I played the pipes, as a boy soldier, in a British military pipe band 50yrs ago. We had old fashioned snare drums, sheepskin bags and cane reeds, and it sounded great.
I still prefer the old fashioned less sharp sound of the pipes.

I remember someone saying to me (back in my band days) that the Irish sent the pipes to Scotland as a joke, and the Scots haven't seen it yet.

Peter