For you people who want to start without all the wait, there are two sets on Ebay for sale. A nice looking boxwood set by Alan Ginsburg (I have one of his blackwood chanters - It’s pretty nice), and another mystery set.
Anyone know who made the mystery set?
Dionys
That key looks like a Howard, no?
This mystery set ??
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=870866249
The description claims: “They were brought back by the in-laws while on tour, as I had asked them to look for a set, and sent them with funds to do so”
Where was this tour that someone could pickup a full set?
It has no makers markings, breaks down to it’s individual components to fit a GHB sized case, has highly polished nickel (or is that chrome) keys, an unblocked chanter with pin mounted Cnat. I’d speculate it’s a Paki set.
Sorry, didn’t know the Pakistani sets had pin mounted keys.
It’s not so much the pin mounted keys… many pipemakers do them. Have a look at Rogge’s website http://www.uilleann-pipes.de/ for some nice metalwork. I just think it’s the overall appearance. It compares to many pictures I’ve seen on the net (including eBay) of sets made in Pakistan.
…
Kevin,
doesn’t Tim Britton rework Paki sets? It would still be a second rate instrument at best.. but you can probably get one modified for half the price of a well know set and do it in a few months instead of a few years. There’s a place for everything in this world.
What amazes me is the number of bids that set is getting… though many of the bids are multiples from the same person.
…
Having gone to look at some Paki sets (on the net and pictures from horror stories), I’d have to say I would agree with that assessment. It looks a lot like the Pakistani sets I have seen pictures of, especially the turning and tear-drop tuning slides for the regulators. It’s too bad such decent looking work has to sound so crappy. Best of luck to the bidder and best of luck to the seller.
Dionys
Kevin Popejoy wrote:
…EXCERPT…
Given the choice between a re-worked Paki set and a proper rig, I think I’d just play my whistle and wait…
For me, I’d take a mediocre set now knowing what it was, while waiting for the good set to be made.
…
I asked Tim Britton about his reworked Paki sets a few months back, here’s what he said:
overall build quality is unrefined. I’ve worked with
them to develope the prototype for the chanter. I
await the latest version. The wait may be a bit
longer, not sure. Prices should be good. I have been
reboring and moving the holes, reprofiling the
outside, and adding an extension on the outside;
bsically a complete rebuild. It ends up being almost
identical to my own. The rest of the pipes need some
minor attention. All the reeds need to be made. The
ones they come with are useless. Check back in a
couple months to see about availability. Tim
I have a Brittonized Pakichanter (not the official trade name as far as I know)–very, very happy with it. A friend and I watched Tim move the holes, the observation of which phenomenon helped convince her to take up pipes herself!
[ This Message was edited by: Bok Choi on 2002-05-16 00:21 ]
I’m still following this auction and see that two bidders have dropped out. Probably from all our comments about Paki pipes. I tend to think this will kill the sale.
We’re being nicer on the C&F board than David’s… they’re talking firewood and expensive wall ornaments over there.
I’ve seen one of those Brittob Paki sets up close. They actually sounded quite nice and looked alright. The set I saw had seen some serious wear and tear..and as such..some of the Nickel had begun to wear off of the brass tubing! SO beward…they are not actual Nickel..but Nickel plated brass…which is not so bad.
The Ginsberg set for sale is quite nice. He actually makes quite nice, serviceable sets. The ones I have seen and played have been more in tune than some others from more “reputable” or “established” makers.
That boxwood set, would be a nice set to own. And if it sounds anything like the flat set I played by Ginsberg…I imagine it would sound quite nice. It looks well made!
Cheers!
CL
I have a Ginsburg chanter and it’s well in tune and plays well. A boxwood set would be nice. I love the mellow sound of boxwood. The owner says it’s still loud enough to be heard in a session, though. Which is nice.
Dionys
The auction has ended.
The paki pipes sold for over $3,000.
There’s no guarantee they will play.
A new full set from O’Grady is $3,000.
They will play.
How much did that boxwood set by Ginsberg sell for? Hopefully more than the PAKISTANI set! Goodness, I sure hope so! I can understand how the Paki set sold…it’s a shiny full set! and the buyer probably didn’t have the resources or knowledge most of “us” on this list might have…in other words..they:
All they had to do was contact the seller and ask who the maker was… two other guys backed out of the sale when thet realized the pipes were from Pakistan… this was noted on the bid retractions.
Actually, the pictures were some of the best I’ve seen on eBay and these paki pipes ‘appeared’ to be well made… however, as musical instruments they probably aren’t ‘musically accurate’ and as said elsewhere “They make great wall ornaments”
The Ginsburg set didn’t make the reserve when the auction ended and I didn’t see the item re-listed.