Had a look in search and nowt came up, so.. What is your advice for amping up the pipes. I mean the chanter is hard enough with the holes being all over the place, how doyou get back d sounding as it faces backwards.
Yes, that is an issue. What I do is place the microphone on the side of the chanter above the right hand, facing down at an angle - just so it forms “almost” a right angle with the chanter. This seems to give the back D the pickup it needs while getting good volume from the other note holes.
I’ve seen other pipers use this method as well.
Paul
P.S. You can see what I mean in the wee picture on the left <----- 
That’s what I do on the rare occasions that I play mic’ed. One word of warning: be prepared to move slightly away from the mic if you’re going to be in the second octave. It helps the audience keep their sense of hearing.
In addition, if you’re playing with drones and regs. you’ll need at least one other mic (SM57 or SM58 is fine for most) pointed in the general direction of the drones. There are many different views on the best positioning for the second mic. The best I can suggest is to try a few during the sound check and find out which works best for you.
Good luck!!
P.J.,
I couldn’t agree more. Obviously you’ve had plenty of experience with playing mic’d.
I find the chanter mic when placed thus does pick up a bit of the tenor drone. So, I tend to lean toward placing the drone mic just between the bartitone and base drone holes but in such a way as to avoid having the air flow blow directly on the mic. Had that happen once and it caused the sound guy a great deal of grief to figure out what was going on! 
Thank’s I’ll try and see which works best.
HA!! Sorry. I must have sounded really convincing. I’ve played pipes mic’ed about half a dozen times. That’s just the chanter. Never mic’ed the drones. I’ll have to soon, though.
Kickdrum mics like the Sennheiser e602 or the Audix D6 give a richer drone sound than a standard vocal mic like the sm57. Just used a D6 for the first time at a gig yesterday with the flat pipes. It was a great sound, it really brought out the drones and filled the room well.
The Shure KSM 109 is a good chanter/regs mic, it can be mounted on a floor stand with a boom like in magroibin’s avatar, and it’s hot enough to pick up all of the chanter and the reg notes without getting in your way. It’s normally used for winds and strings micing and I’ve been impressed with it the couple of times I’ve been around it.
Pat,
Any idea of price for the mics you recomment?
I suggested the SM57 as it’s bog standard and any sound tech worth his DI box will have a half dozen of them. The SM57 is also relatively cheap and solid, at approx. US$100 to US$120.
For me, a really good quality mic would only show up the inadequacies of my playing!!! 
for the chanter ive been using the sm57 for a few years but recently changed to a beta 57…wow what a big difference it makes. spend the extra cash and get the beta. check ebay often…i got my beta new in the box at a great price.
The SM57 (instrument) and SM58 (voice) are dirt cheap nowadays. They are not supersensitive, so they are great in clubs, where they are almost ubiquitous. You would want to have a dead-quiet environment before going to a really sensitive mic that would pick up every scrape and scratch of ambient noise.
djm
I dual mike my pipes, use an AKG C3000 for the chanter/regs and a dedicated AKG C1000S setup as a hypercardioid just for the drones. They sell these two together as a pack through Guitar Center for about $400. The C1000S has an internal battery, the C3000 requires phantom power. For a PA I use a Fender Passport PD250, works wonderfully for most medium sized halls and has been very reliable and extremely portable.
PJ - the SM 58 may be a standard but you have to mic it really close to get it to pick up well, especially the flat pipes. It gets in the way too much for my liking. I’d rather use something a little hotter that I can set up in an out-of-the-way placement that lets me play the pipes instead of hitting the microphone with my fingers.
If you keep your eyes open, you can get deals on nice mics like the KSM 109, Beta 87A, e602, D6, etc. I’m not made of money, either, so I look for bargains all the time. The D6 I used yesterday cost me $200 instead the MSRP of $349.
Agree with Eskin about the PD 250 - it’s loud enough for most gigs I’m ever likely to play, it’s easy to transport, it’s easy to set up and take down, and it has a good clean sound. If you want to have more control of the EQ you can plug an EQ box into the effects loop, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Very true. I’ve played with some of the better mic’s mentioned and you do get a far, far better sound - and more freedom for placement.
I’m just used to doing gigs in pretty tight spaces and so have adapted my mic use accordingly. As far as Shure mics I prefer the SM58 over the SM57 for the simple reason that the 57 has “side vents” which makes in more likely for the air from the pipes to blow directly into the mic, especially if you are forced to mic close up…makes a nasty racket when that happens.
Paul