Just curious whether Dave Daye’s synthetic penny chanters compare favorably in tone quality to wooden sets.
I don’t suppose I will be a hard-core, full-time piper and I do a lot of outdoor venues so the “bullet-proof” nature of the Daye system is attractive. The price is attractive as well.
I’d love some input. PM if you prefer.
Doc
Doc, this topic has been hashed out before ad infinitum, and there are a lot of mixed feelings about Daye’s work.
From my standpoint, I have yet to hear or play a penny chanter whose tone and playability I didn’t like. However, there are others who were not happy with them.
Before we tread on thin ice with this topic, please remember to keep all posts far away from being unsubstantiated and defamatory. Thanks.
Yesterday, I read a comment about Dave David PVC chanters:
“… play as well or better than any fancy-looking blackwood chanter out there…”
From this website:
http://www.bobdunsire.com/CGI-BIN/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=001014;p=0
They’re a bit brighter and louder than usual. It’s a serviceable chanter for a beginner; I know of an All-Ireland champion who got his start with a penny chanter and a bellows, mainstock, and drones from a traditional maker. He later progressed to a high-quality 3/4 set from a top maker after it became clear to everyone including his parents that he was interested in pursuing piping and very good at it. Now he worked his @$$ off to get there, mind you, and being fairly talented didn’t hurt him, either, but that penny chanter did not hinder his efforts as far as I could tell.
In addition to starting off with a working instrument, which is crucial, he also got lots of face to face instruction at tionoil both in the States and in Ireland, listened to lots of traditional music on the pipes and other instruments, immersed himself in a living irish traditional music scene, had friends who played music with him, played lots of sessions, sought out reeds from good makers like Alan Burton, Cillian O’Briain, Seth Gallagher, etc, and, most importantly, LISTENED to expert advice when it was offered.
Sage advice! Rules me out… of course. 
Tone quality . . . Daye has sound clips available. The tone is a little bright, as the sound waves are resonated by metal instead of wood. Kind of like a wood whistle has a warmer tone than a tin whistle does. It is in my opinion an excellent tone . . . for what it is.
Keep an eye out for his upcoming wood offerings. I’ve seen some that he has made in the past, and they sound excellent as well.
BTW, if you build one, do yourself a favor and buy a reed from David.
Satisfied Daye customer here. 
Ditto.
I’m pleased with my Daye set and I bought it second hand on eBay. When I went along to the beginner’s class at Willie Clancy week for a couple of days my set was one of the few where the reed didn’t need adjusting.
I must say that I was surprised when I tried out the Peter Maguire chanter that I wasn’t covering the holes properly. The Daye chanter is a tube, whereas traditional chanters are flatter on top, so my fingers weren’t used to resting on the flatter surface.