Chanter questions

[JerseyLawyer]

My father recently gave me his PC, which he bought in the mid-80's as well, but in Scotland. It came in a black box inscribed with "Grainger & Campbell Ltd" and came with a book and cassette too. Mine does say "Made in Scotland" on it, so I'm assuming that it was. I didn't know Pakistan was making them back then.
My dad never played it, but it sounds pretty good, and the reed it came with is fine. My only complaint is that it's not a long chanter. It could be that you've got a decent one.

Grainger and Campbell is now out of business, but they were, in their day, one of the well known pipe makers. In fact, the set of full-mounted pipes I got from my father are Graingers.

[JerseyLawyer]

It's wood. The mouth piece, etc., are hard white plastic. They are threaded on, and the threads are wound with hemp, sort of like using plumbers tape on pipe threads. The finish is very nice. Everything fits nicely, and it appears to be smooth inside and out. It does seem to be hard to blow through, though, which doesn't seem right to me.

Not to be pedantic, but the teflon tape, if you use it, goes over the hemp. It's a replacement for using waxed yellow hemp for the outer layer.

For the record, I am not a piper, and do wish to learn, but the best suggestion is to find a tutor. I need to find one before I proceed any further as I do not want to learn bad playing methods. If anyone knows of a tutor in Boston, or nearby, I need to contact them. I do not have a set of pipes and will hold off purchasing them until I find a tutor that gets me through the chanter stage, and can recommend pipes that are suited to my playing. If the tutor recommends other than the chanters I cuurently own, the additional chanter will be invested in. The important thing to me is to learn how to play the pipes properly, and so that I can do so with enjoyment.

The Tuloch Ard pipe band in Boston was very good, and had a lot of quality players, but I don't know if they're still in existence. I'll ask around. I'm not too familiar with the other bands in the area so I can't recommend anyone, but again, I'll ask and let you know if I hear anything.