Interesting Article on Pakistani Bagpipes

[Cygnus]

This article from NPR was interesting. As the former owner of a set of Pakistani pipes and the current owner of Scottish pipes, I was a bit surprised they didn't talk more about overall quality (though some folks do discuss it in the comments section, for which I was grateful).

[haukehaien]

It is interesting. I think the picture of the tester "testing" the pipes tells you everything you need to know about the quality.

[Cygnus]

The "top of the line" pipes in the last picture do appear to be higher quality, but I'm still of the opinion that it isn't worth the gamble.

[EagleJCS]

The older man in the second photo showing his 'top of the line' pipes appears to be posing with them rather than playing them. His left arm is almost under the bag, and at a very awkward angle for playing. (His left hand would go numb as the bag appears to be impinging the ulnar nerve). The drone spacing is also a bit off (too close together).

[MacBean]

http://tribune.com.pk/story/206624/bagpipes-make-corner-of-pakistan-forever-scotland/[/URL]I believe I heard this interview this morning, and they said that one of the top-of-the-line pipes sold for $1700 in the USA (4 x less in Pakistan). That's a lot to charge, so are all of these really poor? Here is a related article.

[URL="http://tribune.com.pk/story/206624/bagpipes-make-corner-of-pakistan-forever-scotland/"]

[OC Richard]

I didn't read the article, but I have over 35 years experience with setting up pipes of various makes: 100 year old Scottish pipes, new Scottish pipes, Pakistani pipes, you name it.

It's all about bore design. The old Scottish pipes (say, from the 1850s through the 1930s) nearly always have big bores of just the right proportions. These are very easy to reed, and once reeded are easy to strike in, stable, and have a big rich tone, bold but refined.

The Pakistani pipes are nealy always copies of these old Scottish pipes, but for whatever reason they nearly always get the bores a bit wrong, so that they're extremely difficult to reed (they want to squeal etc) and when reeded have an unpleasant tone, somehow roaring and dull simultaneously.

I have had Pakistani pipes come through which had bass drones which were impossible to reed: no matter what reed, no matter how adjusted, the drone would not play a note, just squeal.

But there are Pakistani pipes which play decently! Here in the USA there's a company called Mid-East Manufacturing in Florida which imports pipes with drones that play decently. They're very distinctive looking: the solid brass drone tops aren't flat across the top, but are a bit cone-shaped, tapering up toward the opening. The chanters which come with these pipes are useless, but the drones put out a mediocre tone (which is a huge improvement over most Pakistani pipes).

Then there's Hakam Din pipes. These don't look like other Pakistani pipes and can be mistaken for non-Pakistani pipes. The ones I usually see are ebony, flat-combed, cocobolo projecting mounts, and hand-engraved silver mounts. These put out a decent tone, and if well-reeded a fairly nice tone. The chanters have a distinctive squared-off bulb.

http://hakamdin.com/?PHPSESSID=62c7b...=&cRoot=&cID=2

These makers are the exception, though. 99.9% of Pakistani pipes are rubbish, as a musical instrument.

[Thomas H]

Which Pipes would you Buy ? if you only had $150.00 to buy them with .

I want to buy a set of Pipes , just to see If I can do it (I know it is hard )
But I wanted to try , and how crazy would it be to ask some one to let you try .
Any way , there are alot out there and with a wide range of cost.
So would you buy the Ebay pipes or the Hakam Din pipes ?
Just asking , please be gentle - I really do not know - I know the Pakistani pipes
Are not top of the line but they are cheap , or should I just forget it
and buy something esle ?

[castledangerous]

Which Pipes would you Buy ? if you only had $150.00 to buy them with .

I want to buy a set of Pipes , just to see If I can do it (I know it is hard )
But I wanted to try , and how crazy would it be to ask some one to let you try .
Any way , there are alot out there and with a wide range of cost.
So would you buy the Ebay pipes or the Hakam Din pipes ?
Just asking , please be gentle - I really do not know - I know the Pakistani pipes
Are not top of the line but they are cheap , or should I just forget it
and buy something esle ?

I would buy none of the above. If you want to learn the pipes, you don't start on a set anyway, you start on a practice chanter. But to the point, 150 is a waste, no matter how you slice it.

[O'Searcaigh]

Which Pipes would you Buy ? if you only had $150.00 to buy them with .

I want to buy a set of Pipes , just to see If I can do it (I know it is hard )
But I wanted to try , and how crazy would it be to ask some one to let you try .
Any way , there are alot out there and with a wide range of cost.
So would you buy the Ebay pipes or the Hakam Din pipes ?
Just asking , please be gentle - I really do not know - I know the Pakistani pipes
Are not top of the line but they are cheap , or should I just forget it
and buy something esle ?

I'm afraid that a $150.00 set of pipes might make a decent wall hanging but I wouldn't count on much in trying to play them. I bought such a wall hanging, then a set of Dunbar (polypenco) that actually work. It will be VERY discouraging to try to make an inferior set of pipes work especially if you are new to the whole thing. The GHBs are one of the most difficult (and frequently frustrating) instruments to try to learn to play even under the best of circumstances. Find a pipe band and ask their teachers, they usually have lots of ways to introduce you to piping without quite so many hassles.

[Thomas H]

Thank you so much for the insight , I wonder why and how the companys sell so many bad pipes , I would think someone would be causeing a stir by now about the bad quialty of the pipes more then what I am seeing.
I think I will just hold off for now .