Chiff and Fipple Forums

From top to bottom:

Bb chanter by Sam Lawrence (2012) in ebony with boxwood mounts and nickle silver ferrules and keys. It is a hair under 19 inches long, but the stretch is quite manageable. Bb is my favorite pitch and Sam's chanter lived up to my every expectation.

Bnat chanter by Seth Gallagher (circa. 2003) in ebony with artificial ivory mounts and brass ferrules and keys. This chanter has a really beautiful tone, particularly in the first octave.

Pretty! I would love to have a Bb set.

PJ wrote:

From top to bottom:

Bb chanter by Sam Lawrence (2012) in ebony with boxwood mounts and nickle silver ferrules and keys. It is a hair under 19 inches long, but the stretch is quite manageable. Bb is my favorite pitch and Sam's chanter lived up to my every expectation.

Bnat chanter by Seth Gallagher (circa. 2003) in ebony with artificial ivory mounts and brass ferrules and keys. This chanter has a really beautiful tone, particularly in the first octave.

I'd love to hear that Bb chanter! That Gallagher B...I use to have one just like it. It does have nice tone, but I could never get use to those indented finger holes...it was hard to feel exactly where they were. Even though I got use to it, I never like them as well as tone holes that came right up to the surface...with a nice sharp edge.

I'll get around to recording something on the Bb soon.

Unfortunately, I'm in a dilemma. I'd love to build up another flat 3/4 set but don't know which to choose: Bnat or Bb. I don't have the money to do both (and I hardly have the money to do one). Bb has always been my favorite pitch but that damn Gallagher Bnat is hard to put down.

Incidently, I can switch reeds between these two chanters fairly easily, with the Bnat being a little less fussy than the Bb.

Hi PJ

Go for the Bb, it will likely be easier (and safer no doubt) to tune the drones up for the B chanter then tuning B drones down for Bb.

David

I'd go for Bb too. It seems a more practical key to play with other instruments.

It's only more practical if you assume it's Bb wrt to A440. It may not be, as most flat chanters, particularly B and Bb, are not tuned right at A440.

Playing with others isn't a huge consideration, as I rarely play with others and when I do, it's invariably in D.

For about 10 years, I've dreamed of having a set in Bb, and when I ordered the Bb chanter in 2011, it was my first step. I acquired the Bnat chanter about a year ago so that I could play along with some friends who have sets in Bnat. I had no intention of building a set around it, but I like the chanter so much, I'm starting to think about a Bnat set now.

YES!!! I DID IT!!!

Sorry if the pics are too big, but heres my C# chanter. It was made by Sam Lawrence in 2009 for himself, and in 2013 he put it up for sale. And now I have it!!!!

Bellows 'n' Bag made by Lawrence Thompson.










Oh, and Please ignore the dirty carpet.

Nice. Sam does good work.

PJ wrote:Playing with others isn't a huge consideration, as I rarely play with others and when I do, it's invariably in D.

For about 10 years, I've dreamed of having a set in Bb, and when I ordered the Bb chanter in 2011, it was my first step. I acquired the Bnat chanter about a year ago so that I could play along with some friends who have sets in Bnat. I had no intention of building a set around it, but I like the chanter so much, I'm starting to think about a Bnat set now.

what makes you choose for Bnat instead of Bb? can you describe how the B sound is different from the Bb sound and why you prefer the Bnat over the Bb chanter? is it the sound? the feeling? i'm very curious as i'm having this 'problem' myself as well.

PJ wrote:Nice. Sam does good work.

Thanks! It looks like we have a a similar key arrangement, Do you have a Cnat key on your Bb?

DjUntzUntz wrote:what makes you choose for Bnat instead of Bb? can you describe how the B sound is different from the Bb sound and why you prefer the Bnat over the Bb chanter? is it the sound? the feeling? i'm very curious as i'm having this 'problem' myself as well.

Well, I haven't chosen the Bnat yet but I'm reconsidering my long-held plan of building up a Bb set.

About 10 years ago, I heard some recordings on Bb pipes and liked the sound very much. I tried other flat chanters, and while they were very nice, they didn't have the same tone as the Bb chanters I had heard. When I got my own Bb from Sam, it lived up to my every expectation. So I was ready to close the file and just build up the Bb set. Then, I came across the Gallagher Bnat and it has all the qualities and tones which the Bb has, so it has put me to thinking again.

IMO B hits the sweet spot between the Bb's "Gander honk" and the C's "tuned down concert pitch sound (mind you, i generalise here, i have heard lovely Bb and C chanters too but in general it is B sets that make me listen twice and think, 'wow, that's a great sounding set'

Here's a link to my Flickr photostream with some photos of my Victor Mullally / Dan O'Dowd 3/4 set.
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/122858888@N03/
I got the 1/2 set from Victor in 2012 and I got the loan of the Dan O'Dowd regs a few months ago.