Chiff and Fipple Forums

I've been checking conversions through a few sources http://www.xe.com/ucc/ http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic and Yahoo... http://finance.yahoo.com/m3 http://finance.yahoo.com/m5?a=1&s=USD&t=AUD today's figures are $1USD=$1.89AUD a bit higher than last week. The nice part of Yahoo is the ...

Tansy, If the bridal is loose and you don't want to squeeze it or change it's shape you have several options to fix the problem. I've tried a tiny rubberband over the bridal to keep it from shifting. You can also use a blob of softened bees wax over the bridle and the office supply 'poster stick' pr...

Patrick, the pipe cleaner idea sounds very resourceful, I'll try that later. I'm using 2 small rubberbands right now and they work well... but I'm open to suggestion and enjoy the experimentation process. Did you ever press the top of the windcap to your ear (or jawbone) ?? there are some very sharp...

Brian, who made your chanter ? Have you gone back to them for advice ? I think you should call Brad to see what he has to offer in a narrow bore D chanter. Tansy, Funny you should mention the cotton thing... I've tried a few wraps of masking tape about 1/8" down from the end of the reed and it ...

As reported earlier... there are many factors that dictate a chanters volume. The wood used, the bore design, and the reed design and setting. >Is there a chanter out there that is >designed to be mellow from the get go? Yes, it's narrow bore. Narrow bore compared to wide bore (in the same key) is g...

Brian, I'll tell you what works for me. All changes must be minor, anything radical may render the instrument un-playable. Often, one change affects other things... like volume affecting pitch and pitch affecting intonation. My experience with a Childress wide bore D chanter is it tunes well when ad...

Brian, it's a matter of taste. I have a Childress chanter that I adjusted the reed to play quieter than average. I had the pleasure of listening to Bruce in session with Eamonn Dillon and his trio at a pub one night. They each had one microphone but Bruce's pipes were more vibrant sounding, includin...

Mick, is it E or B...? you've got half the Uilleann community auditioning for that 11 second gig

Australian pipemaker, Ian Mackenzie has been trading under the name of SIMACK, his website is: http://www.users.bigpond.com/cjhardiman/ Don't go by the prices shown as they are 2 years old and Ian is having his website re-vamped. I've ordered a custom chanter that is soon to arrive, so I will post m...

11 second Uillean solo in the key of E?
My first thought is to record it on a D chanter and alter the speed/pitch via software. You can have a finished product on the same day!
'Studio magic' isn't your problem, the thought is having to perform live... in that case you'd want the E chanter.

Mick, Uillean Pipes in the key of E are possible. I heard that Emer Mayock of the Afro Celt Sound System http://www.afrocelts.com plays one and I think they were made by Brian Howard Music http://www.howardmusic.co.uk/ A fully keyed D chanter can play tunes in other keys, just more difficult. Can yo...

Dionys, you can see pictures of Brad's work on Patrick D'Arcy's website: http://www.concentric.net/~pdarcy/page5/page5f.shtml Brad is a full-time pipemaker who specializes in high-end custom hand crafted pipes, especially in flat pitched sets. I have no direct experience with his pipes but, I've hea...

Michael,
You know the 'stars & the moon' must have been in perfect alignment for you to make such excellent deals on used pipes. I too check the listings awaiting my perfect deal.

>I bought the full MV set from a seller on >eBay. This was my very first venture into >playing the Uilleann pipes. I feel for ya in that respect. I too went through 'isolated piper' pains, the learning curve is much steeper this way. As far as pipes go, even the best pipemakers have variances from i...

Michael, I read two threads about Vignoles including your comments on Patrick's 'Obession' message centre. How did you end up with a full set without knowing there were so many negative comments about Vignoles? His website states "Your satisfaction, and the workmanship of the pipes is unconditi...