Taking up the bagpipes (Gibson or McCallum Chanter?)

[Kamilavalamp]

I've decided upon taking up the bagpipes. I see two Long Practice Chanter bundles with extra reeds and the green book and everything. One is made by Gibson. The other is made by McCallum. Both are world renown for making good instruments.
Which one do I get?
Piper's Opinions Very Appreciated.

[SayBurr]

Great question. I too would like the opinion of the rabble on this question. Thanks first asking and thanks in advance for the responses.

[Profane James]

I'm a baby piper, if at all, but I will offer my only suggestion. Make sure the PC is the long type, with counter sunk holes. This makes the transition to the actual chanter easier. I'm sure the official pipers of the forum will chime in directly.

FWIW, I purchased my Dunbar chanter package (No.2 Practice Chanter Outfit) from this guy:

http://www.hotpipes.com/pract3.html

[Kamilavalamp]

I'm a baby piper, if at all, but I will offer my only suggestion. Make sure the PC is the long type, with counter sunk holes. This makes the transition to the actual chanter easier. I'm sure the official pipers of the forum will chime in directly.

FWIW, I purchased my Dunbar chanter package (No.2 Practice Chanter Outfit) from this guy:

http://www.hotpipes.com/pract3.html

Yeah both of the sets I'm looking at are the long type. I'm heard it's easier to transition that way so they seem like the way to go. After I get good with the Chanter will I be able to transition straight to the Great Highland Bagpipes or will I have to get a set of small pipes in between?

[Profane James]

I'll have to default to those who have made the transition already. I've only been on the PC for about a year, and sporadic at that. I'll say this, from all the reading and research I've done, it seems that the general consensus is the sooner the better. Also, do yourself a favor and invest in African Blackwood. Again, my opinion is only from research, not from experience - I'll let the professionals give it a go from here, which btw, I'm also interested to read!

[416 Rigby]

They're both good. My PC is a Gibson standard length, and I like it. All Gibson PC'S have countersunk holes. I really think Blackwood should be reserved for later, when you're certain you're going to stick with it, since they're 4 times the cost of poly.

My pipes are McCallums, which I love.

The usual progression (at least for the students my teacher has) is PC, then on to the practice goose, then to GHB. The smallpipes are not part of the progression, they're a great instrument in and of themselves. The fingering is the same as GHB.

The goose is simply a bag with no drones (or just stocks corked off) on which you play your practice chanter, learning to manage blowing and squeezing. I went from my first lesson on the PC to the goose in 6 months, then after a few months of that on to the pipes with corks plugging 2 drones. After you start getting a handle on that, another drone is uncorked, and so on, until you've built up to running it all. Quite a workout in the beginning, hence the stepped plan.

It takes commitment, it's not an instrument one can just dabble in.

Listen to your teacher, and practice daily, even if it's only 15 minutes.

Cheers,

[Profane James]

Right on...
To clarify, my ABW reference was regarding the pipes - my PC is also poly.

[Kamilavalamp]

They're both good. My PC is a Gibson standard length, and I like it. All Gibson PC'S have countersunk holes. I really think Blackwood should be reserved for later, when you're certain you're going to stick with it, since they're 4 times the cost of poly.

My pipes are McCallums, which I love.

The usual progression (at least for the students my teacher has) is PC, then on to the practice goose, then to GHB. The smallpipes are not part of the progression, they're a great instrument in and of themselves. The fingering is the same as GHB.

The goose is simply a bag with no drones (or just stocks corked off) on which you play your practice chanter, learning to manage blowing and squeezing. I went from my first lesson on the PC to the goose in 6 months, then after a few months of that on to the pipes with corks plugging 2 drones. After you start getting a handle on that, another drone is uncorked, and so on, until you've built up to running it all. Quite a workout in the beginning, hence the stepped plan.

It takes commitment, it's not an instrument one can just dabble in.

Listen to your teacher, and practice daily, even if it's only 15 minutes.

Cheers,

Thanks for the advice. What do you think of delrin pipes? They seem to be popular, less prone to aging, and require less maintenance. How do they sound compared to Blackwood?

[TRWXXA]

I'm a baby piper, if at all, but I will offer my only suggestion. Make sure the PC is the long type, with counter sunk holes. This makes the transition to the actual chanter easier. I'm sure the official pipers of the forum will chime in directly.

FWIW, I purchased my Dunbar chanter package (No.2 Practice Chanter Outfit) from this guy:

http://www.hotpipes.com/pract3.html

Thanks for the information Mr. James, and everyone here. After a false start a couple decades ago, I have decided to give The Pipes another try.

I just order the Dunbar #2 package as well. I like the idea of the o-rings replacing the hemp, which, I quickly learned the last time, is a messy PITA for a beginner (BTW: Does anyone have a good link to a pipe maintenance reference?).

I am one of those guys who hates learning things through traditional methods. I gave up piano and guitar lessons because I hated wasting time learning music theory and scales. I was just naturally gifted with good manual dexterity so exercises just bored the poop out of me. I just want to play music. And frankly, I hated paying good money to be bored (hey... I am of Scottish descent).

Taught myself guitar, can't read a lick of music. I got a cheap set of pipes and a PC (pretty much fit only for kindling) as a gag birthday gift many years ago. Taught myself all the notes, then managed to pull off barely passable renditions of Going Home and Amazing Grace on both of them. Can't wait to give it another go with quality equipment and learning materials.

[Profane James]

I hear ya. I've been that way as well. I've never played wind instruments, so I find myself at a total loss initially. The whole thing really is a world on its own, the scale, the sheet music, the pitch - baby steps for me.