digital Piper - happy with the vPipes

[DjUntzUntz]

why would you buy a used set of VPipes for more money than buying them on the original seller's website for less? :')

[Christian Tietje]

Why such a rumor? On his web site it is clearly described to be sold for 1,490 €, plus shipping and VAT. Taxes were 21 % in Spain, Shipping was about 72 EUR from Spain to Germany, made 1,889.63 for me, EUR, noch US$. But the price is not the main reason I asked.

Are there others who are happy or unhappy? Bad or good experience?

[Nanoune]

No it's 1490€ without VAT (21%). The price of new V-pipes with VAT and shipping & handling (= 76€ to the France) (and 21% of shipping & handling ...) is 1895.83€.
I know that because I took an order 2 days ago.

[misterpatrick]

I have a set and I really enjoy them. I don't play them as much now that better piping weather is here, but when winter comes and our humidity dips they are a great alternative. I especially like them for working out tunes while watching TV or something. My only gripe is I wish the cable between the box and the chanter was a standard USB or something so you could both adjust length and pack the whole set down smaller for transport.

I hope Ramón and his partners keep producing them as they are a great practice device.

[ImNotIrish]

Ha! Just ordered a set. Guess I have gone and done it now?
Arbo

[ennischanter]

Here's more info and demos of the app. It's not anywhere near as sophisticated or as amazing as the vPipes, but if you have an iPad and $2.99, it's does a pretty good job of filling a similar role, something to practice on in headphones when it wouldn't be possible to play the real instrument:

That's what I used to help develop me a repertoire before I got the real thing. It helped me quite abit!

[ImNotIrish]

Came home today to find my set of V-Pipes waiting for me. I must say, I am a little intimidated and have yet to even turn them on. Hoping one of you folks would be kind enough to help me get it set up to my playing parameters. I am especially concerned with the sensor sensitivity... I would like the sensitivity to be such that it registers my finger touch upon the chanter. Also, I need a little advice as to how to set it up for a flat set (b preferably, but c would do). thanks you in advance.

arbo

[PhilD]

They are set up to play straight out the box, nothing to be intimidated by. I would just try playing them first before tweaking any settings. There are lots of presets already loaded, a D, C and an A set! The digital interface can seem a little tricky to navigate at first, but just have your manual to hand and you'll figure it out in no time.

To create a B set you just need to re-tune the A set up two semi tones.

[ImNotIrish]

They are set up to play straight out the box, nothing to be intimidated by. I would just try playing them first before tweaking any settings. There are lots of presets already loaded, a D, C and an A set! The digital interface can seem a little tricky to navigate at first, but just have your manual to hand and you'll figure it out in no time.

To create a B set you just need to re-tune the A set up two semi tones.

Okay, Thanks! I will give it a try!
Arbo

[m muir]

Have any of you who own a set of Vpipes encountered any problems with the sensors in terms of getting all of the tone holes covered by each finger? That is to say each hole appears to be covered completely by each finger but the display screen on the chanter indicates that a hole is not covered properly and no matter how hard you press down on the chanter or shift your finger you still can't sound the note properly?

[bobkeenan]

Have any of you who own a set of Vpipes encountered any problems with the sensors in terms of getting all of the tone holes covered by each finger? That is to say each hole appears to be covered completely by each finger but the display screen on the chanter indicates that a hole is not covered properly and no matter how hard you press down on the chanter or shift your finger you still can't sound the note properly?

Your problem could be the sensitivity setting but right now i have no problem at all. My first set had the issue you are talking about. Sensitivity did not fix it. It seemed like on one note i had to push harder and harder to get it to play right. And then the sensor fell out. I put it back in but it did not work at all then. I sent it back to Spain. And was sent a new one. A sensor was loose at the bottom of the bag. I had a few emails with Ramon and i was able to put the sensor back with a bit of elmers glue on the side.

I suspect that if you play the real pipes well then your problem on the vpipes sensor and you should a hold of them and work it out.

[m muir]

Thanks Bob. I suspect I'll have to send them back to Ramon for tweaking (probably a faulty sensor) but I've emailed him for advice.

[ImNotIrish]

Have any of you who own a set of Vpipes encountered any problems with the sensors in terms of getting all of the tone holes covered by each finger? That is to say each hole appears to be covered completely by each finger but the display screen on the chanter indicates that a hole is not covered properly and no matter how hard you press down on the chanter or shift your finger you still can't sound the note properly?

Well, I just received my set and at this point I can't tell if it is me or something else. I did have something like what you describe happen, though when I slowly replayed a scale things seemed okay. I set the bag sensitivity to 3 marks,
and other than that it is currently on default settings.
Arbo

[Christian Tietje]

Hi,
in the "Tightness and Proximity Adjustments" you can modify acc. to your needs. As the sensors are light-sensitive electronic sensors they react by incoming light between chanter survace and finger. So if your finger lets some little light through you can decrease the tightness value. My value-setting there is "10" at the moment. Factory preset is 15 which was too high for me at the beginning on this new instrument.

Menu: "Setup Mode" - "Sound Settings" - down arrow - "Sensitivty" - right round button & down arrow to "Tightness" 0 ... 25. A high value means more difficult to close.

[MTGuru]

As the sensors are light-sensitive electronic sensors

A serious question: Does this mean that the vPipes will not work in the dark?