Frugal Corner Pipes (review)

[Erisianmonkey]

Okay all, I had no idea where to put this review. I settled on "Kilt Accessories" as pipes are something a lot of people assume we have.

The good:These pipes are absolutely gorgeous. The metal fittings are engraved with knotwork, and are polished beautifully. The bag is airtight. The drones slide easily into place, and they adjust along their tuning fittings just fine. The flap on the blow tube seals tight. The bag cover is beautiful, made of thick tartan.

The bad: The reeds are not the greatest. That's it. Really. I couldn't get sound out of the chanter at all because the reeds weren't quite right, I think.

The other: I was surprised at the weight of these. They don't look quite as heavy as they are. These things are substantial.

I haven't got the air power to play the bagpipes. I know this. I managed, however, to get the drones to sound at one point and they sounded beautiful- the full beautiful sound that I associate with pipes. Of course, then I couldn't keep them playing and the bag inflated because of my lack of lung power and made a noise that my wife said sounded like a sick cow.

Final judgment: These are great for people like me who want to play around with pipes and maybe hang them on the wall, but will never be serious players. I also think that these would be great for serious players who just don't have the cash to invest in expensive pipes yet. I am disgusted with anyone who says that bagpipes must cost a certain amount otherwise they are crap. There should not be a dollar amount that people have to be willing to invest to play the pipes, and those who say that you have to spend x amount of dollars will forever in my mind be dubbed "pipe snobs." I will probably invest in good reeds at some point to play around with these pipes more, because despite the fact that I know I don't have the lung power, I had a lot of fun. These are a great value for the dollar amount that Frugal corner is asking.

If these pipes are "crap" then good pipes have got to be incredible.

[Skweres]

price?

[Erisianmonkey]

Mark gave me these. Their pipes run from $115-185.

[Bob C]

I am disgusted with anyone who says that bagpipes must cost a certain amount otherwise they are crap. There should not be a dollar amount that people have to be willing to invest to play the pipes, and those who say that you have to spend x amount of dollars will forever in my mind be dubbed "pipe snobs."

Hear, hear! Expand that concept to kilts, sporrans, sgians dubh, kilt hose, dirks, etc. and I'm in your corner.

[Bob C]

Maybe apply for a Pakistan citizenship?

What, exactly, do you mean by that?

[Robin]

We've been here before (kilts over expensive) and it really upsets me when people complain about the price of a quality product...whatever it is...made from good materials and made by a skilled craftsman (m/f).

I won't even start about poor quality, cheap (child?) labour and stealing of designs.

I'm not telling anyone to buy (more expensive...true) quality products and for those on a budget it's perfectly understandable to look for cheap solutions. (although it might be wiser to save a bit longer).

It's the complaining what makes me angry...nothing else.

When I got it completly wrong...my sincere excuses.

[Bob C]

You seem to be advising me to renounce my allegiance to my country because I disagree with your snobbery. In the interest of civility on this board, where we are all guests, I will refrain from telling you what I'd like you to do with that advice.

[Panache]

I would ask all of you in the interests of our forum to remember that we are the gentlemen and ladies of X Marks the Scot.

I would also humbly suggest that value is in the eye of the beholder.

There is room on this forum for all manners of kilts and wearers.

Respectfully

Jamie

[cessna152towser]

Sounds like very good value. The "cheap" pipes which I used to own were assembled from parts by the proprietor of the shop where I bought my Cunningham kilt, now retired, and had a sheepskin bag with a red corduroy cover to match the kilt. They were good enough for my limited playing abilities of a few simple tunes. They cost around £250 at the time ($500) and although the serious pipers around there regarded them as "**** pipes", nonetheless one of the local bands was willing to buy them from me for training their juniors and willing to pay me what I had paid for them ten years earlier. If I get myself another set of pipes to play around with I'll probably get them mail order from Frugal Corner.

[wgority]

Sounds like very good value.

I must respectfully disagree cessna152towser. He has gotten precisely one note from them at the time of writing the overview of those pipes. It was a drone sound, and based on his own professed lack of knowledge of pipes I would be hesitant to accept his description of the sound as being "full and beautiful" (paraphrasing). Erisianmonkey, I hate to say it, but do you have enough experience with and knowledge of bagpipes that you can legitimately make that call?

Good value for money to me means that the instrument should be ready to go and not require fettling beyond the usual set-up, minor adjustments of reed and tuning of drones. It should most assuredly not require major surgery on the chanter (as has been needed in my prior experience with inexpensive [in that specific case Pakistani] bagpipes) to render it able to be played with other pipers.

I would contend that good value for money is also based upon having something you will want to pass onto your children and grandchildren. It is an instrument that will stand the test of time like the Hendersons, Hardies and Lawries that were made in the 19th Century and are still being played today. Those instruments are still valued for their superior tone and beauty and are copied regularly by modern makers. That, my friends, is value for money.

As to Erisianmonkey's statement that "If these pipes are 'crap' then good pipes have got to be incredible", I would again raise a point of contention. What basis for judgement is being given? Essentially none. When a more experienced piper has tried the instrument and given them a thumbs up, then I would agree to the basic point. One puff on the drones does not make an instrument incredible. It doesn't even make it good-or anything else really. It simply means you got a sound.

And ya know what? I'll admit to being a "pipe snob". What's the problem with that?

By the way, get a teacher Erisianmonkey. Don't go the self-instruction route. Some self-taught pipers are very good, but they are a very rare exception indeed, and not the rule. Learning from the College of Piping books is good, but, lacking the critical ear of a real live instructor, you may not get all the subtleties of many of the more advanced gracings. Additionally, the COP books don't adequately address the timing of gracings within the time signature.

YMMV

I will apologise up front to anyone offended by this. If you disagree with me, I can accept that, but I'll not back away from anything I've said in this thread. As I said, I happily claim the title of "pipe snob". I take the instrument seriously and as a result have been rewarded many times over. The immeasurable pleasure given me my my pipes is something I'd love everyone to share. Good luck to you Erisianmonkey in your piping journey. If you'd like advice as you move along, I'll be glad to help out.