Has anyone upgraded their half set by adding one reg and if so what reg did you get ? Cheers Mei
I suppose the obvious answer would be a tenor reg, although the baritone would be a close second.
The tenor gives you a little more scope for harmonies, but there’s something about being able to play along with the D sounding on the baritone.
Failing that, go for a double bass reg on it’s own. You’ll need a bigger case though!
Jon
I asked the same question when I was adding regulators and my pipemaker stongly recommended that I add the Baritone regulator firstly.
As soon asI collected my half set from my pipemaker, I asked about regs. He recommended the baritone as the first one ( when I received it I was very happy with that choice ) Much later he had both the tenor & bass regs.ready. So, on my experience, I would say, get the baritone reg. first.
Enjoy,
Marcus.
Save your money and upgrade to a 3/4 set.
But if Mei wants to apply the biological principle of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny to uilleann piping, he’d add just one, then get another later, no?
[quote= apply the biological principle of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny [/quote]
NPU DVD on Regs starts you off with the Baritone
John
Sorry, Kevin… I’d been in the codeine-laden cough syrup when I wrote that one (and wanted to yank Mark’s chain a little… 
). What I mean to say is that if Mei wants his personal development as a piper to follow the development of the pipes, he’d add one regulator first since I believe the historical record shows the link between the ancestral pastoral pipe and the uilleann pipes as such (and, according to conversations I’ve had with Jerry O’Sullivan and Bruce Childress, this first one was a tenor regulator). 
I did. The reg is a bugger to keep in tune and I’ve given up hope of it ever playing a B but nothing wrong with the theory. I’d do it again with a different set of pipes if suitably strapped for cash. Single regs were not uncommon on union/pastoral pipes in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kenna set I saw Ronan Browne playing at the Armagh festival has one reg, as did the pastoral set Ross Anderson was playing. I think a set or two of union pipes held by the National Museum of Scotland also have one reg.
(However, my personal favourite is the monster set with like six drones, made by Robert Reid of North Shields in 1830. It is on display for oggling purposes at the Piping Centre in Glasgow)
Okay, Khan, consider my chain yanked. I would like to point out, though, that if Mei upgrades to a 5/8 set, he will likely encounter a mild ergonomic setback should he one day add another reg or two. Obviously, pipes are expensive, and few are those that are fortunate enough to be in a position to buy a full set from the get-go. But, were money no object, (ha!) I would advise people to get a fine quality full set when they begin. They should, of course, only be playing the chanter for the first 6 months or year, but the drones and regulators will be in position, and the body’s geometry of playing will be in place when, at last, that first tenor drone is uncorked. This may well prove to save a lot of rearranging of the wrists, arms, legs, and back. Furthermore, having the full set of regulators, as opposed to the 3/4 arrangement, in place from the outset, will enable one to practice playing individual baritone regulator keys with the heel of the hand, lest the bass regulator prove to be “in the way” should it be added later.
I got my first full set very soon after starting out on a practice set. Alan Ginsberg, who sold it to me, said to eventually start with the baritone reg on its own, and to turn the other two regs away from each other. I believe this is what Seon McKeon advocates on the NPU DVD.
Anyway, it makes sense (if you can afford it) as you do get into the correct playing position from the start. I have seen quite a few pipers hunched up or leaning sideways while playing - not that they couldn’t play well, but it didn’t look quite right. Getting used to the extra weight involved was equally as hard as getting used to the control of bag and bellows and, as we all know, that is down to practice and familiarity. So my vote would be to go for the full set and just stick with it.
“So my vote would be to go for the full set and just stick with it.”
Uhhhh… That is easier said than done. Of course I would rather have a shiny full set than my trainwreck of a 5/8 set (chanter is okay but if I can get two out of three drones working, that is a brilliant day and rarely happens). Who wouldn’t. But not all of us have much of a choice.