I'm learning the pipes and at the moment and have (on load) a decent wee practice set, but am thinking of buying a really good chanter and then further down the line buying the rest.
Is that a good idea or are you better of buying a set straight out?
My advise is to "buy the reed, not the chanter".
The best chanter on Earth is a useless stick if it doesn't have a reed that works properly in your climate.
Try to find a good, reliable reedmaker who lives as close as possible to you and buy the exact chanter that his reeds are designed to play in.
Uilleann chanter reeds aren't interchangable. You will find that there are many great reedmakers out there whose reeds don't work in 99% of the chanters floating around, but work great in the exact chanter they were designed to work in.
You can have a great chanter in your hand but find that no reed you try in it plays anything close to an acceptable scale. You could spend years trying to find the reed that works in it- and perhaps never do.
Also a shocking number of makers don't make the correct type of reed for the chanters they make, so that a chanter from them will not play well until you toss the reed that came with it and find a reed that works, if you ever can.
Sounds like a good plan, Kess. Get the best bag, bellows, and chanter you can acquire. Don't be shy about asking for help from seasoned pipers. Richard's advice about getting pipes from a pipemaker who also makes great reeds is right on. There are a few pipemakers around who can't make decent reeds yet persist in selling their instruments to unsuspecting noobs. Nuff said. Ask around, you'll get a sense of who they are.
What I look for in a D chanter: strong, in-tune hard bottom D, strong, singing, in-tune back d that does not "sink" or gurgle under pressure. Rich, snarling tone on the bottom hand 1st octave when played off the leg, good vibrato, good "sour" C nat, in-tune 2nd octave E, in tune upper-hand 2nd octave notes that are not too loud. Some concert D chanters get very shrill and sharp in the upper 2nd octave; I don't care for this at all. Smooth, light action on the keywork. Airtight seals on all keys. Comfort. I want the chanter to be comfortable in my hands - I don't care for chanters that are turned too thin on the outside, or have scalloping on the front, or have uncomfortable hole placements. I want good overall volume - comparable to a violin played forte or fortissimo.
Try to see and hear several examples of a pipemaker's work so you can form some idea of that maker's consistency. Find someone who's been playing a LONG time in and out of sessions, who teaches and gigs, and ask his or her honest opinion. You may not like that you will have to wait and pay $$$$ but it's better than wasting money on lousy pipes.
Kess, you have quite a few options given that you are living in Ireland.If you want to buy new then you'll have to wait at least a year for something decent.One of the better options in that case would be Mickey Dunne in Limerick.He makes great chanters & you can usually get one from him within about a year.If you get a chanter from Mickey you won't have to worry about most of the other advice above! I'm not too far from you, well on the same island at least!! I'm in Galway. If you want any help or to discuss this further drop me an e.mail via this site.
How to choose a Uilleann Pipe Chanter?
How to choose a Uilleann Pipe Chanter?
I'm learning the pipes and at the moment and have (on load) a decent wee practice set, but am thinking of buying a really good chanter and then further down the line buying the rest.
Is that a good idea or are you better of buying a set straight out?
What do you look for in a chanter?
Ta
Kess
# Posted on June 3rd 2008 by Kess
Re: How to choose a Uilleann Pipe Chanter?
My advise is to "buy the reed, not the chanter".
The best chanter on Earth is a useless stick if it doesn't have a reed that works properly in your climate.
Try to find a good, reliable reedmaker who lives as close as possible to you and buy the exact chanter that his reeds are designed to play in.
Uilleann chanter reeds aren't interchangable. You will find that there are many great reedmakers out there whose reeds don't work in 99% of the chanters floating around, but work great in the exact chanter they were designed to work in.
You can have a great chanter in your hand but find that no reed you try in it plays anything close to an acceptable scale. You could spend years trying to find the reed that works in it- and perhaps never do.
Also a shocking number of makers don't make the correct type of reed for the chanters they make, so that a chanter from them will not play well until you toss the reed that came with it and find a reed that works, if you ever can.
# Posted on June 3rd 2008 by Richard D Cook
Re: How to choose a Uilleann Pipe Chanter?
Sounds like a good plan, Kess. Get the best bag, bellows, and chanter you can acquire. Don't be shy about asking for help from seasoned pipers. Richard's advice about getting pipes from a pipemaker who also makes great reeds is right on. There are a few pipemakers around who can't make decent reeds yet persist in selling their instruments to unsuspecting noobs. Nuff said. Ask around, you'll get a sense of who they are.
What I look for in a D chanter: strong, in-tune hard bottom D, strong, singing, in-tune back d that does not "sink" or gurgle under pressure. Rich, snarling tone on the bottom hand 1st octave when played off the leg, good vibrato, good "sour" C nat, in-tune 2nd octave E, in tune upper-hand 2nd octave notes that are not too loud. Some concert D chanters get very shrill and sharp in the upper 2nd octave; I don't care for this at all. Smooth, light action on the keywork. Airtight seals on all keys. Comfort. I want the chanter to be comfortable in my hands - I don't care for chanters that are turned too thin on the outside, or have scalloping on the front, or have uncomfortable hole placements. I want good overall volume - comparable to a violin played forte or fortissimo.
Try to see and hear several examples of a pipemaker's work so you can form some idea of that maker's consistency. Find someone who's been playing a LONG time in and out of sessions, who teaches and gigs, and ask his or her honest opinion. You may not like that you will have to wait and pay $$$$ but it's better than wasting money on lousy pipes.
# Posted on June 3rd 2008 by Seosamh Ui Sinan
Re: How to choose a Uilleann Pipe Chanter?
I think John McSherry is running piping workshops in Belfast. He recently posted here advertising it. http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/17783
It would be worth checking out. They would certainly know their stuff and be able to send you in the right direction.
# Posted on June 3rd 2008 by TheSilverSpear
Re: How to choose a Uilleann Pipe Chanter?
Kess, you have quite a few options given that you are living in Ireland.If you want to buy new then you'll have to wait at least a year for something decent.One of the better options in that case would be Mickey Dunne in Limerick.He makes great chanters & you can usually get one from him within about a year.If you get a chanter from Mickey you won't have to worry about most of the other advice above! I'm not too far from you, well on the same island at least!! I'm in Galway. If you want any help or to discuss this further drop me an e.mail via this site.
# Posted on June 12th 2008 by Eamonn Croke