3 old plain bagpipes

[OC Richard]

I've been piping over 40 years and many great sets (of pipes) have gone through my hands.

I've had ornate engraved silver pipes, pipes covered with ivory, pipes made in the mid-19th century and new pipes.

Recently I've gravitated towards high-functioning great-sounding plain-Jane vintage pipes that have no ivory and didn't cost me much.

There's an odd inexplicable beauty to plain and/or beat-up old sets.

These are the three sets I'm playing now. All sound better and function better than any of the new pipes I've tried. (For sure I've not tried them all.) The most I paid for one of these is $800 and the least $200.

L-R:
1) R G Lawrie, Glasgow. The basic inexpensive set with nickel ferrules and imitation ivory mounts, this is a dead-ringer for my first set, that my father bought for me in 1975. I paid $200 for this set around a year ago. It's in like-new condition. It was probably made in the 1960s. These drones sound fantastic, a huge full vintage tone.

2) Starck, London. This set came with a chanter bearing the Broad Arrow and stamped 1945. It's typical of the plain sets made by Starck for the military. This set is wonderfully beat-up. I've never played a pipe with tone like it; somewhat quiet, dark, complex, with rich harmonics. It loves playing at a lower pitch.

3) Unknown Glasgow maker, possibly Henderson or Lawrie. This is my newest set. It's said to date from the 1940s. Pipes like this were the lowest-priced sets offered in the old days; they cost 4 pounds. The catalin tops mean that these can be from any period after around 1930. This set loves to play at the modern high pitch of between 480 and 485.







The 1960s Lawrie ready to go, with a modern McCallum chanter



The tops of the Starcks showing how the two tenor drone tops are different in size and proportion





The Starcks as I play them, with a Concert B flat McCallum chanter that I ordered with an old-school big sole.

I've done quite a few bagpipe & pipe organ gigs with this set.



The slightly mysterious open-combed set. Expert opinion seems to fall on the side of them being Henderson.

This is the set I'm using in the pipe band now; it's a great band pipe, or solo pipe too.

[OC Richard]

The mystery Henderson/Lawrie set dressed for battle this weekend! I'm taking them to our largest Games, Pleasanton, where they will 'cross the line'.





This famous WWII watercolour shows a young piper of The Black Watch with a similar plain set; I think it's a Lawrie set with nickel end-caps, the bass drone cap has been knocked off.