As a whistle player I sometimes long to learn the Uilleann Pipes but, while I know basically what is involved in playing them, I know very little about the technicalities of them. I’m also very low on cash. Having seen the thread on the Hobgoblin practice set, I just want to ask the question: how inexpensive (I won’t use the word cheap) can a half decent playable practice set be bought for, preferably from a maker in the UK or perhaps Europe. Shipping from the USA would be far too expensive and would also involve 25-30% import duties. It would be an advantage if the set could be added to gradually to create a half then full set but I recognise this may put the initial price up.
Mike, the Hunter site has photos in abundance but none that clearly shows the content to a practice set.
This video by piping beginner gave me a good insight into what a practice set should contain and
how it all goes together, the video features a set by Fred Morrison… turn your volume down pre-demo 
I’m certainly not that fond of listening to my pipes. But I do like playing them.
Thanks for the links guys. Mr Gumby, you have a good memory. It’s true, I’m not fond of the fast jigs, reels and most of the pipe stuff I hear but then I watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaRUvtGfsoM, a girl who’d played the pipes for only fours years and whose playing of a solo air returned me to watching Davy Spillane solo on the pipes on Riverdance. And I love that kind of stuff, the slow haunting playing that isn’t mixed in and competing with a bunch of other instruments. The sound, on it own, I love.
Mm. I’ve beginning to think even a playable practice set will be out of my league just now. I found this guy http://www.uilleann-pipes.de/english/prices_1-19.html making a practice set for approx £550 that I imagine is well made. Maybe in time I could go for something like that or watch the second-hand market.
Don’t buy a cheap set of pipes. Other than the playability, you’ll have problems getting rid of a poor quality instrument, should you want to sell or trade up.
Save your money until you can affoard a good quality instrument.
An alternate strategy would be to assemble a practice set.
The maximum bang for your buck, right now, would be a Kelleher Bag, Bellows, and stocks. You’ll need mentoring in any case and yer local piper can get you sorted with tying in. These are all quality items and you can keep them to assemble a larger set later, or will command excellent re-sale value.
The best, least expensive chanter would be a Daye chanter. If you get the black delrin option you’ll be assured of a fast turnover for nearly the price of a new one upon re-sale. (You’d have to prise mine out of my cold, dead hands, as it is a great back-up).
You also would be free to roam the marketplace for whatever other chanters you might fancy.
My thought is you’ll be in over your head learning to swim in any case, and some basic maintenance and assembly practice will only be part of the drill. YMMV.
Bob
The Rogge practice set is brilliant, at least the chanter! No worries there. I don’t think you’d go wrong with the Hunterpipes set either.
I have never seen or heard a Daye chanter ‘in the flesh’ but enough people whos opinion i value and respect vouch for them.
EDIT: I sold my Rogge delrin chanter only because i had a moment of clarity and realised i ill never progress on flute and whistle while trying to (re)learn the pipes (I had a set back in the 90’s)
If you don’t particularly like the music the pipes are made for, I think you are wasting your money.
Playing airs may not look difficult, but I would say it requires the most skill and taste.
You also need a good chanter for that.
My first chanter in the early '90s from Peter Hunter exactly the same as the one posted above.
You can’t go wrong with those sticks. I have heard one of Sam’s sticks and he is a worthy successor to he Hunter name.
But, as I said, spending a wad of cash to play Riverdance is a waste.
Piping is a huge investment of money and time, if you haven’t got that then just be happy with watching the DVD.
I have a Sam L/Hunter chanter, and I love it! The reed that came with it works just fine, and I haven’t adjusted it since…
He also makes “simple chanters” http://www.hunterpipes.co.uk/Simple.html
Thanks for all the feedback. It may be the Daye put-it-together-yourself kit would be the cheapest way to go if I have the courage. Even with shipping to the UK and import duties, it would only come to £350. Someone PM’d me a link to a local maker (well in Scotland anyway) maker http://www.kmbagpipes.com/index.html which obviously has advantages and his practice set come to £600 which isn’t too bad either (his full sets start at only £3250!! What on earth is a 3/4 set?)
I’ve no doubt that given I had the money right now I would have the dedication to learn. And I don’t particularly want to play Riverdance at all. I just happen to prefer melancholy slow airs to dance tunes. But I learn reels, jigs etc on the whistle even though I don’t like the majority of them because it’s part of the learning process. But therein lies a drawback brought to my attention by Lars.
I had a moment of clarity and realised I’ll never progress on . . . whistle while trying to learn the pipes
At present I spend about 90 minutes a day learning whistle split between high and low D. I would like to spend a little more but finding the time to start on the pipes as well would be an issue right now and I DO want to play whistle, especially low whistle, well. But I will continue to mull over the possibility in the knowledge that playing whistle well won’t do any harm when it comes to playing the pipes.
Depending on what you mean by “north scotland” there could be a number of pipers near you, its always an idea to go see a real set and have a squeeze on them if allowed (the conversion from whistle to pipes = many years of work)
Within 40 mins of Inverness there are at least 3 of us, for instance. One has a practice set that he has leased out in the past, might be an avenue to pursue.
As for pipemakers, don’t forget Gordon Galloway down near Ballachulish.
Inexpensive starter set…that Rogge polyacetyl chanter would be a good bet maybe. Just needs a bellows added
Send me a private message maybe
Bellows, bag, chanter, all three drones, and 2 (out of three) regulators.
From my experience, pipes do take a lot of dedication as there is so much to learn and many things to coordinate. You won’t see the progress as quickly as you might with any number of other instruments either; it takes patience and some stubbornness too, as well as dedication.
I’ve barely touched all the other instruments I play since taking up the pipes; many not at all. But I still play my whistles more than all the rest combined, mostly because: a) when you hear a tune you like or want to hear what a manuscript sounds like, it’s a lot more convenient to pick up a whistle than to strap in to the pipes, and b) a whistle will travel (almost) anywhere and play in any humidity.