Should buy used pipes?

[Am Bàrd]

Some great advice so far, but I'll add my 2 coppers.

Examine the pipes yourself with someone who knows what they're looking at. An experienced eye will save you heartache in the end. Make sure you can give them a good sounding as well. Oh, and do make a point of examining ALL of the wood in very fine detail - cracks, chips and the like spell doom.

Best of luck.

[cajuncelt]

I agree with all the above. Personally, I think you're gonna find they are crap. I could be wrong, especially if the owner was in a pipe band. The leather being-repaired bag is suspicious in my opinion.
If you can, take pictures of the drones and chanter; find out the maker and what brand of drone reeds as well as brand of chanter.

[Farlander]

Purchasing a used musical instrument by a novice is RISKY at best. The facts are, unless you purchase from a known reputable source, or you can get someone with experience to help you out, you will probably get taken! (not a guarantee, but the odds are against you)

In this particular case, one might beat the odds and stumble on a great find, but there are some classic warning signs here.
For example:
- The price is 1/2 or less of what one would expect for a known quality used equivalent. (AKA, 'the deal a little too good to be true')
- The experienced seller inadvertently leaves out a few critical details about the item that would let an experienced buyer accurately asses the value of the item. (in this case, the type of wood, maker, country of origin and so on...)
- The seller has a great 'sob story'. This is usually something like, "was owned by my dearly departed only son", or "and he got cancer and can not longer use..." and so on.

As I see it, this already has three strikes. It might be worth giving it another strike or two, but be careful!

Your millage might vary...

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

[kypnkilt]

Easy there, tiger. I have a set of Madagascaran rosewood pipes, made by a local maker (Peter Crisler).

Perhaps 1 exception out of many? Still...the odds of actually getting a quality GHB made of Rosewood is quite high. I still stand by what I say, but granted...there are a few (and I mean a few) exceptions. I speak of GHB's. On the other hand I have seen many quality smallpipes made of Rosewood. Example is Nate Bantons pipes. But for GHB made of Rosewood...I steer clear.

[drobin]

Also do forget to ask a about trial period. That way you can play them, have them looked at and let other experienced players try them out.

best of luck.

[Mr. Woolery]

Never buy an instrument without looking it over if you have any choice at all. And, as mentioned, take another piper along to look with you. If you want to buy these pipes, $300 is a steal if they are decent pipes. But be sure that they are not some light brown color with fuzzy bores and tiny stocks that won't accept a new chanter. Those are some obvious signs of cruddy pipes.

I once scored a set of blackwood pipes sold as beaters. They are no-name pipes, have some real dings and chips to the combing, needed almost all the nickel bits hemped on tighter, had a big canmore bag, Ezee drone reeds, torn bag cover, and no chanter. I put a small leather bag on them and replaced the bag cover with a nicer one, spent a day with hemp and almond oil, and they are actually very decent pipes. They cost me $150 plus a little time to tie in a bag (got the bag used for $20) and hemp and oil. Got a used Shepherd poly chanter for $35 and it works fine. Figure in the cost of new reeds ($40), bag cover ($20) and hemp (maybe $1) and I still ended up with a fairly nice set of pipes for under $250. I would not be ashamed to play these in band or solo competitions, though my McCallums are definitely better pipes. So, yeah, you can find used bagpipes that are cheap and are still worth getting. But either make sure you trust the seller or get someone who knows what he is looking at to help you out with the purchase.

On the leather bag topic- I play a leather bag. I have no intention of using anything else. Maintaining it is a matter of pouring a little seasoning into it and rubbing it around about twice a year. I do this when I'm going through and oiling my pipes anyway. In contrast, the folks who play synthetic bags seem to go through a lot more hassles than I do. They have to lube the zippers more often than I have to season, open the bags after each time they play, wipe all that spit out (ick!), have to remember to zip up the bags before they start next time (no joke, every so often someone lines up and starts to blow and then looks sheepish as he goes back to a table to pull the zipper) and here's the really important bit: even though I'm a very wet blower, I don't need all the tubes, boxes of kitty litter, spit traps, and frustration that the people who use synthetic bags have to deal with. My reeds don't get all sopping wet like some folks with Canmore bags and no MCS. I also feel that I get better control over the bag with the leather. More substance under the arm. Yes, I have tried synthetics (Ross cannister, Canmore, Bannatyne), so I do feel I can make an informed comparison.

I'll bet my bag lasts longer, too. Life span of Canmore bags up here in Fairbanks seems to be 3-5 years before a rubber grommet gives out. Not much longer before the bag starts leaking from the internal bits and bobs rubbing against the inside of the material. Leather? My dad has a bag that's now over 25 years old and shows no sign of giving out. I expect to replace mine only when I finally decide to upgrade to sheepskin. And that's going to be a while! Don't knock it till you try it.

Lots of modern "improvements" are less necessary than people seem to think. I maintain that the single most important improvement in the last 30 years is the move away from leather flapper valves to rubber valves. More important than plastic reeds, plastic bags, plastic drones, plastic chanters, drone enhancers, moisture filters, flexible blowsticks, or even rubber soles on ghillie shoes. Valves on the blowsticks that work every time. Ahhh...

I have wood pipes, wood chanter, leather bag, cane reeds, and a rubber valve. And yes, my shoes have rubber soles. That is a real improvement, too.

-Patrick

[Andrew M. Stewart]

Bagpipes are a hard insrument to master, dont set yourself up for failure by getting your self a low grade instrument that is going to fight you every step of the way. McCallum bagpipes make a very decient affordable pipe with a great warrenty. Save your pennies and get something that is set up properly by a profesional.

[OC Richard]

Usually the types of wood used by reputable makers are African Blackwood, cocobolo, cocus, mopane and ebony. Rosewood is the "preferred" wood of Pakistani made pipes...

While the Pakistani makers call that wood "rosewood" and you see Pakistani pipes so listed on Ebay etc, I don't think that the wood they use is actually rosewood, but rather sheesham wood.

Real rosewood, like Honduras rosewood etc can be made up into very fine bagpipes, flutes, etc.

[NCMC]

Alot of great advice has been offered, and the same few themes run through all posts.
1. Have someone check them out with you. (i.e. your teacher is best or another member of pipe band as a second best option)
2. You may find decent sticks, and expect that you may need to spend a bit extra to replace what isn't good (bag/chanter/ect). Factor this into the cost.

However, don't be afraid to find what may be a good product when all the seller really wants to do is get rid of it without getting the full value of the GHB.
Good luck

[Jack Daw]

At an asking price of only $300, I'd balk and say no without further consideration. You get what you pay for. An average stand of new pipes are over $1,000.