Uilleann Pipes wood, mounts, and tone

Uilleann Pipes
1

Hello everyone,

I’m from Oregon, and wanting to learn to play the Uilleann pipes. I play Irish music.
Now, an instrument is a partner for life, and I am wondering if myrtlewood is a good option for a pipes set.

In fact, what defines a wood as either usable or non-useable for a set of uilleann pipes? Could
myrtlewood even be used? I have been researching tons, and would either want to get a set in cocobolo/antler or ebony/some-other-mount, so far as i can tell. But I am a native of Oregon, proud of my heritage (Irish also), and IF myrtlewood is a possibility I would definantly LOVE to get the pipes done in myrtle. It’s so cool! It’s a great tonewood and i’ve played a few guitars in mrytle, and also worked with it.

Anyways, i’m new to this and i’m just asking questions out there.

Is anyone else here from Oregon?

I’ve narrowed it down to about six specific makers that i could like to choose from:
Marc Van Daal (I like his style)
Evertjan t’ hart (I like how he plays the pipes and his pipes look well-made, but there’s not a lot of info)
Martin Preshaw (I like the fact he has great sound samples on his webpage)
Bill Haneman (he makes beautiful pipes, and i really appreciate care he’s put into them)
Alan Burton and Geoff Wyatt (just seem like good solid makers of uilleann pipes)
Tim Benson and Stephanie Cornielius (They like in the USA, unlike the other makers)
Chris Bayley
And Koehler and Quinn

Any recomendations or comments or anything really.

Cheers’
Wyatt

2

Hi Wyatt

See I am on the list so better reply :slight_smile:

Best advice I can give is get yourself along to a pipers gathering, club or tional and see and hear sets by different makers and form an opinion from this. Sound clips on U Tube and websites are all very well but live is best and you will in a better position to see how an instrument plays. Some clubs have practice sets to lend out or at least use at their meetings to get an idea of how the instrument feels

Mostly I use Ebony, African Blackwood, Palo Santo and Box but Myrtle should be OK and personally have used apple, pear, cherry, laburnum and service which are of similar hardness. It is unlikely to be a wood uilleann pipemakers keep in stock and there could be a wait if the maker you choose has to buy it in specially and especially if it is not fully seasoned. Some of these medium density woods can be quite porous and will need the bores sealed. A timber that is good for strings is not neccessarily good for wind

At the moment I am working on a backlog of orders due to a severe health issue (allergy) that fortunately now seems to be sorted so there is a waiting list for my instruments. At the present time I am just adding names to my list to be contacted in turn when this is cleared.

Have a look at other US makers and also keep a watch on Pat D’Arcy’s Uilleann Obsession site http://www.uilleannobsession.com/classifieds.html for a good second hand set

Hope this helps

Chris

3

Tim Benson and Stephanie Cornielius & Brian Bigley are making good instruments and they are in the USA. Evertjan t’Hart is also making good pipes. Geoff Wooff (not Geoff Wyatt) & Kohler & Quinn have extremely long waiting lists last I heard, 12/13 years for a Wooff set I think. Check out the other pipemakers though, although I believe they all have waiting lists.

4

(not Geoff Wyatt)

Geoff Wyatt is working with Alan Burton : here

5

“Geoff Wyatt is working with Alan Burton : here” Mr. Gumby.

My mistake - I didn’t know Alan was working with a Geoff Wyatt - I thought Wyatt was meant to be Wooff :astonished:

Carry on

6

Have you met up with Sportingpitchfork (not his real name, but he posts under this one. Verryyyy knowledgeable and a good bloke. Lives still in Portland area methinks)?

I wonder if you are not over-thinking this dream/life partner-set thing. I would advise dating a variety of sets before you settle down with one. Y_ou many not even enjoy the uilleann pipes._ (I know I hate the things. I mean…love them and cannot live without them. Yes, that’s the ticket). There may be years of valuable playing and learning time lost if you are heart-set on a certain set, certain materials, by a certain maker blah blah bling bling blah before diving in. These things take time, and odds are there is a substantial queue ahead of you. Most of the respected pipers on the board here have had more than one set move through their hands before “settling down”. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think not.

Happily ‘married’ now (after playing the field),

7

Well you could try this Neil O’Grady full set in D and at $3000 Canadian, you would not likely lose money selling it on if you find something you like better in the future.


David

8

Get yourself a decent practise set and see how you do.
Obsessing over key touch shapes and timber at this point is a little silly. (You mentioned them in your post on the other board).
And as of right now, you have no basis in experience for insisting you’ll want a chanter with 7 keys. Absurd: I play (regularly) perhaps 6 tunes that require an F key, exactly 2 that require G#, 2 that require a B flat, and perhaps 2 that require the C nat key. And that’s after having played for 30 years. That’s 4 (four) keys. The other 99.9% do not require keys.
Remember it’s going to take you at least 5 years before you can play a tune with decent rhythm and tone. Don’t be getting ahead of yourself.

9

You didn’t say what part of Oregon you are from, but you might also consider your “local” pipemaker Brad Angus. He lives in Vancouver, WA, so if you are in the Portland /Salem area, he is very close and a wealth of information about pipes and piping.

10

The material that woodwinds are made of contributes so little to the tone that scientists can’t measure the difference. That’s not to say that there is no difference at all, simply that it can’t be measured or quantified.

Probably the majority of the difference between two woods is in the ear of the performer, and on one else. That is, the performer thinks it’s better, so he has more confidence, which translates into superior performance, so in that regard, whatever you think is better is for you. As my friend, the professional guitarist tells me, “if you believe that eating a banana makes you play better then eating a banana will make you play better. QED.”

By the same token, having an African Blackwood chanter makes me a better highland piper and improves my tone (but the difference is in my brain, not in the material – doesn’t make it any less so).

Now some woods are unsuitable for woodwinds, on account of not being stable, but that’s an entirely different issue. If I was going to have a set of pipes made, I’d want whatever wood the pipe maker thought was best (i.e., the best wood he has or can get) regardless of species. And the way an instrument maker thinks about a certain piece of wood might impacts his turning in similar ways that how a piper thinks about his chanter impacts his playing…

11

The material that woodwinds are made of contributes so little to the tone that scientists can’t measure the difference. That’s not to say that there is no difference at all, simply that it can’t be measured or quantified.

This is fantastic as like the majority of players I thought the choice of wood could give give a different tone and I never realised it was all in the mind. I was looking forward to getting my half set transformed into a full set but know the downside is that I am going to have get used to the extra weight of all those keys and extra pieces of African Blackwood… however not any more :slight_smile:

I am going to phone my pipemaker first thing tomorrow and get him to totally remake my set from a different tropical hardwood namely Balsa as it will light and easy to carry round and the tone will not suffer at all. Without the stress of trying to handle a heavy instrument I will become the best player around :astonished:

Any of the pipemakers on the forum care to comment

John

12

You can’t turn balsa wood.


RORY

13

You can’t turn balsa wood

Wrong answer :laughing:

From a woodworking forum
I worked machining balsa for a few years producing model aircraft components, to turn up a cylinder we used a lathe and a powered cutter on the toolpost, it was a semi auto set up, we had to get the cutter custom made, I would suggest for a “one off” to rough out with a rasp then move to a file then to abrasive paper etc. a dust mask is essential, you will look like snow man after you finish

I would imagine the drilling and reaming would be quite a challenge

John

14

I think there’s some very sage advice here, especially about getting on with the playing. I imagine planning your dream set is exciting and all, but given that you’re going to be on most anyone’s list for at least a little while, why not “date” a bit first? Get yourself a decent used practice or half-set and find out what’s what. If you start going to tionols, etc., you’ll see how many different kinds of pipes are out there, and your thinking may evolve entirely!

Of course, you could also contact some of these makers and see if they know of someone who’s selling one of their sets used … not to take work away from the makers but it just seems you should make sure you LIKE the danged things for a few years. Again, not to take work and income away from the makers who work so hard and have bills to pay, but it’s so sad to see someone sitting there with a lapful of bling that they can’t play.

FWIW, you can spend the money you save on reedmaking tools & tuition, because the cane’s the tonewood that counts most … i.e., the reeds are where the REAL tonal difference lies.

15

:laughing: at myself, getting all opinionated. Sorry about that. Anyway, don’t get me wrong – I’ve gotten all my gear sight unseen, and fortunately I’ve not been disappointed, especially since it’s all brilliant to play – but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t change one or two aesthetic bits if I could.

16

What Cathy said. Sage advice.

Find a used set and try it out first. A practice set or half set that was made by a reputable maker is a good start. Find a piper or pipe maker who can give the set a “tune-up”. Get some lessons from a piper, or at least find a piper nearby with whom you can commiserate.

It will be several years until you’re ready for regulators. Meanwhile, check out what other people are playing.

17

Sorry guys, I forgot to mention I am a musician.
I’m trying not to be to reckless with choosing an expensive instrument that I cannot play, but in my experiance I get along with every intrument I own. I can’t base my instrument’s make completely in abstract or concetual quilities of wood, asthetics, and tone, but I can brainstorm. An instrument IS a choice, and should be thought of well. In my experiance as a musician, the abstract and concetual qualities are the most essential to your playing of the instrument, but an instrument should not be thought of as wood, or mounts, or looks. When I do buy uilleann pipes, if I do, I don’t want them to be made from a pattern, but I want the maker to be able to delve outside the box, and really work with the intrument. That’s why I am concerned about key shapes, puck sizes, and all that other stuff. It really adds, because style is in the details.

First of all, the humility of music is not only for those who play it; it is for every soul seeking solace; and every life that is being shaped. Music can change lives, and thats what I expect it to. Music is joy, defiance, loss, and ultimantly peace. it is poetic, but so much deeper that high school poetry classes. it is a wine-dark purple flower in a starless garden, a cloudy moon above. It is a high-lit candle of joy, sifting under the star-flooded winter sky. it is more than a moment, but a lifetime whithin every second, and even the smallest word can be made huge, and can chage a life forever. If you don’t believe me that’s ok, but there is more to life than simply existing.

I’m just trying to gather as much information as possible and learn as much as I can.
I am worried still that myrtle might not be appropriate for pipes, and also since its really only found in Oregon and Cali, and it would most likely have to season… it might not be the best choice.
I might order a chanter in mrytle, and see how it goes, but if a se tcan be made out of somthing like pear, or maple, then myrtle should be fine… Right?

Anyways, any, and I mean, ANY, comments or extra ideas are greatly appreciated!

Cheers’
Wyatt

By the way Chris, thank you for your reply and I will keep everything you said in mind.
What i’m trying to do at the moment is just find out which direction this thing is taking me.

18

I find it very satisfying to inspire someone to do some research, keep up the good work elmek ,you may get there ,in the end.


RORY

19

Have you considered the colour of your bag cover at all? I’d put some thought into it as it could possibly affect your relation to the pipes on a ethereal level/dimension.

20

Did you miss the last paragraph?

“Now some woods are unsuitable for woodwinds …”

There is a famous scientific study that determined, beyond any real doubt, that flute players, if they cannot see the flute, cannot discern the difference between wood, silver, and platinum flute bodies.