Good afternoon 'all,
I have found the following practice set on eBay, and I wanted your opinions and/or observations about it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=308&item=3777248855&rd=1
Does anyone have any experience with Mark Hillman’s sets? I googled his name and did not find any resources on his pipemaking (there was alot about his playing/recordings). Also, the bag looks a bit dodgy in this photo, do any of you agree?
Thanks for your help.
Peace!
Reepicheep
The chanter has at least 3 keys. If you’re a beginner, you won’t need keys for a long time. The bag looks OK, but I wouldn’t be too worried about the bag. It’s the cheapest of the main components to replace - most pipe makers charge less than $200 for a good bag.
I’ve never played a maple chanter and can’t say what it sounds like. The fact that it hasn’t been played in 3 years means that the chanter reed will need to be replaced before you can even hear what it sounds like.
The asking price is high (I can’t believe he paid $1500 for a new practice set - I suppose with a keyed chanter, it’s not unreasonable). I’ve not heard much about the maker.
A couple of practice and half sets have been advertised recently on Ebay and on UilleannObsession and have not made the reserve. It’s probably the post-christmas shortage of cash. If you can get the email address of the seller, it might be worth your while making him an offer.
Why do you presume that it is a fact the reed will need to be replaced??
The asking price for a Brad Angus practice set is $1925
Bruce Childress $1580 so that kinda blasts the expensive bit out o the water.(anyways the seller was looking for $1000)Reepicheap was asking for specifics about Mark Hillman,which ye don’t know about nor indeed maple chanters which ye said ye havn’t played so I would say this a rather negative post.
Maple Chanters sound fine I have played some so that will count as 1st hand experience.As for the reed I found reeds made in the 60’s and not played for decades but have bounced into life with no tweaking!!
Slán
Uilliam
ps i don’t have any pecuniary interest in the above sale 
You might also just ring up Mark Hillman directly. He is still making and selling pipes. He might give you some more information about the set.
I don’t see where a chanter being keyed or not has anything to do with one’s level of playing…I would encourage players of all levels to experiment with any keys they have so they can attain an understanding and working knowledge of them…but focusing on correct fingering should be the priority.
A reed that has sat virtually unplayed in three years is a reed that is that much closer to being new… just as long as it hasn’t been subject to damaging storage conditions. I would geuss that all this reed would need to get it playing is a few strokes of the bellows clappers and some TLC.
To echo Mr. McGuire, get in touch with Mr. Hilllman… who else would know more about his chanters?
Looking at the original post it seems that Reepicheep can findeth not the contact details for the maker, else he would likely have contacted him already. All he can find is “alot about his playing/recordings,” nowt about his pipemaking.
Reepicheep are you interested in bidding on this set or just curious about the maker?
Definitely interested in bidding. I have contacted the seller thru eBay, but have had no reply, so I turned to the pipeheads here.
Pipeheads, the piping equivalent of a gearhead… it is NOT a reference to an individual who has been known to consume cannabinoids.
Reepicheep
PS - I did do a search of the forum and found some contact information for Mr. Hillman… not sure how recent the info is tho.
OK, here’s an option to the eBay set:
http://www.songsea.com/uilleann.htm
In stock, one O’Grady practice set. New with 3 keys, $900
It is about fecking time somebody consumed a few cannabinoids, serves them right! I am so sick and tired of those damn cannabinoids going around and trying to eat everybody they see…it is ssooooo disgusting!!! 
Reepicheep,
Maple Chanters – Quinn & Koehler have made a full set from maple - about half way down the following web page. (These guys could probably make a full set out of a broom handle and it would still sound good)
http://www.uilleannobsession.com/extras_k&q.html
Apart from that, I’ve only ever heard of maple being used for mounts in place of ivory (Niel O’Grady and Bruce Childress for instance). It’s not as common as exotic hardwoods such as African Blackwood, Cocobolo, Ebony, Rosewood. You have to ask yourself if Maple were as good as these other hardwoods, why aren’t other pipe makers using it as much? It would certainly be cheaper.
As I mentioned earlier, the Christmas creditcard bills are arriving. There are a few practice and half sets on uilleannobsession and pipers.ie that have been on sale for a good few weeks. Not everyone has the spare cash to buy pipes this time of year. It might just be a buyer’s market for the time being.
Anyway, good luck bidding in the auction. The pipes certainly look good.
Regards,
PJ
Many thanks for the replies.
I am finding myself in a bit of a quandry as to what to do about a practice set. My primary restriction is staying as far under a grand as possble. If I spend any more than that, my wife will relocate my residence to the canine pen in the back yard… and even worse, we don’t have a dog and that would make for some very cold nights… but I digress.
At this point, I think I really want a Boisvert practice set. His pipemaking talent seems to be well respected here. His practice set is exactly $1000 and is a beauty to look at to boot. I emailed him and it he indicated that the wait time would not exceed 6 months.
Pat Sky has his $600 budget keyless practice set, but it is a dead end as far as upgradeability. Initially I had decided on his budget set with two drones but he has since opted not to make any more (oh, how I wish it weren’t so!). If I wanted a Pat Sky practice set I would need $1200 (which, if spent, would garner me a first class kick in the arse from my DW).
Now stir in the current practice sets on eBay (the Brittonized Vignoles set and the Hillman set, which started this whole thread), and you will find that I have started to go obsessive compulsive in my search… and just think how much worse that will get once I actually have a set!!!
In short, I am trying to balance between upgradeability, price and quality… all of which are serious concerns.
Thanks for letting me vent a wee bit. I welcome any advice.
Peace!
Reepicheep
Firstly, if you’re serious, don’t even consider a budget practice set. They’re next to impossible to sell if you (i) want to upgrade or (ii) decide you don’t like UP afterall. A good instrument will keep its value.
If you start with a good practice set, you should be able to add keys, drones and regulators as time goes on. This is much easier (and maybe even cheaper) than selling your practice set to buy a half set.
$1000 is a respectable budget. You should be able to get a good quality practice set for that amount. I suggest you also check out Nick Whitmer (http://www.lightlink.com/nwhitmer). He has a good reputation as a pipe maker and both his prices and his lead-times are reasonable.
Good luck
Resale value is another aspect to consider - what would easily sell in the future if your were to drop the instrument or upgrade/change to another set of pipes. Very few people are playing the chanter from their practice set five+ years later.
As far as maple as a wood is considered for a chanter, it should be fine.
I never made a maple chanter.
That chanter was made of boxwood (buxus sempervirens)
Mark