Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi here are some photos of my pipes, the bag is not very flexible and needs taking care of, also the base regulator is not attached as you can see, it wasn't used by the previous owner and the hole in the stock is blocked, this can be removed quite easily, i did the best i could with the pictures.














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Thanks for the pics there, some great visual data. Hope to hear them someday.

Cheers,
Mike

Great photos. Beautiful set. I hope you're playing them lots!!

What do you know of the history (when were they made, who were the previous owners, etc.)?

Let me start out by saying that I mean NO disrespect in any way to any one who owns, plays or otherwise likes Taylor style work.

But for my own part I can't figure out what the draw is. Was there some great innovation the bros. made that changed piping forever? I know they were big proponents of the concert pitch wide bore design, but apart from bore alterations - what's the attraction?

Thay look really un-appealing to me. Chunky, akward and with no styling or grace to them. Reminds me of a girl I used to date... Seriously, I just wonder what the draw is...

Brian Lee wrote:Let me start out by saying that I mean NO disrespect in any way to any one who owns, plays or otherwise likes Taylor style work.

But for my own part I can't figure out what the draw is. Was there some great innovation the bros. made that changed piping forever? I know they were big proponents of the concert pitch wide bore design, but apart from bore alterations - what's the attraction?

Thay look really un-appealing to me. Chunky, akward and with no styling or grace to them. Reminds me of a girl I used to date... Seriously, I just wonder what the draw is...

Brian Nobody is talking about the looks of the pipes, you have to hear them played to respect the work of the taylor brothers.

What wood are they? They look more chocolate brown than most ebony I've seen.

marcpipes wrote:What wood are they? They look more chocolate brown than most ebony I've seen.

i believe the chanter is cocuswood and the upper part is ebony, i have read where the taylor brothers used different types of wood on the same set of pipes,

glinjack wrote:

Brian Lee wrote:Let me start out by saying that I mean NO disrespect in any way to any one who owns, plays or otherwise likes Taylor style work.

But for my own part I can't figure out what the draw is. Was there some great innovation the bros. made that changed piping forever? I know they were big proponents of the concert pitch wide bore design, but apart from bore alterations - what's the attraction?

Thay look really un-appealing to me. Chunky, akward and with no styling or grace to them. Reminds me of a girl I used to date... Seriously, I just wonder what the draw is...

Brian Nobody is talking about the looks of the pipes, you have to hear them played to respect the work of the taylor brothers.

I have heard a set played, and I agree that they have a special sound, but to me Taylor pipes look like a badly plumbed boiler. (Again, no disrespect to anyone who likes Taylor sets.)

Does anyone know why they made them look this way? Was it a specific design decision, or were they just trying to save time shaping keys?

Mukade

Is that a real Taylor set? Where did you find them...will you consider anything in exchange? Please send me a personal message if so.

For those who find the work of the Taylors unappealing...I like their work - both for what it is, and for what it is not. I like the other stuff too - don't get me wrong. It is all a matter of taste.

But for the 300 or so years that the pipes have been around they seemed to have changed little, once 3 drones/3 regs became "standard" though actual standards seem quite casual. I, personally, have to wonder why when the rest of the world continued to change. The looks of the pipes have not really changed since the reign of Queen Victoria - have they? I've always thought that most of it looked more than a bit pointless and frilly - like highly ornamented Victorian plumbing. But my aesthetic is a bit brutal and rational, I like to think.

The Taylor Bros. seem to be one (or two) of very few who had enough brass (where it counted) to do something different - mechanically, aesthetically, acoustically, etc. If they were making these in the 1870's, they were decades ahead of the Modern Movement that transformed industrial design, art, architecture, etc. I think one could write an art history thesis on the Taylors and their work...someone should. I do not think they have been properly recognized by those outside of pipering.

I'll take that set...any day.

I think they're lovely...and beautiful too in their own unique way. Taylor pipes aren't for just anyyone.

Beautiful set!! Are they Taylor or Taylor copies?

I love the look and sound of Taylor pipes!

The style of the regs is both obviously Tayloresque, though atypical for the Taylors. Are those regs fully metal-clad, as they appear to be?

Anyone who has seen DMQuinn's articles on the Taylor regulator keyword will appreciate the exquisite workmanship of most Taylor sets (and DMQ's own, I might add). They were much prized and emulated in their day; however most of their emulators' work seems to lack some of the refinement in the aesthetics of the famous Taylor sets (like the Cummings set and the Beatty set, for instance).

Typical Taylor regs would have the key pivots set into inset, dovetailed metal bits set into ebony timber, and AFAIK would not have the "doublewide" keys sported by the contrabass reg in this set, they usually feature keys of (what appears to be) a constant width along their length.

Bill

I agree with Bill here. The reg keys do not appear to be typical of the Taylor's work, nor the chanter keys. The Chanter stop key is not typical of a Taylor Bro's stop key, nor is the decoration (looks like the stuff Crowley used) around the chanter throat. The popping valve end decoration seems correct with the five rivets. This looks like a "Taylor style" set to me and not a set made by Charlie & Billy Taylor. Doesn't matter though really if it plays well and has a nice sound. I believe the Taylors used ivory as decoration, and I don't think ivory becomes this colour when it ages, although I could be wrong about this. What's the history of this set, past owners - anyone know? Does it play well, in tune etc. that's the most important thing really. The metalwork and detailing of the decoration isn't upp to the high standard of Billy & Charlie's work in my opinion.

Doesn't strike me as Taylor either for all the above mentioned reasons. A fabulous set though! I am one of those totally taken with the Taylor style.

I anxiously await DM Quinn's opinion on this. Or Ted? You out there?

T

The only thing typical about Taylor pipes is how they are never typical. The variety of forms and mechanisms is rarely, if ever, the same from one set to the next. These guys were always trying new ideas, and were constantly striving for some better construction technique or musical or practical innovation. As a player of Taylor pipes, I can attest to their dependability. In more than 15 years, the only problem I've encountered with the regulators is that a pad (that I had put on) fell off once. The wide flat keys are hard to miss, and are great for playing with the fingers, even with your eyes closed (as mine are much of the time.) There is NO lateral movement in the keys, owing to the wide pivot, and no friction either. As much as I like the look of saltspoon keys with traditional blocks, Taylor regulators are better design from an engineering standpoint. And harder to make. And the Taylors did it with amazing skill and artistry. Probably because the planet that they came from was so much more highly evolved.