I am trying to pick out a pipemaker for a practice set (I am a beginner) and have been asking for recommendations from the few people that I know that are pipers - of course, each of them has their own advice and biases -
I am wondering if others on this forum would be willing to weigh in with their ideas.
I am considering having Tim Britton make a practice set for me - any of you have experience with his pipes?
I am trying to balance quality, wait time, price - relative closeness to me - I am from Maryland.
Tim Britton has a good rep, although I’ve not had the chance of playing his pipes. Where are you (country, state, etc)? Picking a maker who is near you is an important consideration.
That’s right. I’m currently having a D chanter made by him (boxwood). His products sound and look terrific, and he is a master reedmaker as well. You should definitely check him out.
as a learner having played keyed instruments before (sax, clarinet, etc), I can say that you can do without the keys. I own a fully keyed and a keyless chanter. a keyless chanter is good to learn on, and I can recommend it. Since keyed chanters are expensive, you may find another maker that provides a more ideal sound, look and feel. If you think your purchase is something you will build on, then weigh your options:
-You can start with a chanter without keys, without mounts. You wouldn’t be able to upgrade later, unless if you are working with a maker like Brian Howard who can add pin mounted keys later.
-You can start with a keyless chanter with mounts, and you can add keys later.
Also, you might want to check out what keyed chanters feel like by cruising by those makers already mentioned. Some keys may be easier to play than others. If you’re undecided, just get a chanter with key mounts, but whatever trips your trigger. It all comes down to a matter of preference. I like keys because as someone who plays in church, I want a fully chromatic instrument rather than fiddle around with cross fingering. Besides, it looks cool and puts more cashola in excellent makers’ pockets.
I’ll chime in. I’ve owned a Britton practice set and a half-set in D, and had good experiences with both. Timmy’s chanter design is very ergonomic, with tone holes placed and scalloped so that they feel very comfortable in your hands.
His unique design is not a drawback to learning the pipes at all; I’ve been able to go from playing a Britton chanter to Gallagher, Boisvert, and other chanter designs without any problem.
His bag and bellows design is also excellent; they create a really air-tight wind machine with great volume! His drones (when you get that far) are very nice, and when fitted with his “hardwood dowel” type drone reeds, are as steady as a rock year-round, regardless of weather conditions.
If you hear any criticism of Britton pipes, it might be that his chanter reed design is based on tubing staples instead of rolled tapered staples. I actually like this design, and with his book on reedmaking I’ve cranked out a few really excellent reeds of my own (eg: I’m playing one now that can reach third octave F#). His chanters are fitted with a “tuning slide” which is tubing inserted in the reed seat, so you can slide the chanter reed in and out without fussing with waxed thread.
Again, some might say his pipes are on the loud side, but for session playing, I actually like the volume.
You could definitely learn to play the pipes using these!
Good luck.
JVF