When to play Regulators

Ed Harrison · Post by **Ed Harrison** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:02 pm

There seems to be many more pipes with regulators today and they
really make a difference in the sound of the pipes. However in sessions
some other musicians find them annoying. They are difficult to keep in tune
on many pipes.

So, what's your opinion on:

"When to play regulators."

Mike Hulme · Post by **Mike Hulme** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:54 pm

From a historical perspective the pipes are a solo instrument, therefore it seems appropriate that the regulators are best employed to show off the instrument's capabilities in a solo/recital setting.

So in a session, with the main emphasis being on melody, the regulators would be out of place - and largely out of hearing due to the volume of sound from the other players. The same can hold true for drones as well.

But the biggest drawback to a full or half-set in a session is their physical size. People trip over them when they are played. You can take someone's eye out when you take them off to get your whistle because the pipes are out of tune. And most importantly you cannot easily get to the bar for essential lubrication.

My vote would be chanters only.

PJ · Post by PJ » Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:15 pm

Mike Hulme wrote:So in a session, with the main emphasis being on melody, the regulators would be out of place - and largely out of hearing due to the volume of sound from the other players. The same can hold true for drones as well.

Also, the range of chords that regulators play is limited in comparison with the range of chords played by a guitar or bouzouki, which you're likely to find at a session. Not to mention the rhythms used by guitarists which may vary greatly from those most pipers use for reg accompaniment.

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 4:09 pm

The best thing about regs at a session is that guitar players can't chord to them. The trick then is to outlast the guitar player until he goes away or learns to play a real instrument.

djm

oliver · Post by **oliver** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 4:30 pm

When you can, play them. If you can't, then don't. Can and can't are left to personal appreciation...

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:24 pm

hey now...at about £1000 per reg, ie $5000-6000 for regs on a full set...

PLAY THE FEKKERS IF YOU WANT TO...THEY CERTAINLY COST ENOUGH, ABOUT £250 ($500) PER NOTE

B

Jeff Cullen · Post by **Jeff Cullen** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:06 pm

PLAY THE FEKKERS IF YOU WANT TO...THEY CERTAINLY COST ENOUGH, ABOUT £250 ($500) PER NOTE

Wow! Hadn't looked at it like that. Play them early, play them often!

WannabePiper · Post by **WannabePiper** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:40 pm

I'll play 'em as soon as I can figure out how to reed them, darnit.

The Sporting Pitchfork · Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:23 pm

I got my regulators about 8 months ago and just now feel like I'm starting to get used to playing them for more than a few seconds at a time without the RAM in my brain crapping out.

I probably wouldn't play them in a huge session where I'd hardly be able to hear them anyway. The flip side to that argument is that if it's really loud and crowded, people are less likely to hear you screw up. Then again, I'm usually not too fond of sessions with more than 8 people anyway...

I'd also probably not play them much if I were playing with other accompaniment (e.g. guitar/bouzouki/piano). Then again, if you have a good rapport with the accompanist and have a pretty good idea of what sort of chords he or she is going to play, chances are it couldn't hurt much. Regulators are very limited in what they can do, though, and there's always the temptation to lean on a certain chord for a while in a way that accompanists probably wouldn't (for example a DG-chord in the first part of "The Silver Spear"). Properly done without other accompaniment, this can create lovely tension that is resolved at the end of the phrase. Done against the backing of a guitarist on another planet, it sucks.

However, in small sessions with little or no rhythm instruments, I think regulators can be a very welcome addition to the overall sound. A fiddle player at a session I went to last week said that he had really enjoyed the sound I was getting from my regulators and that it added a new dimension to the tunes that we were playing, which made me feel a little bit better about the huge amount of money I spent on them...

So, to sum up: no in a big session, maybe in a small session if you have an idea of what the accompanist is doing and s/he has an idea of what you're doing, and definitely a yes if there's no other accompaniment.

But for the love of God...Whatever you do, DON'T sit there and f*rt away just on the regulators when someone else is playing and you don't know the tune. People who do that should be shot on sight.

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:13 pm

I'll play my regs during sessions if there is no backup player, or when there is if I am quite sure that he/she isn't going to play a substitution chord that would clash with the regs. For example, I'll quite commonly use a D chord on the regs as a substitution for the A minor chord for tunes in A Dor, but I wouldn't do that if the guitar/bouzouki player were hanging out on A minor. Completely depends on who's doing the backing. Now, my regs aren't very loud, so this doesn't generalize to other sets, I've been in sessions that were completely overwhelmed by too-loud regs, even if in tune and consonant with the melody.

Michael

djimbo · Post by **djimbo** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:05 pm

This is an easy one...
When you've won the lottery..
or alternatively when you have the disposable income of an American.

Last time I enquired, of Dave Williams, which dates it a bit, it was £550-odd for a baritone reg, or more than £100 a note.
Kinda sucks when you're on a carers income.. but hey he used to make chanters for £100..
Absolutely nothing to do with the aforementioned sectors introduction to the instrument I'm sure.

uillmann · Post by **uillmann** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 8:14 pm

Play them all the time. That's what they're there for. Sometimes I play them even more in an effort to keep the meter clipping along if there is a guitarist plodding and dragging the pace of things. But when a good guitarist's emphasis is timely on the down beat and the regulators are on the up beat or doubling along, what's not to like?

Rob Sharer · Post by **Rob Sharer** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:24 am

Good man, Mark! As a non-piper, I can say that it's thrilling to hear the regs 'pipe up' in the middle of a set of tunes - kind of like the kettle starting to whistle when the water reaches a rolling boil. I can testify that Mark's 'chop' is regular enough to set one's chronometer by. Cheers,

Rob

Brazenkane · Post by **Brazenkane** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:59 pm

Something I've come across;

A very good player who plays the regs well. Put them w/a group of players and they are all over the regs, ears closed off to what ever is going on around them. Then should another piper go for the regs, they again are all over their own regs.

..no ears=no fun...

pancelticpiper · Post by **pancelticpiper** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:29 am

When NOT to play the regs: when they're out of tune, which with many pipers is the majority of the time.

A good piper playing perfectly in-tune regs and using them with taste is a joy to hear.

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