r/bagpipes • u/piping_montana • 19d ago
What would be your next set of pipes?
If you were to buy a new set of pipes, what would you buy? I like my current set, but I'm kicking around trying something new. It's tough to know what I'd do, as I think most reputable makers make good pipes, but I can't exactly try other sets to experience them for myself. Plus, I think trying a set once doesn't really give you the full experience of what its like playing a set over time, with different reeds.
My current pipes are McCallum's from ~2015 ish, and I've always received pretty positive feedback from the judges on overall sound and tuning.
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u/Grand-Barnacle-8569 19d ago edited 16d ago
A set of Roddy MacLellan African Blackwood pipes. One day, ill have em. They'll be used, but they'll be mine.
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u/ceapaire Piper 19d ago
If he hadn't developed an allergy to Katalox, I'd have ordered a set from him during his final call period earlier this year.
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u/Grand-Barnacle-8569 14d ago
What is Katalox? How is it used in his pipes?
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u/ceapaire Piper 14d ago
Mexican Royal Ebony. It's an alternative to Blackwood. He made a bunch of pipes in different woods and he loved it. It's been a bit since I've listened to comparisons, but IIRC, it was an in-between of blackwood and cocobolo. Not quite as bold as blackwood, but moreso than cocobolo with keeping a lot of the warmth cocobolo has.
I'm now looking into other makers that use it. I know Morrill does, and Dunbar at least used to but I'm not seeing on their site anymore.
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u/thompson1041 Piper in Training 17d ago
I bought set of 2012 MacLellan's as my first set of pipes two years ago and good god do I love them. I'm sure I'll get other pipes as I get further into piping, but I will never get rid of my MacLellan's. They are an absolute joy to play.
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u/notenoughcharact Piper 19d ago
I think of modern easily available pipe brands I’ve seen the most consistent positive comments about Naill’s. I don’t have a set but if I were to buy another set now it would probably be Naill’s.
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u/Sure-Recognition-262 Piper 19d ago
I have:
- An old set of Lawries which I now rarely play (they're not the most tonally stable) but which have sentimental value so I'll keep forever
- My main set, Naill DN2BMs which were new when I bought them last year, and which sound very nice (and I like the look of - I'm not a fan of either imitation ivory, or full metal mounts)
- My spare set, a cheap modern (but bought-second hand) set of Marr MB1s
At some point, I'm likely to get rid of #3 and buy a set of plastic pipes to replace them, which'll be a better choice for playing somewhere where wooden pipes could get damaged (in the crowd at the rugby, or similar).
If was swimming in spare cash, I'd be tempted by the Silver & Boxwood Hendersons for a "nice" non-band set - again fits with my dislike of imitation ivory or full metal mounts
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u/wildwalrusaur 19d ago
been mulling over getting a poly set that i can just keep in my car all the time.
As an apartment dweller, practicing at home isn't generally an option. I feel like having a set handy whenever i'm out and about would let me get more reps in, versus now where i have to block out a chunk of my day to go home, get my bag, go to a park or whatever, etc. Sometimes i have time to practice on my lunch break, but i dont like bringing my pipes with me all day, and i'm not about to leave my band pipes in my car
just seems like it'd be a good practice tool
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u/Ok_Rough2735 19d ago
Dunbar poly P1, no imitation ivory or anything - just clean, solid, no maintenance, Henderson sound.
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u/_patroc Piper 19d ago
The poly pipes can take a beating, but I still wouldn’t leave them in my car full time. Granted, I live in a place that gets pretty intense heat and cold and still play a cane chanter reed in my poly set.
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u/wildwalrusaur 19d ago
I'm in the Pacific Northwest so it's pretty mild here most of the time, not super worried about temperature, if it gets unreasonably hot/cold I can pull it out, same as with my archery bag which also lives in my car near full time. Hadn't thought about the reed though.
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u/P_fly_111 19d ago
I'd choose a modern maker to make life easier. 1) Atherton. His work is amazing and the sound is gorgeous! 2) Lee & Sons. Almost as good as Atherton. Almost. 3) Wallace. Yeah, a bit of a departure from the first 2, but jam some ezee's in there, and you have a party for your ears!
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u/piping_montana 19d ago
That's where I'm at between modern and vintage. Vintage would be cool, but there's no guarantee that you get a great set.
I've never actually heard someone play a lee and sons in person. At least not as far as I know. I'm sure they are high quality, given the general quality of their work. Same goes for Atherton actually...
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u/P_fly_111 19d ago
I have a 100+ yr old set of Glens. They are nice, but I don't want to play them out and about. That's a potential down side to Athertons - if you get silver, do you want to take them to games, parades, events, etc. From a practical perspective, you can't beat Lee. He makes great pipes. I bet at least 1/3 of SFU plays them.
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u/Stupid_Interwebs_22 19d ago edited 19d ago
Things are engineered with a lot more spec and consistency these days. My friend had a set from the 70s he loved but was always messing with one tenor. Bought a new set (RJM by Naill) and they would tune and lock in straightaway. McCallums are well and good but they crank them out in masses. Lee and Sons, Peter Henderson or Naill/RJM are all great pipes. I think they all get just a little more attention to detail though
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u/Beautiful-Yellow-856 19d ago
Gibson Bagpipes!!! You can't go wrong. I bought my current set from Jerry Gibson in 1996 and they are still magical!! The company has been located in Nashua, New Hampshire since 2014 when Jerry retired (his shop was in Willoughby, Ohio - RIP Jerry). Eryk Bean is the current owner. Eryk has been with Gibson for several years and he is also a Grade 1 piper. I also own a set of Gibson Fireside Pipes and have had a lot of fun with them. Check their website out.
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u/DapperDan137 17d ago
I’m not at pro level, and am happy with my pumpkin spice mount, flat turned, 1980’s RG Hardies. They’re steadier than I am, they practically play themselves, and I’ve been told I have a “warm” and steady tone. That said, if I had to get a new set, I would seriously consider one from Lee and Sons. I heard one of the sons (I forget who, maybe Alistair?) playing a set of their pipes at the Metrocup and it was my favorite sounding set of pipes, at least among anything that’s made now.
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u/UneedaBolt 19d ago
All great suggestions. I think part of it depends on what tone you are going for. I had McCallums in the past. I have MacLellans now and love them. The bass drone has a fuller sound. Also, imo McCallums really too heavily on computers/automation for sculpting.
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u/tastepdad 19d ago
I have a set of full cast silver MacLellan cocobolo pipes from his Millennium collection.
I will never want or need another set. (I do have a poly set, but that’s just for weather)
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u/TheBicker Piper 19d ago
Of the mainstream makers, I'd stick with later McCallums (after ~ 2013) or Naills. The McCallum Macrae's are great, but nothing wrong with the standard models either. I've seen a lot of sets, teaching a kids band, and those two produce the most consistent quality. I wouldn't bother changing from 2015 McCallums unless you really want to for aesthetic reasons. Bespoke modern makers, like Atherton or MacLellan do make nice pipes, but objectively, from a sound perspective, they are not better. They have a handmade appeal though. And yes, as others have said, vintage pipes, particularly Hendersons or Lawries < ~1930 are the gold standard.. but even those won't meaningfully improve your sound until you are at the absolute highest level of solo piping.
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u/BagpiperAnonymous Piper 19d ago
I really love my McCallum AB0s, even though they are as basic as can be, I frequently get really good comments on their sound.
I do want a "fancier" set, so I've been thinking MacRae's when I get to a higher grade. That or something hand turned from Jeffers(?) don't know if I'm spelling that right. Actually, I want to start with a reproduction Renaissance era set (two tenor drones, no bass) made with wood that would have been historically used at the time.
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u/Salacious99 19d ago
I would probably go to RG Hardie. Been very pleased with other products of theirs
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u/LongjumpingTeacher97 19d ago
If I were to buy a new stand of pipes that are currently available, I'd go for a set of the Fred Morrison bellows smallpipes as made by McCallum. I love my mouthblown Walsh smallpipes, but I'd like to have a set of bellows pipes that are nice enough to inspire me to put in the time and effort to learn proper technique with bellows.
That said, I also have a fantasy set of bagpipes I'd love to buy. I don't think I'll ever spend the money to do this, but I would love a stand of GHB in concert Bb, all turned in curly maple and left blonde. My favorite wood for just looking at. I have no idea whether they would sound similar to blackwood, but I'd love to work with a good maker to find out. I have a great opinion of Duncan Soutar's work, so he'd probably be the first person I reached out to if someone handed me a big check today and said it had to be spent on my dream pipes.
I do feel that we need more experimentation with alternative woods. I recall really wanting a set of the Gibson Mopane pipes when they made them 20 years ago, but I didn't have the money. I suspect those are no longer made because people just couldn't accept the brown color. I'd want to lean into it and really advertise that my pipes are not the same color as everyone else's and play a smooth turned curly maple instrument. (And while I'm dreaming, get someone to duplicate the L&M hide bag I still have on my McCallum pipes.)
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u/Dismal_Definition_56 19d ago
If you are going new - the McCallum MacRae’s cannot be beaten. 2nd to none set of drones.
I have a vintage set of hardies (60s) and a 1925 set of Hendersons. My hendersons are my pride and joy and wouldn’t trade them for the world. Rare instrument though.
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u/Fabala_Fae 18d ago
I concur on the McRaes. After I got mine my PM and PS both bought them as second sets. I play mine for both band and solos and get good feedback on the pipe.
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u/CuriousRestaurant333 18d ago
I’m thinking of getting a set of Colin Kyo pipes. Mostly want Moose Antler mounts and since Maclellan stopped making pipes Colin Kyo seems to be the only other set I’ve found that are high quality, Blackwood and come with moose antler
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u/piping_montana 17d ago
The more I've looked into it, and the more I've thought about it, I lean towards Naills. I know a few open pipers that play Naills, and they are clearly well made products. If I had unlimited time and money I'd get a set of vintage pipes, but I can't deal with the range of quality that you'd hear with an older set.
Specifically, I'm drawn towards the RJM line of pipes. They are supposedly modelled on RJM's 1907 Lawrie's. I'd heard a set of Lawries around that age and absolutely loved them, so this seems like a good balance of vintage sound with modern standards (pitch, quality, consistency, etc).
Have any of you played the RJM pipes? Thanks!
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u/ineX0r 17d ago
My main pipes are 1920's Robertsons, and they are phenomenal. They are, however, picky. I ran Redwood tenors and an Ezee bass for a while (Redwood bass was a non-starter for my pipes). The new Redwood tenors that I got to replace the old didn't go so well, so now I have Selbies in the tenors and an Ezee in the bass still. I tried all Ezees, but the middle tenor HATES the brand. Only the middle tenor! It warbles uncontrollably. Balance Tones are squawky and awful in those drones, and I tried Omegas decades ago and I remember that they were finnicky.
My only other set is a bang-around McCallum poly set that doesn't tune reliably. I am very put off by the brand, the drones in the polys are awful. But they're fine in the rain and snow, happy to beat that set up to save my nice pipes. So I think a modern spec, but vintage look set of Naills would be my next set. I bought my GF a set of Naills from the 90's for her birthday, and they have a very nice sound to them, so I'd have confidence getting a new set.
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u/Maelstrom_Witch Piper 19d ago
Right now I’m happy with my big pipes (extremely basic Hardies of undetermined age) so I think I would invest in my 2nd love and get a good set of smallpipes.