How pipes look.

PJ · Post by PJ » Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:48 am

The Holy Trinity Church in Cork.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:51 am

Cool.

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 9:04 am

Can someone post a time line when the Egan, Coyne, Harrington sets were made??

TIA

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:03 am

Interesting - that's very reminiscent of Geoff's Harrington bass reg cap, but it's certainly not a "copy" in the literal sense - a number of elements differ. Could be from another Harrington (though I don't know of anything exactly like it).

Geoff's is the only one intact. Geoff did one copy for Mark Farrelly at his request (set sold on now). Some similar pieces survive on various Harringtons but never with the top piece. They're easily knocked off.

Sean Reid's Rowsome has a Harrington inspired design but again without the top piece. Copying this is a bit like copying the Beehive set's mounts, while it was an interesting quirk in history maybe it should be left that way. And especially so if the rest of the set doesn't reflect the aesthetic unity of the original.

[edit]: Sean Talty playing his B flat Harrington below, without the top piece:

and a snap of Liam Flynn from long before my photographic days, really only worth looking at if you want to see what JOBM looked like before the hairline receded

simonknight · Post by **simonknight** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:10 am

Joseph E. Smith wrote:
Peter Laban wrote:Interesting bit of trivia maybe, Geoff once went to Cork so seek out Hannover st where Denis Harrington was based and found a church tower near it the shape of which closely mirrored the frilly design of the Bass reg top of his harry set.
That's a cool little insight into the mind of Harrington.

This is my bass reg cap (the regs are still under construction), it is based off of a Harrington set. Is it the same Harrington set being discussed here?

My Angus B set has a very similar reg cap that Brad copied (I don't know how precisely) from a Harrington set.

On the subject of design and aesthetics, acoustic instruments should reflect their function in their form and those relationships should be pleasing to the eye, whether it's the curves in a violin of the proportions of the regulators. They are tied to acoustic proportions or to principals like the golden mean which not only looks good but also ensures that unpleasant standing waves are avoided.

When it comes to the details there's no reason a maker shouldn't try and produce an elegant integrated design. I too would be suspicious of the quality of an instrument that ignored the fundamental aesthetics.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:51 pm

Peter Laban wrote:
Interesting - that's very reminiscent of Geoff's Harrington bass reg cap, but it's certainly not a "copy" in the literal sense - a number of elements differ. Could be from another Harrington (though I don't know of anything exactly like it).
Geoff's is the only one intact. Geoff did one copy for Mark Farrelly at his request (set sold on now). Some similar pieces survive on various Harringtons but never with the top piece. They're easily knocked off.

I have seen photos of the original top piece, the one mine was copied after, and it is very true to the original... though mine is just a tad more ornate... but the idea is identical.

I wish I could expound more, but I don't know anything beyond what I have said and David has informed me he is not at liberty disclose further details.

rorybbellows · Post by **rorybbellows** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 3:11 pm

Even the greats can make aesthetic slip ups. On wooff sets the bent bass reg sticks out like a sore thumb as does the bent at the end of the bass drone that looks like it has been bent over too much ,and if wanted to be really picky ,on some of his sets he has ferrules at the stock end of the tonor and bari regs ,but has left them off on the adjacent drones

RORY

tommykleen · Post by **tommykleen** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:15 pm

Joseph E. Smith wrote:

See, that sort of work is quite exquisite and well done, but I don't see how the rest of the set could harmonize with it. This end piece has to tie in visually with the rest of the set, and it is a tall order with it being stuck out on the end of the reg bar, so far from "home". Were other decorative parts of the set able to match this, I think it would be too much for my tastes. But then it is my taste, for what it is worth.

I don't recall a piece like this on Woof's Harrington set that I saw him play in '02, but maybe it was there and I somehow missed it!

t

billh · Post by **billh** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:19 am

The Wooff Harrington bass reg cap is featured on the cover of the SRS v1 CD-ROM.

BTW, I just saw Cormac's Egan last night, it was playing very well, However that may deserve its own thread...)

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:25 am

Possibly the Keighley museum set has the top piece in tact. It doesn't show in the pictures posted when it was reported stolen (AP 2, 26)

PCL · Post by **PCL** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:31 am

Geoff Wooff's Harringtons are not the only set with a complete bass regulator cap. The Sydney Harrington set also has an intact bass reg cap. Strange that the two sets (are there more?), with all their bits (if you don't count the chanter on the Sydney set), found their way to Australia.

See SRS Volume 2, article 11 (erronously titled a set from South Australia; Sydney is in New South Wales) for details.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w306 ... ngton1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
The bass regulator cap.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w306 ... ngton2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
The whole set in B. For some reason, the image cropped when I copied it; but you get the idea.

P.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:34 am

If I remember well Geoff told me he turned that top piece and some other bits for Declan Affley when doing some work on the set. The thin piece had been knocked off like for example the one Sean Talty has

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:36 am

PCL · Post by **PCL** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:48 am

Geoff turned the chanter. The end cap is original---or it used to be. It is news to me that Geoff ever had to replace it. I've known the Sydney set since I first met Declan in the mid-seventies (Jeez, I was just out of school) and it had the pointy end cap then.

It was Declan who, on first sighting the C set on a visit to Geoff's in Perth, said, "That's a Harrington set you know."

"How do you know?", asked Geoff.

"I have a set in the car", Declan replied.

Comparing the two sets, Geoff's C set is a finer piece of work.

P.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:51 am

I'll ask him to be certain. I seem to remember him saying he put that thin piece on but it must be 22 years since discussing that set. I remember the story you have above.