Since there are so incredibly many woods, even though i’ve seen about 10-15 so far that are actually used for uilleann pipes, and there are also different kind of pitches for Uilleann pipes (flat / concert pitch), what kind of woods are good for what kind of pitch instrument and even more important, why are they good woods for an uilleann pipe?
I see that wood like ebony is used a lot, but it’s becoming more scarce i’ve read. what other woods are there that are good to make uilleann pipes with? and also what do those woods offer?
I know that ebony offers a steady, crisp sound, but how about plumwood, boxwood and cocobolo for example? what do these kind of woods do with an uilleann pipe?
(mind you: if you have something nice to tell about other woods, please do!!)
I hope my question it not too vague, basically wondering what woods (may be any kind) offer to an uilleann pipe in terms of sound.
I would suggest your choice of maker/design is probably a more important influence on the sound that will come from the instrument than your choice of wood, so it’s probably wise to look at that in detail first.
Thank you for your suggestion. I understand the maker and the design of the pipes have influence on the pipes as well but i’ve come the point where I am thinking about what kind of wood works for uilleann pipes, and more importantly the effects on the sound through wood. Several woods appeal to me regarding sound and looks, which makes it more difficult to come to a good conclusion. I’d like to have a better understand of what woods can do with the sound of pipes.
I understand the maker and the design of the pipes have influence on the pipes as well
The point I was trying to make that it’s not a matter of ‘as well’, maker and design are the prime overruling influence.
In other words, two sets by the same maker in different woods will be much more similar to each other than two instruments in the same wood by two different makers ever will be.
I dont know. But maybe they think they are going to get a certain sound because of the wood or maybe they like the look of a certain type of wood, either way they are going for an inferior choice.
I wouldn’t say that anything but ebony is inferior. I like rosewood in concert pipes. That includes cocobolo and Brazilian kingwood. Some prefer rosewood to ebony for concert pitch. I like the mellow, buttery sound of box as well. Geoff Wooff found kingwood to be similar to ebony as a tone wood. Burmese blackwood is a new kid on the block. It is reported to be similar to African blackwood, which is too bright for concert pitch pipes. While the maker is most important, timber choice does influence tone. There are different ebonies as well and variation in tone is noted among the different types by the makers, including Geoff Wooff.
This is the subject of many religious wars: you’ll find similar threads across the C & F boards, especially this one & the Flute Forum. Sorting wheat from chaff is difficult and subjective, even more than usual.
So, nothing beats getting different instruments into your own hands, and deciding which woods you like best. I love the soft-edged tone of my W. Sweet A flute in maple, even though maple’s an easily-dented, plain-grained wood that gets no respect in uilleann circles.
I’m no expert, so I can’t say positively that I like it because of the maple. If Mr. Sweet had to make an instrument of particle board, I’m pretty sure he’d figure out how to make it sound good – props to Mr. Gumby’s characteristically sound advice – though the offgassing might kill you first. Anyhow, since I like how my maple flute looks, feels, and sounds, I have happy feelings about maple. Your mileage may vary, caveat emptor, semper ubi sububi, etc. etc.
Many people do seem to agree that harder materials (ebony, delrin, blackwoods, metal) tend to yield a brighter tone, and softer materials (boxwood, maple, fruit-woods) often give a warmer/softer tone. But even these broad generalizations are easily, frequently, and vigorously disputed. [sigh]
it was not my intention to start a flame war between what’s good or bad, my sincere apologies if it looked that way.
Merely wondering why many people choose for other woods than ebony, and why. There must be a reason that somebody prefer a softwood over a hardwood, or cocobolo instead of ebony, or whatever reason. If it’s purely because the looks, I understand, but since wood also has influence on the sound, I was wondering in what kind of ways .
I’m not looking for a clear answer 'cause I know there isn’t any. I am looking for answers about what wood does to the sound of uilleann pipes. soft, mellow, warm, crisp, louder volume, or whatever.
for example: why would I pick ebony over cocobolo, or why would I take plumwood over ebony? etc etc perhaps people have to say something about their choice of woods (different opinions are welcome!)
FWIW, Joe Kennedy uses applewood sometimes (at least one full C and B set, and I think some D stuff, even). I think part of the reason is that it’s mellower, part of it is that a lot of the older makers I guess used fruitwood sometimes, and part of it is that he had a good supply of it.
I have a C chanter in boxwood and a B set in ebony from Joe - the C chanter is way brighter sounding than the B chanter, and not brightness due to pitch, but brightness of tone. So it definitely has more to do with the design (and the reed!) than the wood. I should try swapping reeds to see what sort of tone carries over. Probably quite a bit. The C chanter reed is a fairly hard reed (by my request).
I picked boxwood for my concert chanter because I’d played another boxwood chanter by the same maker and loved how light it felt. I’ve since played an ebony chanter by the same maker and really didn’t notice a big difference in the tone. Overall, it pretty much felt like I was playing my own chanter.
As Mr. Gumby says, the design is the key factor, and from there I’d agree with Nico that reeding is a major influence. You reed the chanter you’ve got, after all.
I also have an ebony C# chanter and a … plumwood, I think? … C chanter by two different makers. The ebony C# chanter has the roundest, sweetest tone of the three!
I also have a boxwood flute and I wouldn’t say it’s wildly mellower-sounding than blackwood flutes by the same maker.
All that said, my next chanter is going to be ebony because the maker has a stock of gorgeous ebony, and I just like the look of it.
Ebony sure is a very nice looking wood. You’d never hear me say otherwise! ! But from what I get from all responses is that the type of wood doesn’t really matter, or only marginally.
but then it also wouldn’t matter what kind of wood is used for a set of pipes, correct?
Nice article! from what I can conclude out of the story is that the statement “ebony is superior to other woods” is subjective because you think it is, right?
I’ve known of faulty conclusions re:how wood sounds, to be mistakenly drawn by judging how the reed sounds. In otherwords, I’ve heard bright sounding Boxwood chanters, and dull sounding blackwood chanters all due to the reed.
To formulate some solid aural data would mean takng a great reed, and putting it into a variety of chanters to really hear the differenece.
! But from what I get from all responses is that the type of wood doesn’t really matter, or only marginally.