I’m in possession of a half-set whose maker is out of the game. Said maker recommended Joe Kennedy to fit regs and Joe is amenable to the suggestion. My issue is that I can only afford to fit one at a time and, in fact, the first one I fit may be the whole kit and kaboodle for awhile. Which one do folks think is the most advantageous?
Thanks,
J
Well I am hoping to get my first regulator soon and it will be a Baritone. I have the NPU no 4 DVD and this is the regulator that they start with
John
Hi J,
The first reg. I had fitted was the baritone
( recommended by my pipemaker ) and I was very happy with that choice.
It was a good introduction to regs. and provided nice harmony between the drones and chanter.
Whichever one you decide to get first, I’m sure you will be happy with it.
Enjoy,
Marcus
In “Learn To Play The Uilleann Pipes With The Armagh Piper’s Club”, on page 8, there’s a photo of four very young pipers with matching Taylor-style pipes, one a practice set, one a half-set, and the last two sets having a single reg. It’s unclear which reg- I think the small one, because I think I can see five keys on one of them.
I think these pipes were made by O Mealy? But it’s an interesting to see a maker making one-reg pipes.
I would think that if you had a single reg it would be the small one. I think that the small one is the original one, the only one early pipes had. And, you can get a 4-3 cadence in the keys of D and G. (Or in other words, you can suggest the 1 chord and the 4 chord in both keys.)
well, Josh Perkins,
I’m going to buck the trend…
not that anything said here so far is wrong, or incorrect, or distasteful, etc…
But I would have to say the bottom reg would be my choice If I were in your shoes, ( I went from practice set to full set, BTW)
and here’s my reasons:
1.) It increases the range of your chanter downward. (c,b,a,g) Musically this makes sense, as there are no notes on the other 2 regs that arent there already on your chanter.
2.) You’ll be able to use your right thumb (B+C), right pinkie (G &A)
as well as your wrist to get notes. Not that one cant do this on either of the other regs, but with just the bass it’s an easier ‘target’ until you get fluent on the things. (& I hope you will be able to get all three one day!)
3.) With forethought, one can imply much of the same harmonies with just the bass reg… OK, you wont be able to do that wonderful g-f# over a d (tonic sus4, in the biz), INSTEAD you will be able to get that c-b-suspension in the key of G but all the most common chords are present, Am, Em, Bm, GMaj, DMaj (with a in the bass: tonic 6/4 in the biz)
3a.)Ive also found it fun to do moving contrapuntal lines in contrary motion on the bass reg: (b,a,g on the chanter against G,A,B, on the bass reg) Leo Rowsome did a lot of things (zampogna-like things, actually) like that on several recording s Ive heard.
4.) and (THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL TASTE:) those woody low tones combine wonderfully with the chanter’s bottom register, 
My bass reg has probably needed the least adjustment over the years; & unless I’m doing something like playing a sustained chanter hi b, the bass reg for me, is least likely to utter a discouraging tone…
So, one vote for the bass reg, take it or leave it. 
O’Mealy didn’t make tenor regs, so if that set is by O’Mealy then it’s almost certainly a baritone reg.
The bass reg is generally the most expensive, often considerably more than the tenor or baritone. If money’s the issue then bari or tenor make more sense. Personally I’m partial to learning the baritone first.
I second the bass reg choice for the nice chords you get with the chanter and drones, and adding that the extended part over the left arm will give you the final piper’s touch (if you get a “trad” reg).
In addition, O’Mealy’s style of reg playing differed from that of most pipers today in that he used the regulators more for playing a counter-melody than for playing accompaniment. There are recordings of his piping on Ross’s music page (scroll down 1/2 way):
Just to give you a point of reference, Jerry O’Sullivan started out with the bass reg, and you can definitely hear how much he uses this reg versus other pipers. This is not intended to say what is good or bad, but just something for you to listen to and see what effect it can have on your outlook towards using regs.
Personally, I would go for the bari reg if you are unfamiliar with chords and harmony and need a good basis to learn from, but if you are already comfortable with such things, I can see how the bass reg would be more appealing.
djm
Good point about O Mealy pipes, which if they had three regs had baritone, bass, and double bass. Joe McKenna used to play a boxwood O Mealy set on which he had replaced the double bass with a tenor reg made by Ginsberg. (Though I sure would have liked to hear Joe playing the double bass!)
On on these two matching one-reg O Mealy sets (not one as you misunderstood) it probably is the baritone, though I think I can see five keys on one (the other is hidden by the player’s hand).