Chiff and Fipple Forums

Recording is a totally different game to live performance or sessioning. It's very easy to make a recording too sterile / clinical by recording over the bumps and squeaks and out of tune notes. Pipers that listen to piping cd's will invariably analyse the heck out of it. Pipers are their own worst c...

Never had any complaints about the size of my repertoire - although I am a firm believer that the quality of your performance is always more important than size.

Hi All

The local orchard is cutting down its old fruit trees (primarily apple) to make way for new plantings. The grower is happy to cut specific lengths and sizes for me to eventually turn into pipes.
Question is - what is commonly used to seal the ends of the wood for the drying process?

Thanks

BC#D staccato triplet can replace the back d triplet in many instances. I used this before getting my thumb around the back d triplet. Now its a question of which ornament best suits the tune and as everyone else says, don't over use it!

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r616/andrewnmckay/20160531_172834_zpspqejqanu.jpg http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r616/andrewnmckay/20160531_172758_zpsexlp8da2.jpg http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r616/andrewnmckay/20160531_172853_zpsaggjuh7n.jpg http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r616/...

Hi All Up for sale is my full set in D by Adrian Jeffries. Chanter and drones made in 1999 and regs added in 2000. Essentially it was a full set order where I took delivery early to get me up and playing. Blackwood with boxwood mounts and chrome plated keys. Key work looks as new as the day I got it...

if the stock is tied in airtight, the only other variable is the hole in the stock where you plug the chanter in. If this is a larger diameter or different shape, you may be getting leaks from there. Some stock holes are tapered, others straight bore. I personally prefer tapered as I found you don't...

Perhaps I've been living under a rock, but I'm seeing all these posts selling off Bruce's workshop. What's happened to him?

Opening the top finger for the D on a whistle essentially forces the octave jump. Have a play around with it with different pressures versus closed fingers. e.g. light pressure all fingers closed then open top finger. As its been previously said, its cleaner. I like my piping D's with only the thumb...

Being a small business person requires two major skills - 1) perfecting your craft/product/service, 2) operating good business practises. Part 2 quite often falls down for many. This is a big issue in my country with tradies. As plumbers or electricians etc they are great, but phone service, communi...

I got to observe a Pakistani half set a month ago from a new and unsuspecting buyer. Drones weren't half bad. By no means good, but that turd could be polished with a new set of reeds. The chanter - oh my goodness calling it a chanter is an insult to all the professionally made chanters out there. T...

Do you have a preference on pitch? Concert set or flat set?

BBQ kebab skewers for regulator rushing. Without wire I came across these in the pantry and they were very successful. Had to shave them down a little with a knife, add a few blobs of blu tac, etc. Hose clamps - temporary measure to "tie in" the chanter stock of the bag and determine if th...

A friend of mine is starting out on the pipes and he has a set of vpipes. I got to check them out over the weekend and was very surprised to find that it was horribly out of tune. I seem to think this is some sort of sick and twisted uilleann pipe curse! I put each note up against the tuner and foun...

Tommy, I know Ian MacKenzie well and yes, he makes nice pipes. In fact he was the middle man who reeded and refurbished the van daal C set that I own. The whole Van Daal set sounds great and Ian did a superb job on it. Since Ian's wife passed away he has slowed down the pipe making. He still turns o...