Hi
I’ve got a bag that’s too small for me; very uncomfortable to play like that. I’m going to replace it, but I wonder what would be the right neck size.
What size do you have for the neck of the bag, related to your own size?
Thanks
Philippe
Follow these previous bag discussions:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=14260&highlight=bag&sid=e18afe77b786cd6889a03a5ee3b9a365
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=9881&sid=5f50eff5fd09896577b64af32f0020fa
For neck length, cork off the chanter stock, inflate the bag and place the body on you leg and hold the set in your normal playing position. Hold the chanter also in its normal position. Have someone hold the neck toward the chanter and measure the extra length needed. I play a longer neck and others trying my pipes have to twist the neck to one side to play the set.
A larger bag = less bellows work.
Ted
See? An expert finally weighs in. Ted…we had this discussion last year, before you were around, and many were slow to believe that the size of the bag made any difference. Maybe Tony can find the link for the previous discussion. You really should read it.
Here’s the link…“Bag size - different air requirements?” by Tony.
Let me smack the two of you around a bit 
Seriously, I can understand engineering/geometry about a larger bag needing less arm movement and having more reserve and the down side of it taking longer to inflate in the event you run behind in strokes to fill it… and how (possibly more important to the equasion) a good set of bellows makes the whole thing run smoothly.
I’m so cramped for time lately that I haven’t been able to (though I’d love to) experiment with vinyl making different bags to see it for myself and not leave things to the imagination.
Lorenzo… got some free time ?
I’ll mail you a few yards of ‘Nauga’ your choice of color!
Naugh, I have no time either, as I’ll be starting to build a new house shortly. I’ll stick with my leather bag, thanks anyway. I have a good friend who owns an upholstery shop in town where I can get all the material I’d ever want.
I actually have a naugahyde bag around somewhere, one that Patrick Sky made to go with a practice set of his I use to have. I didn’t like the bag, but I haven’t tried a bigger one, or one with stretchier material…which might be interesting.
Your arm is also open wider on a bigger bag == more leverage. Try playing with your bag half-full…it hurts.
Cheers,
Calum
Unless your set takes so little air you don’t need a big bag. Wooff pipebags are like little pillowcases. A Quinn B set I played had a similiar tiny bag.
Being an engineer by training, I can’t resist this one either.
Assume there are no leaks. The amount of pumping (i.e. air going in) will equal the amount of air going out (through the chanter/drones/regulators). The size of the bag has nothing to do with the amount of air.
The bag creates a reserve of air, the larger it is, the less the air going to the chanter, etc. will be as a percentage of the total volume.
This will just allow you to go longer between pumping, not reduce the amount of pumping. And as has been previously said, give you better leverage.
Cheers! 
-gary
You are correct that the same amount of air goes out through the set, regardless of the bag size. The larger bag gives more leverage (depends on your body shape/size) and is more comfortable, and easier to control. I know Geoff Wooff disparages the larger sized bags as being unnecessary, and for air supply that is correct, but the smaller sized bags he prefers are nowhere near as comfortable or easy to hold for me.
djm
It’s not so much the size of the bag, but more the way you pump the bellows…
Sounds kinda sexual, doesn’t it??
…Or you could try playing it half-empty if you have a gloomier outlook on things.