The other side of druid

[davidlpope]

Maybe I'm misreading this, but if you have replaced the chanter, and replaced the drones (and presumably replaced the bag) what remains of the original pre-1900 Lawrie pipes?

Scott,

I think you've misread. E-Z Drones are reeds, not drones. The original drones are really where the "heart" of a set of pipes is at, and what people are after. Older pipes' chanters were pitched lower than modern chanters, so they're 1) hard to reed and 2) sound very different to the "modern" piper's ear. As a result, old chanters are usually switched out for new ones. To be honest, most pipers tinker around with their chanter/ drone combinations so it's pretty rare to find anyone competing with a matching set. For a while the Naill solo chanter was "in", now there's been a shift towards the new MacCallum chanters. Bags are switched out as needed, as well, since almost everyone has a favored bag and the hide ones wear out over time. In all truth, if I was buying a vintage set of pipes, I'd probably just buy the drones alone (the "sticks") and use my preferred set-up for the other components.

David

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

David,

Thanks for clearing up the mystery!

Scott

[BobsYourUncle]

Well done! Well done! Well done! What a great event, what wonderful performances. You can see from the grins on the girls' faces that they are having a blast! You kept good time for them, and your tone was full and rich. No one notices the minor blips in the performance except the performer--to the rest of us it all flows, and we are too busy being well entertained, and any flaws pass us by...as you can tell from the other enthusiastically postitive responses herein. You made my day. Cheers!

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

Wonderful video. and thanks for posting it. Nothing like supporting your daughter like that.

David,

Thanks for clearing up the mystery!

Scott

What he said. I get more mysteries cleared up on here than about anywhere. Maybe that's why my chanter is so low. Got a McCallum practice chanter, now maybe I need the other one, too.

[druid]

Maybe I'm misreading this, but if you have replaced the chanter, and replaced the drones (and presumably replaced the bag) what remains of the original pre-1900 Lawrie pipes?

David is correct. I guess I could have been more specific. Sorry about that...lol. The Stand is Lawrie...meaning the stocks [which mount into the bag], drones and blow stick. I do have the original chanter but as was said...I can't find a reed I like hearing in it. The chanter is wood and the pitch is entirely too low. The band I competed with - when we elevated from Grade III to II, we switched to Shepard chanters so that we all matched pitch. At the time, we used Shepard reeds. Since then though, I've had the chance to try other brands and happen to like the sound qualities of Warnock [chanter] reeds better.

The drone reeds are EZ Drones. When we went from III to II, we stopped using cane drone reeds and went to the EZ's. I was a bit put out by it actually, being somewhat a 'traditionalist.' To me, cane reeds sound the best but my Pipes, as compared to say, RG Hardie, have small drone bores. That means they will pitch higher than the hHardies. Cane reeds are temperamental and maintenance intensive...especially when trying to tone-match all other sets [15 in the competition band]. Plastic drone reeds that are more adjustable, helped eliminate that problem. They ended up 'growing' on me.

When I graduated High School, I was asked "what do you want [as the 'gift']? I said I wanted Pipes. My dad went to my [then] Pipe Major, who found these sitting in someone's closet for 20+ years. They were purchased in a non-working condition for $600. The elk hide bag was dry rot and the wood completely dry. It took 6 months of bore oil 2x's a day to rehydrate the wood and bring out their luster again. We put a medium L&M bag on it and we used white silk cords then.
When Canmor came out with their bags [so many years ago], the PM wanted all of us to switch to them. To that, I refused. I hated it - it was like playing with a garbage bag under my arm. My current PM wants me to switch too and again I refuse. I did, however, bend to add drone enhancers to my stocks. The idea of keeping moisture off the blades of my drone reeds was enticing and they do happen to work well.

Nice video. I'd not seen a two-person reel before. They did a nice version of a Strathspey and Half Tulloch. Do you always pipe your Strathspey that fast? I like it as I find the setting steps in the Strathspey so slow.

Thanks. Not typically. The lead Dancer and two others get height when they dance - but these two girls don't. The other 3 dance ballet and other, aside from Highland. The girls in this video don't dance like the other 3, so they lack the leg strength to get up in the air as the others can. That makes for me having to play a little faster because gravity pulls them down to the floor that much quicker. To play it actual speed for these two, the dance looks labored and not appealing at all.

Well done! Well done! Well done! What a great event, what wonderful performances. You can see from the grins on the girls' faces that they are having a blast! You kept good time for them, and your tone was full and rich. No one notices the minor blips in the performance except the performer--to the rest of us it all flows, and we are too busy being well entertained, and any flaws pass us by...as you can tell from the other enthusiastically postitive responses herein. You made my day. Cheers!

Thanks very much. Yes, my daughter and the other are life-long friends and they both love to dance these together. My wife and I call them "The giggle twins" because that's about what they are...lol.

Wonderful video. and thanks for posting it. Nothing like supporting your daughter like that.

What he said. I get more mysteries cleared up on here than about anywhere. Maybe that's why my chanter is so low. Got a McCallum practice chanter, now maybe I need the other one, too.

Thanks.
LOL. That's the way it happens for me too. Like I said, I wasn't to hip on the plastic drone reeds when I got them...even 6 months after playing them...but they grew on me.

The chanter and reed combination is kind of a pain to deal with at first. First, it's finding a chanter you like and then even worse, finding reeds you like the pitch [in it].

Some of our street band members use McCallum chanters and they sound pretty good with medium [strength] Shepard reeds.