There’s no doubt that Geoff wooff make great union pipes and narrow bore concert pitch pipe . So with all his accumulated experience and expertise is it not about time that he put all that knowledge into producing a wide bore concert pitch set that he would be proud of.How would that set sound?
RORY
My respect for Mr. Woof’s abilities and knowledge is about as high as it possibly could be, but seems like the man most versed in narrow bore lore would be the last person to ask to make a wide bore chanter? I’m sure he could, but I’m imagining he’d have done it by now if he had the interest.
To answer your question, it would be both beautiul and bountiful.
i am happy he didn’t
Ah , Just wishful thinking on my part. I know Geoff dislikes wide bore pipes and wouldn’t have anything to do with them, but just think what advances he might have made to the instrument if he had applied his vast store of knowledge and experience. We all know that wide bore is the future of the instrument so it will take some other genius to advance the work of O,Brien and Froment.
Just as a sidebar was Alain Froment just one man or did he have a team of elves helping him in his workshop .Working in stainless steel making top shelf professional level pipes in all pitches . four reg ,five regs ,multi drone sets with a classic aesthetic steeped in tradition, will we ever see his like again?
RORY
Thanks for the compliments lads !
Indeed I have no interest in making the Wide Bore Pipes, many other makers are doing very well at that subject. I am happy to continue producing sets in the manner of the pre-famine makers for as long as I am able.
Best regards,
Geoff.
I remember watching an interview you gave, maybe twenty years ago and you expressed a real dislike for wide bore pipes, do you still dislike them or do you think they have gotten a bit more to your liking.
RORY
I still do not like them, too loud for my ears . I don’t know if I am right but they appear to be getting louder, at least from some makers. The thing that bothers me really, a bagpipe is a fixed volume instrument so it is difficult to find a loudness that suits all situations but, making this instrument louder is to its detriment, socially. Drowning out everyone in a session does not make friends with the other musicians or piper’s neighbours .
Geoff.
In my opinion, flat pipes are great for solo piping, but for sessions, it’s hard to beat the buzz from a nice bright wide-bore D. Keep the damn banjos in their place. 
Thanks Geoff for your reply, one question and if you don’t want to answer thats fine bearing in mind your previous reply. Out of all the wide bore pipes you have heard is there any that come close to being pleasant to your ears.
Say for instance Liam Og’s romesome set .I say that because I remember being in the London pipers back in the 90’s and that set was considered to be the quintessential uilleann pipe sound among many in the club. Saying that I sometimes though the chanter sounded a bit thin . I now prefer the rounder sound of some of O’Brien’s chanter and Reed set ups.
RORY
PJ ,
if one has to play Pipes with Banjos I can see your point but that would not be my idea of a nice session. When I do join a session I play the concertina, an instrument where the volume can be controlled by the operator.
Rory,
it appears there is a generational thing happening. I don’t think the Leo Rowsome generation were much into loud pipes, I have played his set, and listening to Martin Roachford who did not like harsh pipes.
I was quite surprised by the loudness of Mickey Dunne’s set so I assume this is the sort of rounder tone to which you refer. During the early '70’s , where I came in, the three most prominent pipers , Paddy Maloney, Liam O’Flynn and Paddy Keenan, fall into two distinct tonal camps. Maloney and Flynn staying well with the tones of Leo whilst Paddy Keenan had a much rounder , almost flute like, tone. Perhaps life was getting louder, young people being affected by Discos and rock concerts etc. I definately prefer the more reedy tones of Maloney and Flynn but perhaps the rounder tone is more suitable if one wants more volume. A sharp tone at considerable volume would not be pleasant! I feel there is something lost by this broad tone and heavier pressure reed set up and that it causes a diminution of tonal variance with fingering alterations. My first ten years of pipemaking, listening all day long to Ennis , Clancy and Reck on tape loops as I worked and then trying to achieve their vocal qualities in my playing of the C Harrington and trying to get the sets I produced to have those same abilities, will have coloured the way I perceive the pipes for sure.
Other things I do not like include bass drones that sound like a truck grinding up a steep hill in a low gear. I prefer the bass to be purring like a cat eating liver!
Who of today’s makers produces a Wide Bore Pipes that I would like ? Many I am sure.
PS:
apparently one or two makers are developing a Medium Bore D and speak well of it. Perhaps this might be part of an answer for some pipers who visit a variety of sessions, to carry several chanters of varying loudness ?
Martin Rochford, who did not like harsh pipes.
At one point Martin said my C set sounded similar to Johnny Doran’s pipes in volume and tone. Listening to the Doran recordings, you have to wonder how correct his memory of Doran’s sound was.
He also preferred his McFadden reeds to his Leo reeds. At one point he was swapping reeds in his chanter to get our opinions on which were sweeter (which was probably to see how our thoughts lined up with his own, in the way that generation asked questions they already knew the answer to, just to figure out where you stood).
“I prefer the bass to be purring like a cat eating liver!” 
Would Tom Aebi’s chanter based on Kennedy’s design quality as a medium-bore D chanter? (It certainly does not seem like a wide-bore or a narrow-bore.)
PJ,
An opinion on anybody’s chanter would depend on what one is listening to, a recording, a live acoustic performance or playing the chanter oneself. So much also depends on the reed and who is playing it; some people keep the chanter as closed as possible while others play more open.
In relation to D set volume, it’s of potential interest to note that the Reid 1936 set as played by O’Flynn had “narrow bore” drones as part of its design spec.
That may speak volumes (no pun) about what Sean Reids view was.
M
A good wide bore chanter should be able to accept reeds that will produce various volumes from earsplittenboomerpipes to softcottonwooltonepipes.
More so than narrow bore , which can be very forgiving. The tone of WB is very reed dependant . Which can be a double edged sword because if they are reeded badly they can sound horrendous.
RORY
I’m on the fence about getting a concert set or a Flat set, concert sets seem much more widely available, but Flat sets, there’s something about them, I feel they suit me much better than any concert set would.
Get a flat set and keep a spare D chanter in your case.
Knew I made the right call then. After ten forcking years, I finally bit the bullet and have a full flat set on order. A full set of C sharp pipes by Andreas Rogge