Which set is right for me?
Bagpipe come in array of possible options; everything from real elephant ivory
mounts to sheepskin bags are available on bagpipes to pipers of any and all
levels. They also come with different amounts of decoration (mounts, sterling
silver, engraved nickel, engraved silver/gold, etc) that you might not really
want and choosing to have them or not to have them will affect the price
but not the sound of the pipes. The sound is determined by the bores of
the drones, and the material that the pipes are made out of, as well as the
reeds, the chanter, etc, but not the decoration! Choosing the
right set of pipes is difficult, but if you follow the next few steps you
should be fine.
Step 1: Define your budget
- While this might seem silly, you really ought to. You
want to stay below your budget and not above, but when that set with the
next level of decor entices you to buy it, you need to look at your
spending money and say, "No."Your minimum budget should be about
$500. It is possible to find used bagpipes for that price, but it is not
easy, so if you can, try to set your budget to be in the range of
$800-1200.
Step 2: Know what you are getting for the price of the set
- Decor:
When you pay more than $1200 for a set of pipes, you are usually getting
more than drones, the bag, reeds, and a case. Bagpipes come with different
"levels of decorations" for lack of a better term. This means
that you can get a blackwood (more on that in a second) set with button
mounts and nickel ferrules and a blackwood set with sterling silver mounts
and ferrules made by the same maker, and they should sound exactly the
same.
- Wood Pipes:
The standard set of pipes is made out of blackwood. There are other
types of wood that you can choose from, such as cocobolo or mopane. The
specific gravities of cocobolo and mopane are just ever so slightly lower
than blackwood. All this really means is that pipes made from these other
two types of wood will sound a little bit softer.
- Blackwood or Polypenco? Pipes are also made out of polypenco plastic
which is very durable and is claimed to be virtually indestructible. The
are known to be a little bit louder sounding than blackwood pipes, and
most traditional and conservative pipers hate them for some reason
(perhaps because they aren't made out of blackwood like they "should
be"). However, most pipers buy them as a first or back-up set because
they are less expensive and don't require very much maintenance.
This being said, the only problem with them is that since they are
made out of plastic they require a water trap, because they do not absorb
any moisture. **Every bagpipe should have a
water trap but more on that later.
- Chanter:
What type of chanter you are getting is very important when purchasing
bagpipes. Blackwood vs. Polypenco and Solo vs. Band chanter are usually
the two most important things you need to figure out. If you are going to
play with a band, they will usually give you a chanter, however it is
always a good idea to have your own if you decide you don't like the
band-setting. If you plan on going into the solo setting, a blackwood
chanter would be a good idea because they sound less harsh and are softer
than polypenco chanters.
- Bag:
This is by far the most essential part of the bagpipe. There are three
main types of bags, and I will give you the pros and cons for each one.
To be continued...