Hi All
I’m hoping to get some recommendations / endorsements for good quality C set.
I have been forcing myself to play a Bb set for quite a few years now, but it’s just not me.
Thanks in advance.
Geoff Wooff of course, the first name that springs to mind. I believe you will have to wait a few years for a new set of pipes from Geoff, but look out for a second hand set and snap it up when it appears.
Otherwise:
Derrick Gleason, Co. Clare: https://soundcloud.com/gleeson-uilleann-pipes
Joe Kennedy: http://about.me/kennedyunionpipes
Seth Gallagher: http://www.uilleann.com/
I have a C-natural 3/4 set made for me by Martin Preshaw that I love. I have a famous-maker concert-pitch set too, but to be honest I enjoy my Preshaw flat set more.
Who made your Bb set, and might you be selling it? I would like to have a good Bb set also.
Ian McKenzie made me a C chanter about 15 or 16 years ago. Lovely chanter, I’m sure he’ll make the rest of the set too.
And he’s close too.
Tommy
I think before taking recommendations you need to think for yourself what you want out of a flat set. Not all flat sets are created equally and different people have different expectations. Best to realise what your expectations are and then find a maker who can match them.
Check your PM’s amckay 
That’s very good advice and well worth exploring . For those of us less experienced with flat sets could you expand a little .
RORY
I played Martin Preshaw B & C recently. Both were really good.
Thanks everyone for your responses. There’s some insightful feedback there.
I was rushed for time yesterday so I’ll expand on my original post.
I currently own a Van Daal C set and a Wooff Bb set and have had them for years. I really enjoy the C set but the body is quite large particularly the stretch on the regulator keys. I’m not a big guy (far from it) and I really struggle on those lower reg keys. The C chanter is great and I always get comments on it. This set would suit a taller person just fine. It’s reeded and balanced and in tune.
The Wooff set is brilliant. Well made, sits comfortably, etc etc. I have forced myself to play it because I know its a great set but Bb is just not me. I’m not enjoying playing in that pitch. A pipe maker recently fitted a new chanter reed and it is sounding its best right now even to my ear.
I’m definitely more of a concert pitch player, but I like how C balances the brightness and the flatnesss Mick O’brien’s video of the morning thrush reel on the Froment set really sold me on the flat pitch. I think as a player your tastes mature over time as your piping develops. This has been the case for me since getting into flat pitch.
I don’t want to get into the pipes buy and sell game, but I’d prefer to see these two sets in the hands of musicians that will play them regularly and who will enjoy them. I don’t think the sets will have any trouble finding new homes so I won’t be selling until I’ve found a new set that I’m happy to replace them with.
So in summary - Sell the C and Bb sets, and purchase a C set that will be a “forever set”!
Tommy, I know Ian MacKenzie well and yes, he makes nice pipes. In fact he was the middle man who reeded and refurbished the van daal C set that I own. The whole Van Daal set sounds great and Ian did a superb job on it.
Since Ian’s wife passed away he has slowed down the pipe making. He still turns out work but I personally don’t want to burden him with pipe making orders, commitments, and general peskiness! I’d prefer to simply catch up for a beer and a session.
Since you said you are a concert pitch guy and you want a flat set, have you considered C#?
I recently bought a C# chanter from Joe Kennedy and it is my favorite chanter. It has the sound of a flat set, but has a lot of punch to it. There is a C# Kennedy full set for sale on Uilleann Obsessions.
I second this idea. I’m not a tall fella either and if I were to make myself a set it would be a C#, because it has all the flat set sounds and nuances without the size problem.
Ok the C# does not have those really deep/dark/dour tones of the B’s and Bb’s but, depending on the type of design, it can have all the subtle tone colours.
There are those C’s and C#'s which lean towards being in the same family as the Concert Pipes, if that is what you’d prefer, and those which remain true to the Pre-Famine style with their larger palette .
Yes, I play a C# set and I love it! My Chanter sounds alot Like Seamus Ennis’s. Much of tonal flavor, but also very bright sounding.
I am also looking for a Good C set to go along with My C# chanter, (but I think I should get drones ‘n’ regs for the C# first…)
hi there
i have a C set made by Andreas Rogge. I got him to make it as i knew of his reputation for high quality flat sets with good stability of tuning.
My add is on the main page, have a look, there is a video of them being played so you can get an idea of the tone.
There is a Gleeson C down here in Melbourne. Lovely set of pipes, well worth a listen to.
Bit of a wait, but I’d say worth it. Slightly biased opinion perhaps, I’ve a B set arriving soon.
Liam