Cheap pipes?

[haukehaien]

I would really suggest that you stay away from the Asian pipes. Some of them apparently aren't bad, but most are terrible. Quality control appears to be nonexistant, so you have no idea what you'll wind up with. If you really want to play pipes - I mean, if your friend really wants to play pipes, go with an established maker. If you get Pakistani pipes, be prepared for a chanter that is nowhere near in tune with itself, a bag that may or may not leak, lightweight wood covered in black paint, a narrow blowstick and so on. If you did get such a set and wanted to actually play it, you would probably wind up replacing the bag and chanter, and maybe the blowstick as well. When you replace the chanter and blowstick you will almost certainly have to drill out the stocks, because they will be too narrow to accept a standard chanter or blowstick. The drones are generally narrow and rough, which results in a quiet sound with none of the harmonics that make the pipes sound so amazing. If you bore out the drones and line them with brass or polish them, they may sound good - but again, this will take time and/or money, cutting into your perceived savings.

I would suggest two things: if you're going to buy pipes, look at the Delrin/polypenco models. For example, check out the Dunbar P-series. Western Thunder has them starting at USD 595, and you may be able to beat that by looking around a bit. I bought my P-3s from Derek at WT, and have been very happy with them. They sound wonderful - I've gotten several compliments on the sound - and look good as well. From even a foot or two away you can't tell they're not blackwood. Several of the other makers also make polymer pipes, so don't limit your search to Dunbar. Polymers also have the advantage of being unaffected by humidity and temperature changes, which is nice when you're first learning to play. BTW, Dunbar also makes good PCs in poly - you may want to pick up one of them.

Second advice? Find an instructor. A good teacher now can save you a lot of grief later, as well as help steer you to good pipes. It's terribly easy to pick up bad abits when you start and terribly hard to unlearn them later on - best to start off right. Check with one of the many pipe bands in Chicago - a lot of them offer free instruction to band members. Check out Bob Dunsire's forum and Andrew Lenz's wonderful page of tips . Don't miss Andrew's bit on teaching yourself.

Good luck with the piping!