I’m not the vendor:
Asking $5,000 for a half set (with extra A drone). Fully keyed chanter. Apparently the drones are still being made - that’s why the set pictured is a practice set but the sale is for a full set.
Anyone know the vendor?
Humidity caused the brass sleeve to come loose? What’d it do to the wood!
I’m a big fan of Tim’s work (especially non-blackwood sets), but if the set’s not finished you could be in for a wait. I’m surprised the seller’s trying to sell an unfinished set. That would personally scare the bejeezus out of me unless I was dealing directly with the pipemaker.
$5k for a half set is scary enough. 
Tim Britton here.
The “vendor” is the owner, a very reputable man who has a had a sudden shift of priorities come upon him that compel him to let the set go.
The drones should be completed by early next week.
In my experience, no matter how many years I season the wood and wait between boring, rough turning and finishing, the ferrules will invariably lossen slightly after the first Winter and can easily be snugged up with glue. The exception to this would be if their final residence was in a damp climate such as Ireland.
You may research the options that this set represents on my website at www.uilleanpipes.com where you will find that the current price for what amounts to a deluxe half set with extra reeds is just over $6200. There is plenty of evidence there to support the cost. Those harbouring attitudes to the contrary are wlecome to make their own pipes. Paying extra for immediate delivery instead of the usual two year wait would be considered a bargain to some. Unfortunately, none of those have stepped forward. I have been attempting to sell this set for about a month and a half at the current new price but although I had a taker and many interested, no one was prepared to follow through at that price on short notice.
Happy piping!
Tim Britton
Your work is gorgeous, Tim, and your phrasing the epitome of class (and I mean that about your piping as well)–with all due respect, though, there are more options when obtaining a set of pipes than buying them from you or making them yourself. Without a doubt, the information you’ve provided here has made the pending sale a very secure matter.
Josh,
thanks for the compliments. Dare I say that the best makers’ prices are on a par with mine.
BTW, the accounting of prices as given on the eBay listing is inaccurate on a number of counts. I have corrected the lister. $6205 would include all the accompanying bits.
Tim - do you have any soundfiles of your pipes (not necessarily the set for sale) that you could post?
I can attest that I personally think they sound gorgeous. Though I don’t have any sound files on this computer. I’m sure some of Tim’s performances are available on the net. There’s nothing quite like hearing a master player playing his own (master maker’s) set.
Thanks again for your kind compliments. I have some sound files on my computer some part of which will eventually end up o my website. For now, I don’t know how to post them here. If someone would be so kind…
Incidentally, I tried to demonstrate on a recording the effects on tone and volume of opening and closing a reed but what was in person quite obvious turned out to be a little too subtle to be portrayed accurately on even a very high quality recording.
I have written about the effect of reeds and chanter acoustics on my site, in the FAQ section and elsewhere. Bear it in mind, not to mention the player. In general, I would characterize my pipes and reeds as being very responsive and clear toned as opposed to what I call “internalized”, similar to what is heard when saying “aaaahhh” as opposed to “uuuuuu.” This comes from the chanter being a little larger in the upper half of the bore although the throat and bottom are normal to slightly small. Also the reeds are made with extremely tight tolerances, and are gouged a little thinner to begin with, with a relatively short narrow head of 1" x 15/32", with the “V” extending all the way to the winding which is VERY tight and does NOT go beyond the staple end. This makes for a rigid but flexible, very responsive clear tone. Careful shaving can tailor the tone to ones liking.
Convert the files to MP3 and post them in the Other Forum. (Click here)
wool dew.
have done.
Some very nice piping. the C chanter sounds great.
Thanks. I’m proud to say that every note is dead on in tune with the drones, at least that day… 
Unlike many commercial recordings, there’s no EQ or other sweetening processing on any of those cuts, and the mic and preamp are very neutral, perhaps a bit bright on the very top end above 10kHz. The reverb on the Wounded Hussar cut is natural (recorded in a church).