I’m going to get my first practice set soon… and I’m undecided which maker to go for.
At the moment its sort of a toss-up between Ian MacKenzie (aka SIMACK) and Adrian Jefferies (of Mada Rua). Adrian’s pipes look lovely and are slightly cheaper I believe (~$1500), but I’ve been told SIMACK has a slight edge on workmanship… he is also a lot closer… (~$1800)
Would anyone care to comment on this? Both are great makers I’m sure and I’d be happy with either… but since it’s a big investment for me I would be grateful for any advice/comments.
It’s been ages since I’ve checked in on the pipes forum and I’m glad I did now that I’ve seen your post.
Of the Australian makers, I’ve played 3 chanters by Mackenzie, 1 by Jeffries, 1 by Fisher, and 2 by McLaren. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time reeding a Mackenzie and a McLaren chanter too.
I definitely agree on the high level of workmanship in Ian’s chanters. As for how they play, I was very impressed with a C chanter of his that I played in 2001 and a blackwood concert-pitch chanter that I played about 2 year ago. Both had a lovely tone and good tuning.
My pick would be Malcolm McLaren. His sets are well priced, well tuned, and air tight. You can check out a couple of recordings I made while playing a McLaren chanter on the other pipes forum in the ‘upload your tunes’ thread with the link below.
I tried sending you a personal message, but it bounced back. I have a set of Adrian Jeffries pipes I am willing (but sad) to part with if you are interested.
Try sending me a ppm for details.
Cheers.
