Should JES sell his Kintail GHBs or not?

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:28 am

I'd hang onto them. Since your pic from the '80s synthetic reeds and bags have made huge strides. Get some good synthetic drone reeds and get an easy reed going in the chanter and you should get a good sounding GHB (no oxymoron comments from you lot) without so much effort.

Kintail drones from that era are actually quite good. One of the makers from that shop, Jim Booth, went on his own and is an underrated maker of great pipes. Since the '90s the Kintail name has gathered some dust.

ausdag · Post by **ausdag** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:09 pm

What's wrong with Kintails and what would be a good brand of GHB?

DavidG

Leech · Post by **Leech** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:14 pm

I play a R.G. Hardie GHB. I think it sounds pretty darn good. I recently switched to synthetic drone reeds and boy what a difference! I don't think I'll be using cane drones any time soon.
-E-

snoogie · Post by **snoogie** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:37 am

Don't do it...hang on to them...have some Jameson until the feeling that you want to sell them goes away.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:53 am

snoogie wrote:Don't do it...hang on to them...have some Jameson until the feeling that you want to sell them goes away.

Jameson... aaggaaggaaggaaggaagg...

John S · Post by **John S** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:00 am

Switching to synthetic Drone reeds is only for those prepared to sacrifice tone for less effort and understanding.
If you make your own Drone reeds as (any one can do) from readily available free raw material you can acquire the skills to set up a set of pipes with amazing tone and stability easily.
Natural reeds are much more adjustable than synthetics and the tone of synthetics is a pore second best.

PP

Dionys · Post by **Dionys** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:27 am

You never know when you'll have to gather the clan after the US economy tanks.

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 2:28 pm

David: The pipes coming out lately under the name "Kintail" have been prone to problems in workmanship. As far as good GHB brands, the current top makers are Naill and McCallum with several others taking up the slack such as Kron, Strathmore, Dunbar, Gibson, and MacLellan to name only a few. Like many uilleann pipers, GHB players are apt to have a different brand of chanter from drones. This is often the case with folks who own vintage pipes like Henderson, Glen, MacDougall and Lawrie but want the modern chanter sound of a Naill, McCallum, etc.

John: Cane does sound better but no matter the quality, they do need regular playing for stable sound. If somebody is considering selling pipes because they aren't played regularly, then cane reeds may not be the best solution. Otherwise they don't keep the balance of moisture that is a significant factor in the sound and stability of cane reeds in mouthblown pipes. Many of the composite reeds on the market today offer comparable tone with little to no issues.

Joseph: Perhaps in this case a nice single malt is in order. For a Speyside you can't beat Macallan but if you go for Islays I suggest Ardbeg.

Cheers,
Aaron

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:32 pm

AaronMalcomb wrote:
Joseph: Perhaps in this case a nice single malt is in order. For a Speyside you can't beat Macallan but if you go for Islays I suggest Ardbeg.

Cheers,
Aaron

Ardbeg is nifty, but I am quite fond of this:

Doogie · Post by **Doogie** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:00 pm

AaronMalcomb wrote:David: The pipes coming out lately under the name "Kintail" have been prone to problems in workmanship. As far as good GHB brands, the current top makers are Naill and McCallum with several others taking up the slack such as Kron, Strathmore, Dunbar, Gibson, and MacLellan to name only a few. Like many uilleann pipers, GHB players are apt to have a different brand of chanter from drones. This is often the case with folks who own vintage pipes like Henderson, Glen, MacDougall and Lawrie but want the modern chanter sound of a Naill, McCallum, etc.

John: Cane does sound better but no matter the quality, they do need regular playing for stable sound. If somebody is considering selling pipes because they aren't played regularly, then cane reeds may not be the best solution. Otherwise they don't keep the balance of moisture that is a significant factor in the sound and stability of cane reeds in mouthblown pipes. Many of the composite reeds on the market today offer comparable tone with little to no issues.

Joseph: Perhaps in this case a nice single malt is in order. For a Speyside you can't beat Macallan but if you go for Islays I suggest Ardbeg.

Cheers,
Aaron

Dont forget about Shepherds...

I know the older Kintails were much nicer as far as quality as the newer one's, Joseph is a stand up guy I'm sure he can comment on his set.. Hell he's had them for how many years I bet they rock...

glands · Post by **glands** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:18 pm

Hey Joseph. You'll have to have a sip of that peaty stuff with my wife. It is the proclaimed fave of boxplayers far and wide. She hasn't tried it to date. Perhaps we ought to get all the boxplayers to drink about as much as they could stand....then collect the boxes for "experimentation!" Ha!

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:40 am

glands wrote:Hey Joseph. You'll have to have a sip of that peaty stuff with my wife. It is the proclaimed fave of boxplayers far and wide. She hasn't tried it to date. Perhaps we ought to get all the boxplayers to drink about as much as they could stand....then collect the boxes for "experimentation!" Ha!

Hmmmmmm.... Good morning Mr. Glands, your mission, should you choose to accept it....

Edward · Post by **Edward** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 12:40 pm

How do you guys split your time between the different instruments? Ideally, I would spend my music time 30% big pipes, 40% uilleann pipes, and 30% whistles. Lately, it's been 70% big pipes (competition upcoming), 0% uilleann pipes (!), and 30% whistles. If you find that you really don't want to play a particular instrument, you probably should sell it. I would expect those Dunedin kids to be on the look-out for quality, used sets.

Ed

giggleswicksam · Post by **giggleswicksam** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:16 pm

Lagavulin . . . mmmm nice.
Also Highland Park -

Maybe should have a poll to decide

Laphroaig - best single malt or foul and disgusting medicine?

Never sell instruments unless they're crap*, you never get as much for them as you have to pay to get them back, that's my experience! But then there's the "somebody should be playing these" argument. Toss a coin - that always helps me decide these things . .

*unless you make them . . .

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:17 pm

Edward wrote:How do you guys split your time between the different instruments?

I don't any more. And because of that, there's a set of good GHBs collecting dust in their case, pining for the day they'll be played again.

Since moving to Florida, I've only played one gig with them... to open a golf tournament where I used to work. That was four years ago.

Chiff and Fipple Forums

Should JES sell his Kintail GHBs or not?

Should I sell them there pipes?