Bagpipes Galore uilleanns???
John Mulhern
> From: Robert Forkner (robert...@earthlink.net)
>Subject: Bagpipes galore uilleanns???
>Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.bagpipe
>Date: 2000/05/17
>Hey there,
> I am just curious to know if anyone has any information as to the
>reputation of uilelann pipes from bagpipes galore in Edinburgh. I'm
>thinking about getting a uilleann half set from them, but I have been
told
>to be cautious because they might be re-working pakistani sets.
Anybody
>have any info?
>Thanks!
>Rob Forkner
>
Hello,
I bought a half set of supposedly Scottish made uilleann bagpipes
via the internet from The Harp & Dragon,
http://www.harpanddragon.com/uilleann.htm, in June 2000 for $1250.00
plus $25.00 shipping. I was never able to get them in tune or reach
the second octave, which I attributed to my own inexperience. In
February 2001 I noticed that the company's website ad had changed from
"made in Scotland by Bagpipes Galore!" to "made in Pakistan for
Bagpipes Galore" and "The synthetic bag and velvet bag cover are put
on in Scotland by Bagpipes Galore". I also noticed that the bass drone
connector, a piece of 3/8' dia. nickle plated brass tubing, was over
1/2 closed inside due to brazing material oozing into the tube. A
request to return them for a full refund was rejected by the company.
I was very well aware of the bad reputation Pakistani musical
instruments have, bought Scottish, and got skunked anyway.
1 1/2 months ago, I bought a Ray Sloan practice set for $850.00. I
love 'em. Beautifully made, leather bellows and bag, high E, F, and G
reliably achievable, (high A and B are tough to reach).
IMHO, not only avoid buying Pakistani uilleann pipes unless you're
prepared to tonally evaluate and fix their problems, but also memorize
what they look like, so as a consumer, you can tell when they're being
misrepresented.-John
CarnGalver
>From: jm...@netzero.net (John Mulhern)
>Date: 04/08/01 06:55 GMT Daylight Time
>Message-id: <510eb942.01080...@posting.google.com>
>
>>Message 1 in thread
>> From: Robert Forkner (robert...@earthlink.net)
>>Subject: Bagpipes galore uilleanns???
>>Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.bagpipe
>>Date: 2000/05/17
>
>
>
>>Hey there,
>> I am just curious to know if anyone has any information as to the
>>reputation of uilelann pipes from bagpipes galore in Edinburgh. I'm
>>thinking about getting a uilleann half set from them, but I have been
>told
>>to be cautious because they might be re-working pakistani sets.
>Anybody
>>have any info?
Never buy instruments from shops particularly Uilleann Pipes. Buy from makers.
Al
Royce Lerwick
> 1 1/2 months ago, I bought a Ray Sloan practice set for $850.00. I
>love 'em. Beautifully made, leather bellows and bag, high E, F, and G
>reliably achievable, (high A and B are tough to reach).
Is that because the reed balks, or is it because you are unaware that
you can't actually reach high A and B without first popping to F or G
and sliding up? You cannot go directly to high A or B from the lower
octave, or usually even from a high E.
Royce
www.royceworld.com
Zetland Pipes, other stuff to see and hear.
Home of "Tekno Train" and "Groove Hills"
Royce Lerwick
>>>Hey there,
>>> I am just curious to know if anyone has any information as to the
>>>reputation of uilelann pipes from bagpipes galore in Edinburgh. I'm
>>>thinking about getting a uilleann half set from them, but I have been
>>told
>>>to be cautious because they might be re-working pakistani sets.
>>Anybody
>>>have any info?
>
>Never buy instruments from shops particularly Uilleann Pipes. Buy from makers.
>Al
Hey, you should see the reeds in those things though Alan. It's like a
stubby, cut-down UP plastic reed, only it's cut at a steep angle.
Weird, but on the chanter I played it played fairly freely in both
octaves--can't say much for the intonation but it's a really goofy
chanter/reed system, not your noraml UP layout.
Royce
(But then you had a look one of my own really odd chanters--which by
the way, I'm hacking into at the moment and shows a lot of reform
potential, though I don't know yet if I'll ever get it to play a
conventional Cnat fingering, but it does do a good Cnat with G and F#
both off so I might be able to live with that. Reed is great by the
way--took a day and a sliver of lip clipping to adjust to the climate
but it's sounding very good! Uh...check is in the mail...uh...)
Jack
John Mulhern wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I bought a half set of supposedly Scottish made uilleann bagpipes
> via the internet from The Harp & Dragon, http://www.harpanddragon.com/uilleann.htm
Back when I didn't know better, I bought a $30 practice chanter from
them. It was certainly Paki. I played it for a few hours, seperated
the top but it cracked anyway. Less than 12 hours after the PC arrived
in the mail it was unplayable. Getting my money back took a monumental
effort and near downright nastiness. I would suggest everyone stay away
from their products. The owners may be good people, but my experience
with their product(s) was not pleasant.
Jack
John Mulhern
definitely seems easier to reach as the reed breaks in. Maybe
humidity? I live in inland So. Cal. (hot & dry). Others in this area
bump up the humidity with sonic room humidifiers when necessary, so
maybe that's a prudent next step.
>Hey, you should see the reeds in those things though Alan. It's like
a
>stubby, cut-down UP plastic reed, only it's cut at a steep angle.
>Weird, but on the chanter I played it played fairly freely in both
>octaves--can't say much for the intonation but it's a really goofy
>chanter/reed system, not your noraml UP layout.
Do you know if that type of reed is O.E.M. for Pakistani chanters,
or are they usually cane? I was later told that the reed was made in
Scotland by a gentleman named Ralph Hepburn, who also put on the bag
and bag cover. 2.540 O.A.L.; .420 blade width cut at about a 30 deg.
taper with a large radius; two piece staple, a short traditional
rolled copper one inside a .218 dia. aluminum tube; P.T.F.E. tape
around the white plastic blades, and black heat shrink tubing holding
it all together.-John
CarnGalver
>From: pmle...@mn.mediaone.net (Royce Lerwick)
>Date: 05/08/01 22:19 GMT Daylight Time
>Message-id: <3b6db78b...@news.mn.mediaone.net>
No probs., Hmmm practice reeds, cut up, sounds like they could work in a
bombarde. Scrape away. I must learn about humidity, any tips?
Al
Royce Lerwick
> Minor bridle adjustments haven't helped much, but the second octave
>definitely seems easier to reach as the reed breaks in. Maybe
>humidity? I live in inland So. Cal. (hot & dry). Others in this area
>bump up the humidity with sonic room humidifiers when necessary, so
>maybe that's a prudent next step.
If it's a plastic reed forget about humidity being much of a factor
unless it's actually wet.
>
>>Hey, you should see the reeds in those things though Alan. It's like
>a
>>stubby, cut-down UP plastic reed, only it's cut at a steep angle.
>>Weird, but on the chanter I played it played fairly freely in both
>>octaves--can't say much for the intonation but it's a really goofy
>>chanter/reed system, not your noraml UP layout.
> Do you know if that type of reed is O.E.M. for Pakistani chanters,
>or are they usually cane? I was later told that the reed was made in
>Scotland by a gentleman named Ralph Hepburn, who also put on the bag
>and bag cover. 2.540 O.A.L.; .420 blade width cut at about a 30 deg.
>taper with a large radius; two piece staple, a short traditional
>rolled copper one inside a .218 dia. aluminum tube; P.T.F.E. tape
>around the white plastic blades, and black heat shrink tubing holding
>it all together.-John
That particular design is most likely a cut-down GHB practice chanter
reed with an aluminum extention heat-shrunk onto it. There is no
*standard* really. Lark in the Morning has a three piece UP reed I've
used in their mouthblow practice chanter for UP, and it's pretty easy
to manage in the second octave, just hard to mouth blow. The first
reed they sent out was just two pieces, but I think the last extention
had fallen off or something, as the replacement had three tubes and
played much much better. You could try one of those--I got a spare if
you're interested for a few bucks...
John Mulhern
>
> If it's a plastic reed forget about humidity being much of a factor
> unless it's actually wet.
> >
>
> reed with an aluminum extention heat-shrunk onto it. There is no
> *standard* really. Lark in the Morning has a three piece UP reed I've
> used in their mouthblow practice chanter for UP, and it's pretty easy
> to manage in the second octave, just hard to mouth blow. The first
> reed they sent out was just two pieces, but I think the last extention
> had fallen off or something, as the replacement had three tubes and
> played much much better. You could try one of those--I got a spare if
> you're interested for a few bucks...
>
> Royce
>
> www.royceworld.com
> Zetland Pipes, other stuff to see and hear.
> Home of "Tekno Train" and "Groove Hills"
practice set uses a conventional cane reed, which is sounding sweeter
as time passes. I checked out Lark in the Morning's site for a
replacement reed for the Paki, but I think I really need to just bite
the bullet and learn to make my own reeds. I made a shooting block
and bought 3 tubes of 1" cane and a gouge from Celtic Fire, Ltd.. The
reed making instructional website at
http://home.wxs.nl/~HartDD/Reed/reed.html seems to be a good place to
start, so with any luck, maybe I can make something producing a sound
slightly more vaguely reminiscent of an UP than the O.E.M. plastic
one. Thanks for your help!-John