Alec Smith of Lauriebeck pipes (Isle of Wight) made my D/A set with which I am very pleased. Very reasonably priced and a nice man to do business with. However, I have seen other pipes by other makers which are also very nice - Nate Banton is one US maker that springs to mind. I use bellows by Simon Hope with my Lauriebeck pipes instead of the original bellows - can't really say why - the original bellows are ok too.
If you can get to some meeting of smallpipers then do so and ask to see and hear or maybe even try out some other sets. The Lowland and Border Piping society (LBPS) has some sets for hire, but I don't know how many, or whether they are geographically limited. You should probably join the LBPS anyway.
Sorry, I should say that my answer presumes that you mean Scottish smallpipes, not Northumbrian - if the latter then there is a fairly strong society dedicated to the instrument and a bit of googling should find it.
It depends. Do you want mouth blown or bellows? Mouth blown will give you no end of trouble as the reeds are very sensitive. It also depends on whether or no t you already play pipes. If you do there are three main choices and none of them are cheap. You can get smallpipes under £1000 but no serious pipers I know play them.
The best (certainly here in Scotland) Are Hamish Moore, Nigel Richard and Ian Kinnear. There is often a volume problem if you want to use them in sessions. Kinnear pipes are usually the loudest and are top quality. Here's Mike Katz playing them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR3W3klHIYQ .
But the top of the pile for me are Hamish Moore smallpipes. The are not quite as loud as the others but the tone is fantastic and the tuning is great. Here's Allan MacDonald playing them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymJrIgceiF0&feature=related . Obviously allow for the compressed sound on the clips.
Bogman is bang-on, Moore, Richard, and Kinnear are great Scottish Smallpipes. Kinnear makes a poly set (cane reeds) that's somewhat louder than many blackwood SSPs and would be ideal for sessions.
John Walsh in Canada has got a bit of negativity due to some people not liking his "shuttlepipe" SSP but he makes a very nice traditional-sounding SSP which he calls "Scottish Smallpipes in A 2000". These sound nice, are extremely stable, stay right in tune, etc, and only cost around $500. They're ugly but hey. They can be had either mouthblown or bellows blown.
Then there are people like Richard and Anita Evans who make great NSPs as well as great SSPs.
BTW SSPs come in a lot of different keys. A is perhaps the most common but you'll see them in Bb, C, and D quite often.
The finger reach on most A SSPs is a bit on the wide side (a slightly wider reach than Highland pipes), while D SSP chanters are rather small and some people have a difficult time getting their fingers on the holes. Bb and C chanters are in the middle and many people find them the easiest to finger.
Hi all. I am in the same boat. I play highland pipes and wish to purchase scottish smallpipes to play with a group of irish traditional musicians. They include fiddle player, banjo and tin whistle player. I would prefer mouth blown as I am used to the other pipes. My dilema is what key...A or D. Any advice greatly appreciated. I know the mouth blown are high maintenance but surely it can be done?? Thanks in advance for any info
Definately A Sull. Even though D seems sensible as whistle flute and UPs are D, there is only one octave and there are only a very few number of irish one octave tunes in D.
With A pipes you can play A, some Amin tunes, Bmin and a good few D tunes also some Emin. If you check my profile you'll find a whole pile of tunes suitable for A pipes and many of them get played at Irish sessions.
Do yourself a HUGE favour and go for bellows. It only takes a few weeks to get the hang of them and you will have much more stable pipes. Mouth blown pipes can of course be done but they are much more difficult to keep in tune.
If you want more keys and a louder more attacking sound go for Border pipes but they are more demanding to play. There are also Nigel Richards Session pipes which are mouth blown and probably the most stable of mouth blown pipes.
Key of A is also a similar no-brainer. A combination set (A/D) can be a good option, though to be honest I almost always play my combination set in A. In fact the most use I get out of my set being a combination set is playing with drone tunings (I have two A drones and two which can tune to either E or D - allows a fair bit of playing around...).
I also have a set of Garvie (Nigel Richards) session pipes ("mouth blown border pipes") and they are good too, though still a bit loud for the sessions I go to. They'd fit right in though if I was a bit more confident and prepared to be the driving and dominant sound in the session. I am though actually looking at a way to move to bellows blown border pipes sometime in the near future.
Alec Smith's pipes (Lauriebeck) are a cheaper option and mine sound good and are fairly loud too. Naturally, if you have access to a set by one of the top makers listed by bogman then you cannot go wrong, but they will a. cost more and b. probably have a waiting list.
I would agree with bogman's statement that the Moore smallpipes and the Garvie border pipes are probably the best around.
Steve, having checked the website and sound samples I would say the Walsh pipes that Richards suggested seem excellent value for a beginner, or anyone for that matter . $300 for the bellows is amazing value. Also waiting list of only 2 - 4 weeks. Hamish and Nigel will typically have 1 to 2 years waiting list, so I would get the Walsh's and if you think you're getting on fine get on the waiting list. Walsh's won't be the quality of the top 2 or three makers but they are less than half the price (bellows option)
Sull brings up an interesting topic, that of playing SSPs in an Irish session.
It's true that many Irish session tunes are playable on SSPs, but to render them in the normal session keys you would end up with chanters in D, A, and G. I can't recall seeing a G SSP chanter, but you would need one to render many tunes which would be fingered in A on the SSP but are played in G at session.
Be warned that the Highland pipe versions of many Irish tunes are somewhat mangled and don't follow the actual tunes as played at Irish sessions. A couple examples are The Kesh Jig, The Mountain Road, and The Gold Ring. An SSP player would have to chuck out the usual GHB arrangement and create his own arrangement, one that follows the actual tune more closely.
To fully participate in an Irish session you really should learn a normal Irish session instrument. Highland pipers usually learn the Irish whistle fairly quickly. The flute and uilleann pipes are other options.
Of course this stuff doesn't apply if you're playing GHB tunes at a Scottish session- then A is the key, and the GHB versions are of course the correct versions.
At one of our local sessions there were a couple fiddlers who liked to play some Scottish tunes and I was bringing my SSP often and slowly teaching them some of my GHB tunes. But now that session has turned into a purely Irish session and SSPs are no longer welcome. I'll stick to Low D whistle now.
I have been playing a Walsh A set (bellows) for a few years now, and am quite happy with them.
They really seemed very "user-friendly", very stable, low-care, and have a fairly pleasant sound.
For any marked improvement on the Walsh set, I think one would have to go up considerably in price, and likely wait awhile for delivery.
I have a lovely set of mouth blown smallpipes from B S Mckay. The chanter and drone reeds are of plastic and there is lovely sweet tone of them. I am surprised no one has mentioned that reeding up a set of pipes to hit A 440 can be tricky and is a matter of balancing reed and chanter, this is often recommended to be done by the maker to get all notes true, though through trial and error I learnt to do my own. The smallpipe survival guide is recommended!
The chanter reed comes from Henry Murdo at Dunfion. The best reed I could find, I also have a Dundrum chanter as back up. the drone reeds are either EZ drone or from bagpipe galore.
Also I thought Id mention drone configuration. I play 2 tenors / Bass while I think it can be said that tenor/ baritone[E] is a more common set-up. But often pipers shut off the E!
They are too quite however, for to be heard at a session, so if you want to play at them IMO you should aim for the loudest small pipe or the quietest border pipe.
When I got my pipes from Hamish I asked for a spare reed. He asked why and I told him in case of damage. He said the one in the chanter will last 25 years if untouched. I got it anyway and it has never left its box. His reeds are a work of art in themselves.
One maker I haven't heard mention is John Rutzen (I may have the spelling wrong) I have a friend who has two sets of his.
One in A and the other in D - the D set never sees the light of day.
I know Rutzen has a long(ish) waiting list but they are top-rate sets. The particular piper I know is ex- Scots Dragoon Guards and for his sins played on the McCartney "Mull of Kintyre" track.
I'm a bit of a woodturner so I can definetly reccomend the quality of the Rutzen's as well as the sound.
Bogman has it all down right - bellows is the way to go as well in my opinion.
smallpipes???????
smallpipes???????
Anyone know a good place to get a set? or what too look for?....?
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by steve...r
Re: smallpipes???????
Strongly recommend Ian MacKenzie in Blackheath, or Bill Hart in Sydney - if you'r in Australia
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by MartinJongleur
Re: smallpipes???????
Simon Hope (www.hopepipes.co.uk) in the UK makes good pipes and his bellows are good too, worth a look or a chat.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by iain beag
Re: smallpipes???????
As an after thought I think Simon Hope does supply some shops in North America and Canada, email him he'll tell you.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by iain beag
Re: smallpipes???????
Alec Smith of Lauriebeck pipes (Isle of Wight) made my D/A set with which I am very pleased. Very reasonably priced and a nice man to do business with. However, I have seen other pipes by other makers which are also very nice - Nate Banton is one US maker that springs to mind. I use bellows by Simon Hope with my Lauriebeck pipes instead of the original bellows - can't really say why - the original bellows are ok too.
If you can get to some meeting of smallpipers then do so and ask to see and hear or maybe even try out some other sets. The Lowland and Border Piping society (LBPS) has some sets for hire, but I don't know how many, or whether they are geographically limited. You should probably join the LBPS anyway.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: smallpipes???????
Sorry, I should say that my answer presumes that you mean Scottish smallpipes, not Northumbrian - if the latter then there is a fairly strong society dedicated to the instrument and a bit of googling should find it.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: smallpipes???????
It depends. Do you want mouth blown or bellows? Mouth blown will give you no end of trouble as the reeds are very sensitive. It also depends on whether or no t you already play pipes. If you do there are three main choices and none of them are cheap. You can get smallpipes under £1000 but no serious pipers I know play them.
The best (certainly here in Scotland) Are Hamish Moore, Nigel Richard and Ian Kinnear. There is often a volume problem if you want to use them in sessions. Kinnear pipes are usually the loudest and are top quality. Here's Mike Katz playing them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR3W3klHIYQ .
Nigel Richard makes great pipes with good volume and he also makes probably the best border pipes. Samples here. http://www.garviebagpipes.co.uk/info/sounds/sounds.html
But the top of the pile for me are Hamish Moore smallpipes. The are not quite as loud as the others but the tone is fantastic and the tuning is great. Here's Allan MacDonald playing them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymJrIgceiF0&feature=related . Obviously allow for the compressed sound on the clips.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
BTW don't be tempted by D smallpipes whatever you do unless you want to play on your own.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
Bogman is bang-on, Moore, Richard, and Kinnear are great Scottish Smallpipes. Kinnear makes a poly set (cane reeds) that's somewhat louder than many blackwood SSPs and would be ideal for sessions.
John Walsh in Canada has got a bit of negativity due to some people not liking his "shuttlepipe" SSP but he makes a very nice traditional-sounding SSP which he calls "Scottish Smallpipes in A 2000". These sound nice, are extremely stable, stay right in tune, etc, and only cost around $500. They're ugly but hey. They can be had either mouthblown or bellows blown.
Then there are people like Richard and Anita Evans who make great NSPs as well as great SSPs.
BTW SSPs come in a lot of different keys. A is perhaps the most common but you'll see them in Bb, C, and D quite often.
The finger reach on most A SSPs is a bit on the wide side (a slightly wider reach than Highland pipes), while D SSP chanters are rather small and some people have a difficult time getting their fingers on the holes. Bb and C chanters are in the middle and many people find them the easiest to finger.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: smallpipes???????
Hi all. I am in the same boat. I play highland pipes and wish to purchase scottish smallpipes to play with a group of irish traditional musicians. They include fiddle player, banjo and tin whistle player. I would prefer mouth blown as I am used to the other pipes. My dilema is what key...A or D. Any advice greatly appreciated. I know the mouth blown are high maintenance but surely it can be done?? Thanks in advance for any info
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by Sull
Re: smallpipes???????
Definately A Sull. Even though D seems sensible as whistle flute and UPs are D, there is only one octave and there are only a very few number of irish one octave tunes in D.
With A pipes you can play A, some Amin tunes, Bmin and a good few D tunes also some Emin. If you check my profile you'll find a whole pile of tunes suitable for A pipes and many of them get played at Irish sessions.
Do yourself a HUGE favour and go for bellows. It only takes a few weeks to get the hang of them and you will have much more stable pipes. Mouth blown pipes can of course be done but they are much more difficult to keep in tune.
If you want more keys and a louder more attacking sound go for Border pipes but they are more demanding to play. There are also Nigel Richards Session pipes which are mouth blown and probably the most stable of mouth blown pipes.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
Thanks bogman. What an impressive selection.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by Sull
Re: smallpipes???????
Go for bellows. No question about it.
Key of A is also a similar no-brainer. A combination set (A/D) can be a good option, though to be honest I almost always play my combination set in A. In fact the most use I get out of my set being a combination set is playing with drone tunings (I have two A drones and two which can tune to either E or D - allows a fair bit of playing around...).
I also have a set of Garvie (Nigel Richards) session pipes ("mouth blown border pipes") and they are good too, though still a bit loud for the sessions I go to. They'd fit right in though if I was a bit more confident and prepared to be the driving and dominant sound in the session. I am though actually looking at a way to move to bellows blown border pipes sometime in the near future.
Alec Smith's pipes (Lauriebeck) are a cheaper option and mine sound good and are fairly loud too. Naturally, if you have access to a set by one of the top makers listed by bogman then you cannot go wrong, but they will a. cost more and b. probably have a waiting list.
I would agree with bogman's statement that the Moore smallpipes and the Garvie border pipes are probably the best around.
# Posted on September 11th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: smallpipes???????
Thanks for all the help guys! you really know your stuff!
So what would be a good set for a beginner?
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by steve...r
Re: smallpipes???????
that is a great MSR set that Mike plays...anyone know the name of the march?
the strath is "The Fiddler"
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by Sunnybear
Re: smallpipes???????
for a great cd of Hamish Moore's pipes, check out "The Piper and the Maker
http://www.footstompin.com/products/cds/the_piper_and_the_maker_hamish_moore_piping_concert
great piping on great (well Gordon Duncan on GHB anyway and the rest small and border pipes) pipes
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by Sunnybear
Re: smallpipes???????
Steve, having checked the website and sound samples I would say the Walsh pipes that Richards suggested seem excellent value for a beginner, or anyone for that matter . $300 for the bellows is amazing value. Also waiting list of only 2 - 4 weeks. Hamish and Nigel will typically have 1 to 2 years waiting list, so I would get the Walsh's and if you think you're getting on fine get on the waiting list. Walsh's won't be the quality of the top 2 or three makers but they are less than half the price (bellows option)
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
Sull brings up an interesting topic, that of playing SSPs in an Irish session.
It's true that many Irish session tunes are playable on SSPs, but to render them in the normal session keys you would end up with chanters in D, A, and G. I can't recall seeing a G SSP chanter, but you would need one to render many tunes which would be fingered in A on the SSP but are played in G at session.
Be warned that the Highland pipe versions of many Irish tunes are somewhat mangled and don't follow the actual tunes as played at Irish sessions. A couple examples are The Kesh Jig, The Mountain Road, and The Gold Ring. An SSP player would have to chuck out the usual GHB arrangement and create his own arrangement, one that follows the actual tune more closely.
To fully participate in an Irish session you really should learn a normal Irish session instrument. Highland pipers usually learn the Irish whistle fairly quickly. The flute and uilleann pipes are other options.
Of course this stuff doesn't apply if you're playing GHB tunes at a Scottish session- then A is the key, and the GHB versions are of course the correct versions.
At one of our local sessions there were a couple fiddlers who liked to play some Scottish tunes and I was bringing my SSP often and slowly teaching them some of my GHB tunes. But now that session has turned into a purely Irish session and SSPs are no longer welcome. I'll stick to Low D whistle now.
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by Richard D Cook
Re: smallpipes???????
FWIW:
I have been playing a Walsh A set (bellows) for a few years now, and am quite happy with them.
They really seemed very "user-friendly", very stable, low-care, and have a fairly pleasant sound.
For any marked improvement on the Walsh set, I think one would have to go up considerably in price, and likely wait awhile for delivery.
Best of luck, New Piper Steve.
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by Piece
Re: smallpipes???????
For more smallpipes discussion, you may want to try
http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=356
# Posted on September 12th 2009 by elbowmusic
Re: smallpipes???????
I have a lovely set of mouth blown smallpipes from B S Mckay. The chanter and drone reeds are of plastic and there is lovely sweet tone of them. I am surprised no one has mentioned that reeding up a set of pipes to hit A 440 can be tricky and is a matter of balancing reed and chanter, this is often recommended to be done by the maker to get all notes true, though through trial and error I learnt to do my own. The smallpipe survival guide is recommended!
The chanter reed comes from Henry Murdo at Dunfion. The best reed I could find, I also have a Dundrum chanter as back up. the drone reeds are either EZ drone or from bagpipe galore.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Piping.
# Posted on September 13th 2009 by piobagusfidil
Re: smallpipes???????
Also I thought Id mention drone configuration. I play 2 tenors / Bass while I think it can be said that tenor/ baritone[E] is a more common set-up. But often pipers shut off the E!
They are too quite however, for to be heard at a session, so if you want to play at them IMO you should aim for the loudest small pipe or the quietest border pipe.
# Posted on September 13th 2009 by piobagusfidil
Re: smallpipes???????
Of course, the top makers pipes will come in perfect 440 and there will be virtually no reed trouble, but you get what you pay for.
# Posted on September 13th 2009 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
Thats grand, as long as the reed lasts.
# Posted on September 13th 2009 by piobagusfidil
Re: smallpipes???????
When I got my pipes from Hamish I asked for a spare reed. He asked why and I told him in case of damage. He said the one in the chanter will last 25 years if untouched. I got it anyway and it has never left its box. His reeds are a work of art in themselves.
# Posted on September 13th 2009 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
A master craftsman indeed! mind at 50£ a shot you'd hope they would last 25 yrs!
# Posted on September 13th 2009 by piobagusfidil
Re: smallpipes???????
Hi Bogman - just saw the list of tunes on your bio - useful list to compile - I'll be having a look through them over the next few weeks.
Thanks.
# Posted on September 14th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: smallpipes???????
One maker I haven't heard mention is John Rutzen (I may have the spelling wrong) I have a friend who has two sets of his.
One in A and the other in D - the D set never sees the light of day.
I know Rutzen has a long(ish) waiting list but they are top-rate sets. The particular piper I know is ex- Scots Dragoon Guards and for his sins played on the McCartney "Mull of Kintyre" track.
I'm a bit of a woodturner so I can definetly reccomend the quality of the Rutzen's as well as the sound.
Bogman has it all down right - bellows is the way to go as well in my opinion.
# Posted on September 15th 2009 by UKCITTERN
Re: smallpipes???????
Perhaps this will bring the topic back to the top for further discussion.
Do any of you know of quality makers on the US side of the ocean?
Small pipe community is much quieter in my opinion. Not alot is known by comparison to the GHB community.
# Posted on January 6th 2010 by okiwen
Re: smallpipes???????
I hope I'm not asking something that's been answered (forgive me if I am) but what make of pipes are those MIke Katz is playing on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR3W3klHIYQ&feature=related
I'm guessing Kinnear but Moore perhaps. And what key? Thanks, so very much. Peter
# Posted on September 2nd 2010 by DavinDaire
Re: smallpipes???????
You're right, they're by Kinnear.
# Posted on September 2nd 2010 by bogman
Re: smallpipes???????
@okiwen
http://www.piperjones.com/tidycottagesmallpipes.html
this is an american maker who makes lovely sets of pipes
# Posted on September 2nd 2010 by pipewatcher