of him with the pipes which she is trying to locate, hope she finds it,
i have owned the pipes for the past seven years and when i got them they were in their original leather case which is in very bad condition,
Innersting! Leo Rowsome later made that set for Felix Doran which had nickel silver over wood, and it leaked like a sieve apparently (Paddy Moloney said he “almost died” trying to keep the wind in this set), I wonder if Leo ever saw this set - or one like it - what part of the world are you in, glinjack?
Cillian O’Briain now makes regs with metal over wood, too.
BTW Kevin -
That odd yellowy-brown is indeed the color that old ivory can eventually turn, if not protected in some pristine storage condition. Whether it’s due to tobacco-smoke staining, UV degradation, or a combination of the above, I don’t know.
The five-rivets observation on the popping valve is consistent with Taylor, all right, but of course doesn’t prove anything one way or the other.
Bill
I’m in the “-esque” camp on this set, for reasons that have already been pointed out by others.
"The five-rivets observation on the popping valve is consistent with Taylor, all right, but of course doesn’t prove anything one way or the other. " Bill.
Yes, although on closer examination I see the the popping valve ivory piece is quite flat/narrow. Whilst on the Taylor chanters/sets I’ve had access to the ivory decoration piece is much thicker. Also the attention to detail isn’t present on this set as regards the ivory decoration, scoring on the metalwork. Taylor sets were expensive even back then. Everything’s much clumsier on this set, the bass regulator fold-round for example, compared to a set made by the Taylor Bros.
Whoever made them, they were certainly quite familiar with the methods employed by the Taylors. The popping valve, the trim above it, the bass drone bottom and loop, are all very Taylor, from what I can tell from the pictures. The maker would seem at least to have had plenty of access to the genuine article. The ivories also would appear to have much of the elements of Taylor design. I wouldn’t be so quick to write this one off as an “esque” just yet.
Did the Taylor’s have any apprentices that are known of…???
Brennan made bellows for the Taylors, Suzanne Neary up in Tacoma has a set that’s said to be by him (not sure if it’s stamped). Quite rude. Dave Power had the Brennan set that’s pictured on Chris Bayley’s site and that’s better work. Hutton inherited the Taylor’s tools, I forget if anyone has any Hutton pipes.
I know about ivory aging, who was it who sussed out that some of the old makers used mammoth ivory? Also if the ivory on a set is in contact with a pipe bag for a long time it will looked burnt, from the tannic acid used in curing the leather. Brad Angus pointed this out to me with the Bb Willie Rowsome set that came up on Ebay, which the seller of insisted had been through a fire. Don’t know about that but those chanters looked like they’d been thrown in the river at some point!
I’m riveted!
Patrick 
Ivory is porous and will darken from skin oils with handling. Generally, Asian elephant ivory is usually a lot yellower than African elephant ivory, although some African ivory can be quite yellow as well.
I’m curious about the regulator sleeves. Are the tabs to hold the keys soldered onto the tube, (like the popping valve bracket) or are the tabs formed by slitting the tube longitudinally and folding them up?
Nice pic, Pat. Certainly is eye-popping!
I wonder what effect Crest Whitestrips would have restoring the colour of old ivory (yes, I’m kidding).
djm
This one looks to be riveted as well… 
Yes. Two guys… K&Q
They have harnessed the power of time travel with this device:
and make repeated trips back in time whenever necessary for details.
Hutton bought the workshop off Charley Taylor within a year after Billy died. The contents of the Rowsome/Brown eBAY auction smelled of charcoal as if they had been near a fire at one time. The chanters, once cleaned up from its normal grime probably due to the leather, were two of the nicest concert chanters that I have seen - by Patsy Brown. Top hand triplets were absolutely great on those chanters.
It isn’t necessary to make the trips if you have the boys’ sub-ether mobile number. Just ring them up. Billy loses patience if you don’t have a well framed question, but Charley is a lot more laid-back and voluble. It’s a turkey shoot as to who’s going to answer.
This might shed some light on the workings of the two screws. They both have to be snug to keep the rocking limiter in position.
Jim, I meant the original seller, he was a testy chap. No wait…it was somebody on here who’d seen the pipes. He kept insisting they’d been burnt. Well, who knows, but tannic acid will certainly discolor the stuff too, and the patterns of blackening were on the bottom of the reg caps like you’d expect if they sat on a bag for decades.
Nice dingus, Mr. Pat. May be I’ll scan mine and post photo. Sean Folsom drew a couple of eyeballs on one of his! Great yucks.
Here are three pictures of a set belonging to a friend of mine. What do you think? Similar to the one under discussion? Note the long ferrules on the regulator ends. Can’t see much of the shapes of the caps, but there may be something there, too. This one also happens to play very well.
