Uilleann Pipe Buying Questions

Uilleann Pipes
1

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster, as the saying goes. :slight_smile:

As you can tell by the title of the thread, I have a few questions related to buying uilleann pipes, as well as uilleann pipes in general.

I’m planning to buy my first set of uilleann pipes, and I’m looking at a practise set. I’ve heard almost entirely positive things of David Daye’s chanter, so I’m really leaning towards getting one. My question is, are his bellows and bag also high-quality, or would I be better off sourcing them elsewhere? If so, what are your recommendations?

Also, are his drones well-regarded? If I made my own bag, or sourced one from another maker, what is the process for tying-in drones?

Finally, how far can you go when cobbling together a set? I’m going to guess that you want all the reeded pieces (chanter, drones, and regulators) to be made by the same maker, otherwise the reeds will have different pressures, and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to play all three together properly. Is this right, or is it possible to have, say, a homemade bag, a Thompson bellows, a Daye chanter, a set of Banba drones, and a set of Rogge regulators, and have it all work together?

Apologies if any of this has been covered in previous threads. I didn’t manage to find anything in the archives, but I might have missed something.

2

I found a Daye chanter to work fairly well to start out on. The reed managed OK through the extreme humidity changes of a northeastern U.S. house in winter. The bag and bellows, however, were not very useful; I’d suggest getting those elsewhere, which is what I had to do before I could really start playing. Later I got a Whitmer half set and while it takes more attention, I love how it plays. Good luck.

3

If we’re talking budgeting I’d much prefer to put the money in a good chanter with Daye bag and bellows over a Daye Chanter and good bag bellows. The Daye bag and bellows will work and won’t feel too insufficient til you add more reeds to the equation. I started on a Daye practice for the record.

4

Thanks for the information! This is what I was looking for.

Just to clarify, I hopefully will be able to add drones to this set sometime in the distant future, so whichever bag and bellows I get ideally would be capable of handling them.

5

This stability is the main reason I’m leaning strongly towards the Daye chanter. I live in Botswana, so weather will vary from cold and dry, to hot and dry, to hot and wet. I’m really wanting something that doesn’t give me too much grief. Are there other chanters out there that have this same reputation for stability?

6

I would think your main issue, taking into account the wild changes in temperature and humidity is with the reed. Learn all you can about reed shenanigising .
RORY

7

Thanks, I’m already learning all I can. Plus, I plan on having more than a couple spare reeds as backup for whatever I end up getting. I’ll probably try to learn how to make my own, as well…

8

Best thing is to take advice from the senior members of the Batwana uilleann pipers club , they’ve probably seen it all before.

RORY

9

I didn’t know there was an uilleann piper’s club in Botswana. Do they have a website? I haven’t been able to find one.

10

Contact Andreas Rogge, tell him your situation, and be prepared to spend a premium on actually getting a functioning reed to survive a trip to Africa. Start with a practice chanter. Banish ALL thoughts of budget sets, tweaking your instrument or “cobbling” together various parts of pipes - this approach will not serve you well with this instrument. Good luck.

11

This of course depends on the climate you’re in.

Here in parts of North America we have low humidity. David Daye reeds are made here, Rogge reeds are not.

I’ve had numerous beginners show up over the years. If they had a Daye chanter we could get to learning, if it was anything made elsewhere we first had to try to get the chanter to work. I had two beginners start at around the same time, one with a Daye chanter and the other with a Rogge chanter, and the Daye clearly outperformed the Rogge. If we had been in Germany I’m sure it would have been the other way round.

But as people are saying the rest of the Daye practice set is hopeless, with horrid bag, horrid bellows, and horrid connectors. So people have been getting Daye chanters and putting them with functional bag, bellows, and connectors to get a good-playing thing.

About cobbling together pipes my lord! I suppose in recent decades with the explosion of uilleann pipemaking and hundreds of newbies buying new sets it’s different, but in the old days I saw many pipers playing sets that were cobbled together. The stuff in the Main Stock might match but so often with a different chanter. You’d see drones and regs by different makers, sometimes even one of the regs by a different maker than the other two. (Think Joe McKenna.)

For many years I played a set with five makers present.

12

Thank you for the information, I was really curious about this.

Perhaps I should clarify a little more about the climate. I don’t have any way of measuring humidity, but I can provide temperature info. During the four months of winter, the temperature will be pretty stable, around the 60’s F. Gradually it will warm up throughout the eight months of summer. It wouldn’t be subject to any drastic changes in temperature throughout the day, or through the week. Temperatures should stay fairly stable, within 10 or 15 degrees F. During the hottest months, I think I can keep it right at or below 100F.

For about seven months out of the year, the humidity will remain quite stable, with everything being dry. Then, for the other five months or so, it will be quite humid. This will be a bit more drastic of a jump than the temperature, but it still shouldn’t be too sudden. During the five wet months, humidity should be fairly steady.

In summary, the pipes will experience a fairly wide range of temperatures and humidity throughout the year, but none of it will be sudden. From my limited understanding, I should gradually be able to tweak a reed to better perform in whatever season I’m going into, right?

I understand the horrid bag and horrid bellows, but how can connectors be horrible? Isn’t a connector just an airtight fitting that connects the hose between the bellows and bag, or the bag and chanter? In that case, wouldn’t thread to tighten the connection be all that’s needed to make it work?

13

I have two chanters from him and they are very stable. I have a bag and bellows from a different maker. I have his 3/8 drones. It has added to the overall experience and made learning more pleasant. I had a uilleann pipe teacher tie those into the leather bag. Speaking of bag, if you are going to get drones, then definitely get a higher quality bag.

14

Thank you for the information. I’m planning on a Daye chanter at this point. Probably the drones as well later on.

It seems that the more answers I get, the more questions I have. What’s a good source for bags and fittings for the bag? I see that NPU has various bags and blanks available. I do leatherwork and I have enough leather, I could probably make my own bag, but I don’t know where to get the fittings. The one-way valve in the blowpipe has me a bit nervous; that’s the sort of thing I’d rather have a professional see to. Can anyone recommend the bellows from NPU, or point me in a better direction for good-quality budget bellows?

15

I’d like to suggest you check out Carbony Celtic Winds https://carbony.com/. They make chanters, practice sets, and half sets, using carbon fiber.

Before I had purchased a chanter from Carbony, I had tried for over 4 months to get a hold off Dave Day, both through email and by telephone, but never heard back from him. This was early 2022. I’d signed up for a work shop with Mick O’Brien and was getting a little frantic to get a working chanter for the work shop, I have my own bag and bellows from my Pastoral set. I got hold of Rob Gandara, and in a very short time he supplied me with one of his carbon fiber chanters. To my ears, the carbony chanter sounded good and it passed the test when Mick O’Brien tried it out.

The carbon fiber will be the most stable of materials, and should do very well in Botswana. I found that Rob is very accommodating and a pleasure to work with.

Although, I decided to stick with my pastoral chanter due to hand issues. I recently I had one of the pipers from our local session over and let him give the Carbony chanter a try, He thought it sounded fine, considering it hadn’t been play in two years.

16

Thanks! I’ll check them out. The more options the merrier…

17

My 2 cents thrown in…
When I was getting going I played on a Rogge polyacetal chanter for a couple of years while I waited for him to make my ebony set. It was a great chanter and I actually wish I still had it. Sold and sold again…
I have had at least 4 Rogge concert reeds come through Manitoba, survive multiple (brutally dry) winters, and move on to a new location with the new owners reporting success. I still have one killer reed here that I kept despite not having a Rogge stick for it that I suspect would drop into a new chanter and play fine. Just to say, his reeds have been survivors in my experience.
The bag and bellows that came with the chanter when I got it were basic but functioned very well.
Unless things have changed dramatically from when I owned one, I would vouch that the polyacetal practise set at 770 Euro is a hell of a good instrument at a really good price. Not to mention Andreas has decades of experience behind his work. Without a doubt it would be my first choice for a bare bones budget.
Also to throw into the mix, Joe Kennedy in Canada and Tommy Martin in Ireland have both been making basic chanters at low price points lately. I think you’d pay more than a daye or Rogge plastic set but you’d get a first class instrument.
Best,
Jordan

18

I was actually just looking at Rogge’s practise set yesterday. It certainly sounds like it will do well for my needs. Thanks for the recommendation.

Does Joe Kennedy have a website, or does someone know his current price list and wait times? I can’t find any information about him online, but I really would like to check him out.

Martin pipes also look like a good option, especially since they’re are available right now. Choices, choices… :slight_smile:

19

I notice that you suggest that you are sometimes in the states. If so, you might check into Bruce Childress’ pipes. He makes practice sets and, while I’m not a piper, I’ve seen his work at the Pipers’ Gathering and heard positive comments on the practice sets as well as how easy it is to work with him.

Best wishes.

Steve

20

Joe keeps a pretty low profile online. No website. His email address is unionpipemaker@yahoo.ca
Just reach out and let him know what you’re after.