Have a look at this boys.
Lovely set, mind you I haven’t heard it, but It looks good.
Has anyone heard of the makers name before?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16226&item=3738392464&rd=1
Tommy
Ok I take that back. He is listed on the Sean Reid Society Journal as being active from 1826 to 1845.
Although this could be dates from when he rented/owned a work shop at one particular address.
Very interesting though to see there were so many pipe-makers active in Britian at the early stages of the instruments developement. It really was instrument of high standings in the nobility of pre-famine western Europe.
Royce, you’ll have to swap your current head-gear for a top hat or at least a Bowler to keep all this going. 
D’Arcy, shave that beard.
High collars and bow ties all round.
Ba-bum-tisch
Tommy
WILD SET!
Holy shit!
Whatever genius who worked on these before used copper tubing for the bends of the bass drone. Brilliant. Lots of bad restoration visible - the stock cup for instance. Some of the ferrules look modern as well, and too bad of course that the chanter has been hosed. These should be put back together proper.
I think Scott worked with MacGregor, another London pipemaker, on occasion - some instruments have both names stamped. The extension on the bass regulator appearing on an earlier set with only the four banks of regulator keys is very interesting - perhaps it was added later, of course, but maybe they were putting these on sets from a very early stage. The set is also stamped “Inventor.” Of what, one wonders.
Round keypads, ala Wooff. Wooff is ala Scott, I mean. Northumbrianish. Moloney regs had round pads but this wasn’t done on chanters, right?
If the regs are OK the sets gots to worth the reserve price, I know you’ll probably need a new chanter,bass drone bends, bag,reeds, and a bit work and thats gone to cost around £1200 to be spent on them but still,or
you could do the work your self if your a pipemaker which would cost you only your time,so maybe its not such a bad deal?,a full set for around £3000 all told and with Ivory fitting, got to be worth £4000 when all the works done.so has anyone any Idea if the regs are OK on this, if so maybe they will let us kwow. might try and find out myself. off we go.
Well all and fine but we still do not know what the Reserve Price is. Who would ever have expected a set like this to become available, though? Exciting times!
Money, and instant access to a universal audience, may reshape the world. Just the thought of it may draw many old items out of peoples closets, or even their collections.
As this sale is being conducted for Alan Ginsberg, by his brother, I imagine it won’t go cheap. The ad says “the chanter has been severely disturbed in the bore and the finger holes.” Shouldn’t that be fixable, esp the fingerholes? And, isn’t there a special compound that can be used to partially fill the bore and redrill? Apparently Alan doesn’t want to tackle it. Looks like it might need a new wooden reed cap for the chanter. Interesting alternate thumb note (key above top finger hole on front). Looks like the key is made to play with the left index finger.
I’d like to hear this thing buzz.
Hey Lorenzo,
How is he supposed to know the exact dimensions and various knubs and knolls within the bore? Even if there was an exact copy it would be an almost impossible task.
PD.
I mean can’t the chanter be restored somehow? Of course it would be impossible to match the original, but it would be wonderful to keep the original chanter (outer) and redo the insides. Surely there’s a way.
Lorenzo,
As we say about people who have “sporterized” what might have been highly-collectible military rifles, the only way to fix that chanter is to set the the time machine to “one day before Bubba.”
No E
Depending on how severe the gouging in the bore, seems wood would be a hundred times easier to fill and redrill than metal. Getting a 17" Bnat chanter to play at Bnat again doesn’t seem that difficult of a task, unless someone has tried to make a wide bore D out of a narrow bore Bnat! 
I doubt that’s the case though. Usually, someone is trying to tune certain notes and they gouge the bore out to raise the pitch in a particular area.
BTW, that key I referred to in the above post, as an alternative to the thumb note, looks like it’s actually lined up above the thumb note. Must be a high E or Eb (using D chanter language).
That chanter don’t look right to me guys 
, I think its been shortened at the bottom,when I go to enlarge the single picture with two close ups of the chanter it will not enlarge, it throws up the picture of the drones and regs, it says the chanter is 17"inches in length, I think maybe it was 17.75inch originally,but has been altered to play up around C thats why the bore and holes have tampered with, C chanter lenghts are around 16.50inches,its the bottom end? it just not in purportion with the rest of the chanter.but I could be wrong, I’d be
very wary guys.all the best
Hey reedman,
You have to click “next” on the enlarged images on Ebay to see the full range. I’ve also saved these photos to my website for posteriority so they won’t fall into oblivion after the auction.
I just love that old brass! It looks like gold!
Patrick.
Too bad you couldn’t match up this set and the Benedict Koehler - Benefit for Jerry O’Sullystone - chanter to go with it. Might be a bit odd though. (S’okay Paul keep drinking! 
)
Actually that’s a key for obtaining e’‘’, in the third octave. The Cnat key being fitted on the side of the chanter is something I’ve never seen before. Bb is in the back, great for lots of grim tunes.
Unfortunately the chanter has been quite thoroughly hosed, here is a description from the seller:
“Hello
The chanter is 17 inches long as stated in additions to the auction notice. The chanter looks as though someone has tried to run a drill through from the foot end and has added two finger holes, one 2 and 7/8ths of an inch the other 4 and 1/16 of an inch from the foot. At the foot end the bore is 5/8ths of an inch and off centre and at the other 1/4 of an inch. All the ivory seems to be natural ivory and the other bores appear to be OK.
It will be impossible to export outside the European Union due to CITES embargoes.
I have attached a scan of the foot of the chanter.
Best regards.
Mike Ginsberg.”
The “scan of the foot of the chanter” shows that the bore is as wide as the ivory mount itself. I don’t think it’s quite that simple to just fill in a bore, unfortunately. Filling in and revoicing holes can be done, Ken McLeod had to do this with a Kenna C chanter. Perhaps a bunch of wires in the bore could get you on the way to bringing the chanter somewhat back to life. But the best solution would be a new chanter with a close approximation of what the original bore most likely had: 3.75mm throat, 10.1mm bell perhaps.
He’s quite off about being unable to export these pipes, right? Antiques are clear of the board, and this is unquestionably older than 100 years, which is still the cutoff point, innit? 1826-1845, like it says above. This looks much older if you ask me.
That set could be easily shipped, that set and ivory look very old and a Customs agent would agree.
People have plugged up holes in chanters with the same wood, different colored wood, and ivory. The trick is getting the holes right.
On one Egan set, the throat had been opened up for volume many, many years ago - very common to see that. Someone recently used Superglue Gel to build up the throat and then re-drilled it.
I’m telling you this set has been Butchered,I don’t believe a maker who
can woodturn this good and make lovely regs like thee’s would stick a bass return bend like that on the end 
, the drones have been shortened, this set has seriously been butchered, the only way anyone can save this set is to hope, that the butcher has not altered the regs in any way. I’ll telly ya!. No wonder the tops missing or you would then see then how much the chanter would be out of proportion with the bottom end,even the ferrule is missing from between the ivory’s at the throat area of the top of the chanter. after looking closer at this set I think the chanter’s oringinal length was 17.50inches a little sharp of Bnat and they have’nt been able to reed it up. I don’t think I would be far wrong!. This sort of thing really fecking annoy’s me spoiling sets like thee’s. 
Would the butcher please read the verse below and take heed. 
Sorry. 
Just noticed the ferrule is there at the throat area but it still don’t look right. I’ll have to learn how to chill out more, Ooow!. 
Here is another email from the seller:
“Hi Kevin
I have called the CITES department via the UK Customs and Excise to be told that antiques or any item containing ivory come under the rules, it will be impossible to obtain the relevant certificates to export outside the EU. I asked several times if this even covers antiques and the answer was yes.
I have had someone from Canada telling me it is illegal to import ivory there and items containing ivory have been destroyed.
I do not know what the answer to the problem of getting them outside the EU is unless you can pick them up and take them as hand baggage and take the risk of Customs not impounding them!!
Regards.
Mike.”
Thank you Customs Nazis. It seems the only solution to buying these overseas is to pick them up in person.