Interesting Article on Pakistani Bagpipes

[OC Richard]

If one wishes to ask the question "what is the least expensive decent set of Highland pipes available?" well, if I had a student with a very limited budget who wanted to get a set of pipes I would pick one out for him on Ebay. Scottish-made pipes of the very highest quality, made in the c1950-1980 period, often go on Ebay for far less than a comparable new set would cost.

It's jaw-dropping to see ignorant buyers pass up good Scottish-made pipes and purchase new Pakistani pipes for the same price. Oi oi oi. But it happens every day.

BUT a warning! Buying pipes on Ebay is not for those with little knowledge! There are many pitfalls for the uninformed buyer. You need to have somebody with many years of experience with a wide variety of bagpipe makers, and a lot of experience buying and selling pipes on Ebay, to find your "diamond in the rough" for you.

But $150 is an unrealistic budget. New decent quality student-model orchestral flutes, clarinets, etc go in the $1000 to $1500 range and the same is true with bagpipes made by good makers. Expect to pay at least $1000 for a new bare-bones bagpipe by a good maker.

Good vintage Scottish-made pipes regularly go on Ebay for well under that amount.

For example, in descending price order, on Ebay at this moment are these Scottish-made African Blackwood pipes

Dunfion pipes for $800 and $769
Kintail $700
McCallum $610 and $560

and lowest of all these Hardie pipes
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BAGPIPES-RG-...item2a229b14ae

To keep the above prices in perspective, note that currently on Ebay is a load of Pakistani pipes going for over $650. In my opinion only a fool would pay that amount, or indeed any amount, for a set of Pakistani pipes.

If you're interested in playing the vintage pipe game, you might want to get the book Highland Bagpipe Makers by Jeannie Campbell. There you can look up, for example, the firm of RG Hardie and discover that they were based in Glasgow and began making pipes in 1950 and find out all sorts of details about Robert Gavin Hardie. I should point out that the original Hardie pipes are no longer made, and that the name "RG Hardie" has been aquired by a new firm in Scotland. The "new Hardies" look and sound completely different than the "old Hardies".

Vintage pipes usually aren't stamped with the maker's name and old bagpipe identification is a contentious art. This site really helps, with great photos of vintage pipes from a huge number of makers

http://www.thebagpipeplace.com/museum/index.html

One must keep in mind that piping isn't an inexpensive hobby. I recently paid $300 for a new sheepskin bag. Your $150 budget just barely covers the cost of a set of good synthetic drone reeds.