Why does my chanter sound like crap?

[Calgacus]

If it's Scottish smallpipes you are thinking about, then yes, the fingering is identical to a GHB, and in fact the chanter on modern SSP is almost identical to a practise chanter in design, so the hole spacing and size is almost identical too. Although you can play GHB tunes on SSP in the GHB style, traditionally smallpipes had their own repertiore and the tunes were played with fewer embellishments. Here's a couple of links that may interest you-

http://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk/the...ook-the-world/

http://lbps.net/lbps/index.php

As for buying a set (when the time comes) it's worth keeping an eye on the LBPS website as they have a 'for sale' section. As for what set to buy, Hamish Moore is generally considered to be the best maker, but he is no longer making production sets, only special orders. Ian Kinnear makes a nice set http://www.scottishsmallpipes.com/ but my vote for best value goes to E.J. Jones, who is in Texas. His pipes are beautifully made and the bores & internal dimensions are copied from Hamish Moore.

http://piperjones.com/instrument-making/

Here's my set-

Smallpipes by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

PS the 'tone holes' or 'sound holes' are actually there to set the pitch of low G. Shorter chanters simply use the length of the end of the chanter to set low G. I've seen one very famous piper play the 'tone holes' with his knees to produce a low F as a trick!