Chiff and Fipple Forums

Let us know how you like your set. I think you will be very pleased. McCallum did a great job building my chanter. I saw a video of their production facility and they had a section devoted to these pipes and several sets in production. I definitely would not mind a 3/4 set. I wish they offered the b...

I just purchased a Morrison chanter. I'm completely smitten with it! It has exceeded every expectation! It beautifully crafted of African blackwood, they keys are well sprung and very nice. It's super responsive, stable and well in-tune, plus it's priced VERY well. It's a copy of Fred's Williams set...

My favorite plane, is a chisel plane for the edges. It's easy to sharpen and set up, unlike a normal plane. https://www.rockler.com/bench-dog-no-92-shoulder-plane To bring down the slip, I use a paring chisel. Blue Spruce makes good modern paring chisels. Mine is Victorian and around an inch. https:...

These old recordings or any old recording, generally sound better played on a mono amp. They did not have stereo back then. It is really surprising how much more cohesive these sound when you ditch stereo. I made an amp just for this and I am really glad I did.

I never meet Lorenzo in person, but he was kind enough to send me a really good bassoon reedmaking video many years ago. This video was amazing and helped my reedmaking in a major way. He was a truly nice guy! I'm sending good vibes his way!

I would consult a rheumatologist if you are serious. I do believe piping can have some negative affects on your joints. After playing the pipes for a while I am against using tough/stiff reeds. Rheumatic diseases are either auto-immune or caused from wear.

I second Renaissance wax. It works great. It WILL NOT hurt your pipes as it is totally inert. It was developed by the British Museum to protect objects including paper. Many things you see in museums are coated with it for protection. It is a synthetic wax and it gives a finish that is totally clear...

Go to the store and get some metal dentist style picks. Push the pick to catch the inner chamber then pull towards you. You can also use the tip of a hobby style knife or slender sharp pointed object for this.

Good Luck!

I am a uilleann piper but I found this thread interesting. You really cannot make any blanket statement about the sound of synthetic reeds because so many different materials and designs of the body can be used. You gotta experiment and spend countless hours experimenting till you go insane. What I ...

I think exploring how to antique ivory and use alternatives is fantastic. Not hating on pipes with real ivory but I think it's ongoing use should be avoided even though it does look amazing. Elephants Show Special Interest in Their Dead http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1031_051031_ele...

I am just speaking in general but here is how I go about setting up drones for myself and others and my opinion on how I like to set them up. NOTE: Setting up drones is a pain IMHO. So don't worry if it is difficult and takes hours of your time, driving your crazy making you an angry mess. This is j...

I have replicated ivory before for decorative purposes in restoration. If you desire the patterns in ivory then you better be good with a brush. Otherwise a good patina could be made from linseed based oil paint. You want to use the pigments nickel azomethine yellow or isoindoline yellow. These can ...

The wait is over, now you can sound like a highland piper playing the uilleann pipes.

I have an upstairs bedroom where I intend to practice but the sound bleeds over a lot to the room downstairs and annoys the family. I have sealed the door and that certainly helped with sound leaking into the hallway but no big improvement downstairs where especially the bass tones go right through...

I think your best course of action would be to ask Kirk himself. I play one of Kirks chanters and I love it. Both his old and new chanters rock and are easy to reed. The stock on the set looks suspect.

http://www.kirklynch.com/

- Jason