Vintage VS New Pipes

[davidlpope]

Okay, I'm getting ready to buy a set and I'm not quite sure on what to look for. Well I kinda do.

Is it better to get an older set of pipes or a brand new set? Unfortunetly my instructor isn't very helpful with this.

Are there years of makers which had poor quality control of their pipes?

Not trying to be an "intelligent burro" here, but how good a piper are you? Most of the pipers I've come across who really focus on antique pipes are really good pipers who have been piping for quite a while. If you don't have that solid base of knowledge, you might be better served with a new set of pipes.

David

[OC Richard]

Much good advice has already been posted, but I wanted to chip in with a few things. (I've been playing 35 years and have owned a number of vintage pipes as well as many new pipes over the years.)

About woods: someone said "blackwood is king". True that African Blackwood was the nearly universal wood from the 1950's up until recently. But it wasn't used at all, or only rarely used, by the "classic" makers like Henderson, Lawrie, Glen, MacDougall, etc in the period spanning from the mid 19th century up through the early 20th century.

For example, older Henderson catalogues only mention ebony and "cocoa wood" (what we call cocus).

Then African Blackwood appears, but as an option mentioned in a footnote.

As late as the 1920's and 1930's top pipemakers are listing ebony and cocus first, with African Blackwood as a third choice.

Cocus was an extremely good tonal wood and was in general use for flutes etc as well as bagpipes in the 19th century.
Nowadays you'll sometimes see Pakistani makers call their sheesham wood "cocus" but don't be misled. Actual cocus is a top-class wood and nearly all 19th and early 20th century Hendersons, Lawries, Glens, MacDougalls, etc etc are either cocus or ebony.

Nowadays many makers are using Mopane, Cocobola/Cocobolo, and other woods with great results. It's not a "blackwood only" world and it never has been.

About vintage pipes: Don't be too hesitant about vintage pipes. Buying used bagpipes isn't like buying a used car. A car has thousands of parts and thousands of things to go wrong. Bagpipes are extremely simple devices and there's almost nothing that can't be easily fixed if wrong.
So it has a crack. So what? Nearly all old pipes, and many new ones, have cracks. All oboes, old and new, have cracks. Fill the crack, end of story.
For many years I played a set of Glens c1850-1860. The bass stock had 19 cracks. I counted them. I didn't care. The set played great. (The cracks were all sealed with glue. Not pretty, but efficient.)

A piece is warped. So what? Never seen a trumpet or a saxophone? They're all warped too, and they play just fine.

About new makers: Yes Dunbar makes great-sounding pipes. Very clean craftsmanship. Great customer service. An African Blackwood Dunbar set would be an ideal choice. There are many great makers around nowadays: Atherton, Kron, MacLellan, Cushing, Gibson, and that's just in the USA. Dozens of great makers in Scotland of course, plus Walsh in Canada and Naill in England. We're living in a "golden age" of pipemaking. A set from any of the legitimate, established North American or UK makers would serve you quite well.

[Nick the DSM]

Thanks for the help, y'all. I forgot to post on here that I did find a set, D Nialls. I don't know what model but they were in good condition and the owner said he bought it in the 90's. I should have it by tomorrow.

[beerbecue]

Those will do very nicely....

[ohiopiper]

I've never played a set, but Nialls have a very good reputation and I did like the sound of the few set I've heard in person (hard to tell on video clips).

Very cool.