okay, so the starter set of choice would be...?
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Tradman
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okay, so the starter set of choice would be...?
Since I get mixed replies about the penney chanter, and P. Murray looks like he might be slowing his production down, what other options should be considered for a starter set of pipes for an already $$$ strapped flautist/whistle player?
Eric T
Waycross, GA USA
Dave Copley 6 Key
Ormiston Keyless
Roy MacManus blackwood high- D
Sindt high- D
Various Chieftain Low Whistles
Waycross, GA USA
Dave Copley 6 Key
Ormiston Keyless
Roy MacManus blackwood high- D
Sindt high- D
Various Chieftain Low Whistles
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Jack Macleod
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Save your money. Buy quality the first time out. $50 will get you on Seth Gallagher's list. If you can't save the money in 10 months' time, work harder (or drink less!). Seriously, Seth's instruments are beyond reproach (Paddy Maloney plays Seth's pipes), the price is competitive and few other makers of his quality can get you a set in 10 months (or less). I have a Gallagher D set (second-owner) and couldn't be happier.
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fel bautista
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Phil Wardle
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Re: okay, so the starter set of choice would be...?
If the wait and the extra cost for a practice set by one of the established makers puts you off, I think you could do worse than contacting David Boisvert of Greenwood Pipes. He's new to the game, but is honest and keen to do good work. You may well get what you want more quickly and cheaply...with the added advantage of knowing that David will be very sure to do his best for you at this time in his career (you will also get lots of after sales back-up from him I would imagine).Tradman wrote:Since I get mixed replies about the penney chanter, and P. Murray looks like he might be slowing his production down, what other options should be considered for a starter set of pipes for an already $$$ strapped flautist/whistle player?
Other than that...I do have to say that Ian McKenzie's red lancewood practice sets, made here in Australia, are really nice too.
Cheers, Phil.
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Lorenzo
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I've heard there's some nice valleys and hills around those parts, Phil. Years ago, I had a good friend who flew over there to 'get the feel' of some real estate that was on the market...an entire village, one that had been built for the folks building a dam in the gorge.
Back On-topic, I agree...get a quality set the first time, you can't lose since it'll hold it's value. Do what I did, getting a cheap thing, and you'll probably be stuck with it and want a better one in a year. The better one the first time would have saved you from a lot of discouragement too.
Back On-topic, I agree...get a quality set the first time, you can't lose since it'll hold it's value. Do what I did, getting a cheap thing, and you'll probably be stuck with it and want a better one in a year. The better one the first time would have saved you from a lot of discouragement too.
yeah...my take is get the best chanter for your practice set that you can afford and don't skimp on the keys. trying to learn UP is difficult enuff, trying to learn on a faulty or tempermental specimen is just masochism. when you've mastered the chanter seek out a decent set of drones and regs.
i was fortunate enuff to get a mass-produced chanter that, while keyless, was at least halfway decent. i do feel it's better than the one tim rebuilt as part of my set, even after he got thru with it. one of my prize posessions is a bruce childress chanter (2key) that i recommend for a beginner. it has a nice tone, isn't too loud, likes to play in tune, and is extremely low on maintenance (in the years i've had it, the only thing i've had to do was add a little thread to his cork that holds the chanter cap on.
i've got to come up with a plan to finally buy the rest of one of bruce's sets. sigh...$3600 - $450(for the chanter i already have) + $120 for the remaining two keys = $3270 + almost two years
double sigh...anybody out there upgrading past a childress set and interested in selling the bellows, bag, drones and regs (everything but the chanter)?
i was fortunate enuff to get a mass-produced chanter that, while keyless, was at least halfway decent. i do feel it's better than the one tim rebuilt as part of my set, even after he got thru with it. one of my prize posessions is a bruce childress chanter (2key) that i recommend for a beginner. it has a nice tone, isn't too loud, likes to play in tune, and is extremely low on maintenance (in the years i've had it, the only thing i've had to do was add a little thread to his cork that holds the chanter cap on.
i've got to come up with a plan to finally buy the rest of one of bruce's sets. sigh...$3600 - $450(for the chanter i already have) + $120 for the remaining two keys = $3270 + almost two years
double sigh...anybody out there upgrading past a childress set and interested in selling the bellows, bag, drones and regs (everything but the chanter)?
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Phil Wardle
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Rick
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Sorry for this blatant plug but when i see all those "inexpensive, fast, good" pipemakers fly past i think this one should at least be mentioned. 
3 to 4 months for a practise set.
And no, not because lack of work but because of working HARD!
http://www.uilleann.net
3 to 4 months for a practise set.
And no, not because lack of work but because of working HARD!
http://www.uilleann.net
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j dasinger
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Phil Wardle
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[quote="Lorenzo"]I've heard there's some nice valleys and hills around those parts, Phil. Years ago, I had a good friend who flew over there to 'get the feel' of some real estate that was on the market...an entire village, one that had been built for the folks building a dam in the gorge."
Tasmania is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful islands on the planet. We are lucky not only to have a combination of fantastic scenery, coupled with a mild climate (which, In Hobart at least, is extremely "reed-friendly"), but the World Heritage areas and National Park's contain some of the most pristine ancient forests and wilderness areas left anywhere (despite the best efforts of the timber industry to clear-fell and woodchip what they are allowed to get at. The Basmatis just pile up what they can't use and burn it...including tons of "minor" species that could otherwise be used for anything from high quality furniture to violins, even pipes...but that's another topic).
You could indeed pick up whole villages for a song, left over from the days of Hydro dam building....provided you didn't mind living in the middle of nowhere! Tassy is not much smaller than Ireland, but has a population of under half a million. You can go to pristine beaches here and be the only person within miles....many miles.
And we even speak English! (well, sort of
)
Cheers, Phil.
Tasmania is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful islands on the planet. We are lucky not only to have a combination of fantastic scenery, coupled with a mild climate (which, In Hobart at least, is extremely "reed-friendly"), but the World Heritage areas and National Park's contain some of the most pristine ancient forests and wilderness areas left anywhere (despite the best efforts of the timber industry to clear-fell and woodchip what they are allowed to get at. The Basmatis just pile up what they can't use and burn it...including tons of "minor" species that could otherwise be used for anything from high quality furniture to violins, even pipes...but that's another topic).
You could indeed pick up whole villages for a song, left over from the days of Hydro dam building....provided you didn't mind living in the middle of nowhere! Tassy is not much smaller than Ireland, but has a population of under half a million. You can go to pristine beaches here and be the only person within miles....many miles.
And we even speak English! (well, sort of
)Cheers, Phil.
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Lorenzo
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I think we'll be headin your way, mate, if I can talk the wife into the journey. Sounds wonderful down there. I believe in counter balance, and I'd like to see whirlwinds, water drains, and even myself spin the other direction for the 2nd half of my life...kinda like unwinding on a swing. Soon as I get this real estate developed and sold, I'll be there...(two more houses to build). I really only do two things anymore beside community development...windsurf and play the uilleann pipes. 
Got any world class wind (and waves) above the dam, or off-shore?
Got any world class wind (and waves) above the dam, or off-shore?
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Brian Lee
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Yep.
Exactly what's been said here:
Save the money, and DO IT RIGHT! Buy a "real" set from a "real" maker. Seth Gallagher is certainly widely considered one of the best, and his lead times are very reasonable now. You may also want to bear in mind it's a good idea to try and find a maker relatively close to your location. buying from another continent can be distressing at times...
Exactly what's been said here:
Save the money, and DO IT RIGHT! Buy a "real" set from a "real" maker. Seth Gallagher is certainly widely considered one of the best, and his lead times are very reasonable now. You may also want to bear in mind it's a good idea to try and find a maker relatively close to your location. buying from another continent can be distressing at times...
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Phil Wardle
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Lorenzo wrote:I think we'll be headin your way, mate, if I can talk the wife into the journey. Sounds wonderful down there. I believe in counter balance, and I'd like to see whirlwinds, water drains, and even myself spin the other direction for the 2nd half of my life...kinda like unwinding on a swing. Soon as I get this real estate developed and sold, I'll be there...(two more houses to build). I really only do two things anymore beside community development...windsurf and play the uilleann pipes.
Got any world class wind (and waves) above the dam, or off-shore?
Well, we'd love to see you, if'n you don't mind standing on yer head and driving on the wrong side of the road
Funny you should mention windsurfing....there was an item on the news last night about a group of Danes travelling down here to catch the wind and BIG waves on the west coast. We live in what are called the "Roaring Forties" here, so there is no shortage of wind at all at all. I love sailing myself and I have to say this is the place for it. Near Hobart we have miles of protected waters in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel that separates Tassy from Bruny Island...full of deserted inlets and yummy fish (er, and the odd enormous shark). For the more adventurous, one can always go off-shore and see what a fifty foot wave looks like (not much between us and Antarctica, so the swells do build up a tad).
Cheers, Phil.