Why does my chanter sound like crap?

[Ron Abbott]

I remember the first time I saw a long practice chanter must have been circa early 1980s, maybe '81 or '82.
And yes, it was Alexander although the idea was soon copied.
The one I had was a Grainger (as far as I can recall).
I hated it.....nothing wrong with the sound, it was just a pain to sit and practice with.
I couldn't get the sole up on the table and it was just too unwieldy and long. However I had friends back then who swore by them.

I used to also have a 'slightly longer than standard' size practice chanter. The top was the same as a normal practice chanter but the bottom had counter sunk holes and was a just a tad longer (with the holes spaced slightly than apart) than was normal.

Here's one of my practice chanters.

The silver is hallmarked for 1921.
I don't know why it looks so brown in the photo as it's actually quite dark African Blackwood!