reply from Kevin Scott

[Kevin Scott]

First I apologize from my lack of expertise in using this formate.
I am not familiar with it.
It was brought to my attention recently that several questions concerning the pipes I build was the subject of discussion.
Why nobody has asked me is a cause for wonder. I'm available to answer any questions.
The sound I am getting is about what you would expect from a chanter with a 3 to 4 mm throat and 10 mm exit. This produces a very flexable chanter capable of closed, open and cross fingerings. The tonic note produces a wonderful sound with careful application of pressure. The harmonic stack is pronounced which is what you should expect from your chanter as it is required to sound each of the harmonics seperately.
I use African Blackwood for it's stability. Currently as indicated in one reply I am reproducing Malcolm MacGregor's work. He was one of many makers at the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century that was thinking beyond the statis quo or beyond the box as in current language.
In reply to the thoughts on my article in the Pipers' Review, I don't dispute anything anyone else has written about reed making. My article was written to bring attention to other methods of reed making. What I do find fault with is current ideas on pipes in general. Most if not all can be proved inaccurate or wrong with simple experiments.
I would be pleased to answer anyone's questions concerning my work.
stay tuned
Kevin Scott

[Brian Lee]

What I do find fault with is current ideas on pipes in general. Most if not all can be proved inaccurate or wrong with simple experiments.

Kevin Scott

Hi Kevin,

I would be most interested in hearing a little more about which theories or practices are at fault. I've heard of several opposing views with regards to "modern techniques" and would like to know what you feel can be improved upon now?

Best

Brian~

[Kevin Scott]

"Fault" may not be the most accurate term to use. For lack of anything better I used it. There are plenty of myths and bits of common knowledge about in the uilleann world that just don't hold true once they are looked at closely. In this instance you may hear that gouged cane made for orchestral instruments can not be used for uilleann reeds. I suppose someone should have told me that before I began. All my reeds are made from gouged cane for bassoon. It is just like cane from other sources. One piece in a group will work very well while the one next to it won't. Floating cane in water proves that cane floats only. I've had reeds made from two seperate pieces of cane perform wonderfully. One piece sunk to two thirds it's length in water. The other was so light it wouldn't sink at all. Tampering with the throat of your chanter can ruin it. I like this one. Of course if you widen the throat beyond anything reasonable you will creat a different instrument other than an uilleann chanter. Opening the throat can help a weak instrument to sound better. Messing with an historic chanter which has proven to play will is not the best thing to be doing however. Sometimes debris from the air, bellows, or bag can collect in the throat and it needs to be cleared. Another myth is so called wide bore chanters ae louder than narrow bore chanters. Okay, like the reed question someone really should have told me this long before I made a D chanter. The reed has more to do with the volume than the bore although the bore adds flexability to the instrument. Don't use bagpipe seasoning to make your bag air tight. Some people believe this some don't. If done correctly there's no problem. There are more to this list but I think the point is made.
Kevin Scott

[jeff_lindblade]

Kevin - Welcome and thanks for posting to this forum.

You likely don't remember me specifically, as we only spoke on the phone a few times (off the top of my head I think it was in 1999). I purchased one of your chanters (Silver chanter top, antique ivory, and faux tortoise shell - w/o a reed) through John Gaffney. From what I remember of our discussions this was one of the first chanters you made. At the time I was very new to piping and purchased this instrument without the benefit of first-hand experience with pipes and playing that I now have.

I was initially unsuccessful at playing this chanter in tune (with a reed that John gave me) but attributed it to my inexperience. Eventually I was able to take it to a tionol in Chicago where David Daye, Kieran O'hare, Tim Britton, Al Purcell, and BC Childress all had a go at it. They were unsuccessful at playing it with the Gaffney reed or with any of the other reeds in their "stock". David Daye spent a morning working (reeds and rushes) with this chanter to try to get it playing with no success. Tim Britton agreed to take it, make a reed and "correct" the fact the bottom E hole was drilled through the wood as it tapered towards the bell. (sorry that last bit is hard to describe with words, but it was in his mind a fatal tuning error that needed to be corrected) The chanter returned from this work only marginally improved and certainly not in tune with itself or concert pitch.

In hindsight and with the benefit of my current experience this is what I wish that I had done:

First and foremost, I should not have bought a chanter without a working reed from the maker. I should have insisted that you provide one at the time of purchase rather than agreeing to have one made "local" to me.

I should have had spent more time waiting and listening to a variety of chanters rather than "jumping" at the first opportunity to purchase an available instrument.

Once it was established by verified "expert" players (not just those I perceived at the time as "experts") that the chanter had some major flaws in design, I should have immediately sent it back to you and asked to be refunded at least a portion of my purchase price.


This is what I did instead:

I posted a few open-ended questions on David Daye's listserv about you and your work and made some half-hearted attempts at contacting you via email.

I paid another pipe maker to "fix" what may not have been fixable.

I stopped playing pipes altogether and found other musical interests to pursue.

Essentially... I gave up on piping and the Irish music "scene" because I thought it to be too difficult to have any success.


Fortunately for me, another chapter in my life unfolded and I now have a much different perspective about the instrument and the music- it is a story with a happy ending (or at least a happy middle).


Kevin, now that you understand a bit about the story of this chanter, what would you suggest that I do with the instrument you sold me? It unfortunately doesn't get much attention from me and has been on a shelf for most of the last three years. I have thought about selling it but decided that I would be unfair to pass along a "problem" to an unsuspecting buyer. (likely someone who is new to piping like I was)

Do you have any thoughts or comments to share?

Kind regards-

Jeff Lindblade

[trombley]

Well Kevin. It appears that you have a few dis-satisfied customers out there. I know that I'm one of them. How about if you take back all the pieces of crap that you sold to the unfortunate souls who didn't know any better at the time and either replace them, or make them work, or better yet, refund the purchase price.


By the way, I have some mp3 files of the Grand Master playing my chanter if anyone is interested.

God, I hope Seamus Clark doesn't yell at me for showing displeasure with Kevin Scott's crapsmanship.

TT

[Jim McGuire]

I wonder if chanters float? Jeff, aren't you near the Chicago River?

[jeff_lindblade]

I may be stating the obvious here but it seems that Kevin has not responded well to aggression in the past. But in his defense - do any of us like to be attacked? I know I don't.

Even if I may have done or said (or sold) something to spark the kind of emotion that trombley is expressing, I imagine I would be less likely to "be a part of the solution" to the conflict when confronted in anger than if I was given an opportunity to work "together" towards an agreeable solution.

In a way, this very public discussion has created a unique opportunity for Kevin to demonstrate his integrity as a craftsman (and in particular as a pipemaker). I hope that he will choose words and actions that help resolve and diffuse this conflict so he can become an active and accepted part of the uilleann pipe community.

Do you have any thoughts or comments Kevin?


Jeff Lindblade

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

No.
Uhh, actually I remember Kevin Scott posting often to the uilleann pipes mailing list, when Craig Fischer was on it a good deal too; and Craig was all for the dinky bore/loud chanter idea, not that he wanted one himself; but it was an idea that was being kicked around there a lot.
Kevin's good to want to push the envelope, however you want to put it. The typical pipemaker's envelope these days sucks. He does seem a mite cheeky, though.