Do what you guys do best throw in your opinions on Nick Whitmer practice sets.
Basically I am looking to get started and would like to hear some opinions on Nick Whitmer practice sets. As many of you know I have been around the board awhile so I am not to (un-educated :roll:) I was thinking that they might provide a good entrance into uilleann pipes, From which point I could move on. 
Thanks Irishduffy
Website:
http://www.lightlink.com/nwhitmer/
If you are looking to get started you are good with just about anything, IMHO. (Do stay away from the cheap stuff from Pakistanā¦but you already knew that.) :roll:
If you are wanting to learn, my thought is get hold of whatever you can as quickly as you can! I got started on a Neil OāGrady practise set and it worked out fine for learning on. If Nick Whitmer is closer to you, and you can get a set real quick, then go for it!
Paul
From all accounts that I have heard regarding Nick Whittmerās pipes, starting out on one would be a good idea. Gary W. (Snoogie), started out on one, and I imagine heād be a fella to consult about this.
It was already mentioned, but Iāll repeat it, donāt go for plastic, mouth blown or ābudget setsā that have solicited ill commentary (ad nauseum) within this forum.
Good luck Duffy,
That is not even a option 
although I did see this great deal on a alain froment set on ebay darn good price also, 18 of them were up for sale.
They arrived while I was out!! I have to collect from Courier office
Wooo Hooo!! Well, what are you waiting for, go collect them!! 
glad to hear
Great to hear Ben. I am curious as to how much that set weighs. It looks quite heavy.
Congratulations, Ben. You must be beside yourself! I am very happy for you and Iām glad that the set has ended up with such a good piper.
Best,
Paul
Yippee!
j.i.
at the risk of sounding like a broken record, where are you? that makes all the difference.
meir
Hi Irishduffy,
I have a Nick Whitmer practice set that I would like to sell. I bought them six years ago, with the dream of taking them up, but it never happened. I would rather someone be using them. The chanter is blackwood and the bag is leather, as I believe all of his pipes are. The are in perfect condition. I am looking for $700 for them. I am in eastern Connecticut. You can contact me at 860-367-0049 or boyfromthefuture@fastmail.fm.
Peace,
Abe Karl-Gruswitz
DISCLAIMER: Iām not a professional piper, have only been involved with piping for a couple of years, and playing pipes for 14 months.
My purpose here is to present a balanced review of this makerās chanter and practice set in response to IrishDuffyās question, not to in anyway be inflamatory, derogative, or self serving. I have no connection to Nick Whitmer in any way (financially or otherwise)..other than I just happened to find one of his practice sets for sale when I was in the market.
I do have my Whitmer practice set up for sale, so you might say Iām biasedā¦however, my reasons for selling are that I purchased a narrow bore D 1/2 set and:
That being said, if the set doesnāt sell, Iām perfectly happy to keep it for the forseeable future as a backup chanterā¦or even someday to play at sessions when I want something a bit louder than my narrow bore D.
REVIEW*********
Iāve had nothing but good experiences with Nick and his pipes. I bought the practice set I have from someone who had bought it for their sonā¦and then I believe he lost interest in the pipes after a year or two.
I had them shipped to Nick from the seller and he made a new reed, swapped the bag to a left handed bag, and shipped them on to me in a couple of days. I paid for the new bag, reed and shipping chargesā¦but no labor to make the changes.
Nick was responsive to emails and very professional to do business with.
The chanter has blocks for keys, but no keys at this time. The design is straight forward, and has some added turnings at the top and bottom of the wood for decoration as well as ferrules (is that what the lines turned into the brass are called?) on the windway cap for interest.
The finish is smooth and the turnings are well cut. Overall, a good looking chanter.
I hadnāt played it for 11 months after getting the Sloan narrow bore d chanter, so I was surprised at how light the Whitmer chanter felt. The wide bore Whitmer D has much thinner wood than the narrow bore Sloan D as well as not having the extra hardware of windway shutoff key and two other keys I had added to the Sloan chanter.
The reed of the Whitmer chanter plays very easily (thats good for a beginner), but the back D is seriously out of tune. The back Dās been out of tune pretty much since I got it, but Iāve never really done anything to try and correct itā¦before I got experienced enough to know it wasnāt right and what to do about it..I got the Sloan 1/2 set.
Iāll be working on a new reed for it, and will see what happens with tuning and such after that before I pass final judgement on it.
But I wouldnāt consider a chanter which needs tweeking for a sharp back D a serious flaw, as most chanters out there have some tape or rushes stuck up 'em to fix one issue or anotherā¦and a new reed may fix itā¦the reed in it was only played for 4 months before sitting for almost a year.
The chanter has a decent tone and is responsive. By responsive, I mean that it can keep up with any cuts or graces that Iām able to put in thereā¦Iām certainly no speed demon, but still I donāt believe there are any issues with this area.
The tone is good and solid and on par with many other wooden chanters Iāve heard. This chanter does not have the richness of tone that some of the āfamousā makers haveā¦but the tone is much better than the penny chanters Iāve heard, as would be expected for the difference in price.
(Iām not trying to be critical of the penny chanters, they are made for a lower price range than the Whitmer set..you pay more, you get more)
The set has several features that I like. There are hooks on the bellows waist and arm strap which allow a āquick releaseā in addition to the adjustment buckles. The bellows has a pad on the both sides of the bellows. The pads are cloth covered and velcroād in place. I assume so you could change their position or take them off to wash them.
The only area on the set where I feel Nick could make an improvement would be to make the straps a little beef-ier, they seem a bit thin, but it doesnāt cause a problem in any way and I wouldnāt say they are so thin as to be ācheeseyā in any way.
The bag is a McHarg. Enough said, a great bag with plenty of volume.
Where the reed staple inserts into the throat of the chanter it is the perfect size for a good fit on the staple. The reed can be inserted in or pulled out while maintaining a good seal on the reed and I like the way this works. This may be the norm for many chanters, but I havenāt looked in detail at any others besides my Sloan chanter. The Sloan chanter requires some hemp around the base of the reed to allow adjustment.
Overall, the Whitmer set is a good servicable practice set with decent tone and is well made.
As I said at the beginning, Iām perfectly happy with it and if I donāt sell it, would be fine with keeping it. Which is one reason Iāve not tried too hard to sell itā¦I offered it for sale on this board back when I got the half setā¦intended to put it on eBay and never did.
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=18523
Hopefully this helps and doesnāt cause too much of a flame war!
Regards,
Gary
The first pipes i ever played were nicks back in the mid 90ās whilst living across the mountain from him in virginia. nick is to be blamed for getting me going years ago, and we have crossed paths ever since.
bellows, drones, and chanters of nickās are quite excellent. he does not really make regulators except for himselfā¦ seem to remember an E regulator at the east coast tionol last year that he was experimenting with. drones are inventive and compact, and his chanters sound and play quite nicely. not as bright as say benedictās work, but not as tonally dull (not boring, just not as buzzy) (edited because i forgot the rest of the sentence like an idiot) AS KIRKāS. I PLAY BOTH MYSELF, AND ENJOY THE DIFFERENCES.
nick is very accessible (if not at times a bit grumpy : )ā¦) but when i was having reed issues on pipes of another maker years ago, he was quite helpful in fitting one of his reeds in my stickā¦
in the US i would certainly send folkās nickās way based upon my decade (11 more years to go) of playing.
snoogie and maze I thank you both those were the kind of post I was looking for.
The rest of you do have fun here though
So, Duffy, have you made the decision to take the plunge? Are you gonna get a Whitmore set? Are yaā? Are yaā?
The brass bit itself is called the ferrule. Wherever you have a āmaleā end plugging into a āfemaleā end, the outside of the āfemaleā end is supported against splitting by a metal ferrule.
djm
Joseph,
Perhaps I might, But one thing is for sure I have put off the uilleann pipes longer than I can stand anymore. If you remember you were the first person I talked to way back when about getting started(okay seven months ago ). What I am looking at now is if I should just buy a used practice set or order a new one. But between being in college andā¦blaā¦blaā¦bla, I am leaning towards the cheaper route at the time. (Not pakistan route mind you though 
) And I have a fair offer so we will see what goes on. Truth be told I am torn, yet think I will get a used set and if it works out, and I become a obsessive compulsive piper, then in summer I will place a order for a half set. I wont be ready, but iāll have it. Just have to sell a few of my other instruments to afford it. 
Thanks again,
Irishduffy
(edited to summarize, Iām getting a practice set and soon, Iām taking the plunge)