Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi Members,

I recently bought a new set of pipes from ebay againsts my better judgement, product reviews and advice on here, now I face the concequencies of my bad decision. They are unplayable, and quite a dishearting instrument. I'm sure they'll make lovely, albeit expensive firewood....

Howevers, struggling to keep my spirits up I'm wondring if anyone have a practice set for sale, or even components (Bellows, bag, chanter, stocks) which I might be able to buy?

Kind Regards,
Ryan

See your PM's

Will the ebay seller at least accept a return for refund?

Do the bag and bellows work?
Some do.
Buy the best chanter you can afford. If you’re on a budget try KM bagpipes printed chanter.

Might it be useful to say more about these pipes in order that others will be able to benefit from your experience? Or is it the case that they're the relatively low-priced sets from Pakistan that have already been well-reported?

Where are you based, Ryan? Your profile says Saltford, is that the Saltford near Bath, UK?

Hi, I strongly recommend you, to look for any kind of piping related association or pipers in your area, to let them take a look at the set.
I am only a beginner on the pipes (somewhat seriously trying to learn them for a year now, having a barely playable set that was collecting dust for a couple of years longer..) and wasted a lot of time, because of technical problems with my set. At first I didn't make progress because of a broken reed and air escaping a knot on the chanter. Then, after a pipe maker fixed the chanter and and made a new reed, it took me another couple of month of barely making any progress, because the reed was too strong (at least so I thought..).
Then finally I visited a piping workshop weekend and a pipe maker noticed that me bag wasn't air tight any more and that the valve on the bellows wasn't working so well.

Now I finally have a chanter with a good working reed an air tight bag and suddenly piping seems a LOT easier and more satisfying.
Whenever I had these technical problems with the set, I thought it was just my sloppy, inexperienced playing, making everything so hard. I never realised, that the set was the problem, only other pipers made me realise that.

Therefore, I strongly recommend sending the set to a pipe maker to check, wich parts of the set are playable.
The pipe maker who fixed my set is Hendrik Morgenbrodt: http://www.morgenbrodt-pipes.de/index.php/de/

Good luck!

The bellows are a really important part of the whole instrument . I still play on my pat sky bellows after going through a few sets .... leaks anywhere are a nightmare . Then there is the bag . It’s probsbly as porous as a sieve ..... make your own out of upholstery vinyl.... I seen little point in even thinking about drones at this stage so if you have them block them up for a year or so . They are the backing , concentrate on the chanter . I’ve revently fettled a set of P pipes . The chanter was surprisingly ok as it had been reeded well .
Get a good chanter and a good set of well recommended bellows . Make your own bag or buy one from a reputable maker .
A friend of mine still plays just the chanter and he’s from a long line of illustrious pipers, it’s the singing voice and the heart of the instrument though that could better be said of the reed perhaps .

Hello,

Thank you for your messages folks. Still on the search for a beginner chanter / bag / bellows. A few messages from memebers on here are greatly appreaciated.

The set I purchased is indeed a middle east set. The Bag appears to be air tight, but that's about the only good thing about it. I have requested a return, so fingers crossed.

I'm toying with the idea of making up a practice set piecemeal, just to get started and running. If anyone has bags or bellows for sale it would be greatly appreaciated.

Kind Regards,
Ryan

Hi,

I managed to return the MIME practice set, so currently pipe-less. Had some lovely messages from folks on here, but slightly outside my price bracket.

The serch continues. Hopefully I can make up a patch work set, from a set of decent second hand set of bellows, a tied kelleher bag and stocks, and hopefully a chanter from ebay. Just need to keep the eyes peeled!

Hi Bigryan

KM bagpipes 3D printed chanter

Eamonn Currann bellows

They are from the same seller.

David

Joe Kennedy is making some low priced chanters at the moment. You can find his facebook or instagram post for pictures. I think a couple of this batch are spoken for but there might still be one or two available.
I believe they are made from apple, but you'd need to check with him. Regardless, they are wooden chanters with the same guts as his normal work, just a stripped down exterior. He is charging $500 CAD which for you all down south is under $380 USD. Add Kelleher bag and bellows of your choice and you are flying. His email is unionpipemaker at yahoo dot ca.
I play one of Joe's concert sets and it is a lovely instrument.
Cheers,
Jordan

Ryan--Are you still looking for a decent practice set?