View Full Version : Victoria Police Set -up?
Temukapiper
12-13-2002, 11:59 AM
Hello all,
I was listening today to my Victora police CD, was just woundering does anyone know what chanters they play...and with what reeds???
The sound is just absolutly out of this world.
The only band comming Close ( i feel ) in sound wise is Feild Marshal Mont.
I'll look forward to you responces!
Cheers.
Temuka. :lol:
Jeff C.
12-13-2002, 12:41 PM
I know they played the Ross bag, with a Sinclair. Don't know on the reed. You must be listening to an old recording they broke up in 1998. :shrug:
Michael Faughnan
12-13-2002, 01:22 PM
I believe there is a new CD that has just been released.
** The Victoria Police Pipe Band at Motherwell **
' The Masterblasters Concert '
Distributed Internationally by hy-pe.tv, after many requests this new release has just been made available by the Victoria Police Pipe Band, recorded 3 days before they claimed The 1998 World Pipe Band Championship Title.
Now a collectors item, the c.d. captures the atmosphere from their Scotland Concert and features music previously unrecorded, all performed live in front of a energetic scottish audience.
Available now at your local Piping Supply Store Worldwide, or for additional Victoria Police Pipe Band merchandise check out: http://www.cdstreet.com/cgi-bin/artisthome_db.cgi?1239336
badpiper
12-13-2002, 05:29 PM
i thought they played a sinclair chanter with
a sheperd reed? also i believe that they are still together in one form or another.
If you can call a Sinclair chanter that has all the holes drilled out as one long slot with bit of araldite in between different spacings for the holes of a chanter, that's what they played. And they are still together, but not with the same personal I believe. It's very hard to keep together a band of that talent together down here. There just isn't enough opportunities for them to play to an appreciative audience :( Unfortunately
LE DAIN Hervé
12-14-2002, 12:14 PM
I met Murray BLAIR at the LORIENT FESTIVAL (Brittany) last August.I asked him how could the VICTORIA POLICE PB get such a beautiful sound.He told me that they played with SINCLAIR chanters ( with a lot of tapes)and SHEPERD reeds.
James Cowie
12-15-2002, 11:58 PM
I'm sorry ASH75..
But where do you get your information from?? The Chanters that VicPol played in 1998 were Sinclairs and were not carved to the extent as you have pointed out.
It's funny how rumours start isn't it!!!!
:rolleyes:
James
Temukapiper
12-16-2002, 12:21 AM
Cheers James,
Yea i don't think that a band with the nicest sound......( EVER ) has jimmyed the chanters ( or the reeds ).....i bet all that is used ( or Was ) was the odd bit of tape here and there.
lata dude.
Temuka.
Stormy
12-16-2002, 02:04 AM
A quick anecdote about Victoria Police.
Whilst on duty at Glasgow Airport some years back a call on the radio left me with no alternative than to attend at arrivals where a complaint had been received regarding some guys playing the pipes.
I attended along with my neighbour (partner) - who knows nothing about pipes - and on arrival found that the pipes had stopped and had been returned to their cases.
Explaining to my neighbour how I felt about having to stop a piper from playing, he asked some questions and I told him that the pipers were from Victoria Police and that they would win the World Championships next week.
Later, whilst talking to a young attractive girl from an American band, my neighbour informed her that Victoria Police would win the Worlds - without a doubt.
One week later, and back on duty at the airport, the same attractive young lady approached my neighbour and said to him "You were right, Victoria Police did win, you know your stuff". She then planted a smacker of a kiss on his lips and left.
He was pleased as punch and I told him his parents were not married!!!
I think this qualifies as a Victoria Police Set Up! :(
Jim McGillivray
12-16-2002, 05:02 AM
Originally posted by Temukapiper:
Cheers James,
Yea i don't think that a band with the nicest sound......( EVER ) has jimmyed the chanters ( or the reeds ).....i bet all that is used ( or Was ) was the odd bit of tape here and there.
lata dude.
Temuka.I'm not sure I know what you're saying here, but if you've seen SFU's Sinclair chanters, half the holes are shaped like eggs. The 78th Fraser Highlanders' chanters aren't much different. Vic Police might be the exception rather than the rule.
Jim
Scott Russell
12-16-2002, 10:25 AM
I lost my pinky in a Fraser low A hole. If found please send to ... :D . You should see Al Cals Sinclair chanters. Best pipe sound at the 2001 Worlds apparently. Lots O carving.
On a quiet morning before the Worlds begin, you can hear the sound of the dremel. A local wingless wood boring bird. :humm:
Ken MacKenzie
12-16-2002, 11:27 AM
I have to second the bored out Sinclair thing and to give a point of reference, I've handled a few of the SFU chanters and with my big mitts I can't cover the holes on the bottom hand without them being taped. Some have tape top and bottom of the holes because they are so large. Soon it'll be one long slot with tape to separate the notes...
The first time a certain member of SFU attacked my revered Naill b/w with his reamer I nearly had heart failure but once he convinced me and I let him do the deed, that chanter has been so easy to set up with minimal tape and nearly any reed I'll never go back to uncut. Long live Dremel rotary tools and those who REALLY know how to use them...
All that said, I doubt if I'll ever have the nerve to do it myself.
Ken
Bill Peters
12-16-2002, 01:40 PM
I'll agree with Ken here on this one. I too sent my Naill ABW chanter out west for some modifications and lo and behold if you look at the holes straight-on, there's no difference from before but if look at it from the sole upwards, it looks like the termites have been at most of the holes. Sounds better and it is easier to set up, a true scaled chanter at last!
Jim McGillivray
12-17-2002, 07:25 AM
Originally posted by Bill Peters:
I'll agree with Ken here on this one. I too sent my Naill ABW chanter out west for some modifications.... Sounds better and it is easier to set up, a true scaled chanter at last!Although very few of the makers will ever say so, most know that a chanter may need at least some minor modifications during its lifetime, and especially in the first few weeks or months. This is even more true if you're trying to get 15 chanters to sound the same. It's a shame so many knowledgeable people are afraid to do this. You wouldn't believe how many reed orders I get from people who send me a note giving their chanter make and age (as I request for all reed orders) and then they say, "This chanter has a flat F with almost every reed; please pick reeds with a sharp F." Well, that's a tremendous limitation to put on your reed picker! I'd much prefer to pick and send good reeds. A little undercut out of that F and you'll increase your reed selection possibilities by several hundred percent. I usually suggest to those people that they buy a tool to do this and then do it, or at the very least that they send me the chanter and I'll do it. But it needs to be done.
Cheers,
Jim
Bogus Piper
12-17-2002, 09:04 AM
I handled one the the 78th Fraser's chanters a few years ago when one of the members was visiting our band. It had one long piece of old and dirty tape wrapped around from the top to bottom, covering most holes to varying degrees. When played it sounded absolutely perfect: full and bright. I learned alot from that experience!
Ross McMahon
12-17-2002, 11:28 AM
I finally got my Naill altered. The bottom hand was pretty flat so my teacher took some wood out with this really neat tool to undercut the holes. It takes a little wood off at a time and you don't make the hole any bigger. We still need to do a bit more but it's really coming along.
Most of the top band aren't playing stock chanters. It's just like racing cars. Some tweeking is done in order to get better performance. Why not do it? It's working well for those bands.
Which band started the carving frenzy?
What are the other top bands playing?
SFU; Sinclair/ Meg Ross
78 Frasers; Sinclairs and ?
Strathclyde Police; McCallums and ?
P/MHollowHead
12-17-2002, 05:16 PM
Hey crazy people,
I can see it now!! An ever increasing pack of wood-whittler's taking out Grandpa's Buck knife and sacrificing another blackwood stick to appease the piping God's. Amatuers, whatever you do, "Don't try this at Home!" Find a pro!!
Scott Russell
12-17-2002, 06:48 PM
I know some makers like to get their wood chanters back after a years time to clear the throats out. The throat usually constricts as the chanter seasons and gains moisture. So a quick ream and maybe a wee cut here or there on the odd hole, and the chanter is trued up. :thumb:
Bill Peters
12-17-2002, 10:07 PM
Is this what the Stratclyde Police were doing to their chanters during their sucessful run in the 1980's. I read that Sinclair wasn't too pleased with what the band were doing to their chanters at that time.
Bill Peters
12-17-2002, 10:10 PM
Imean the hole-gouging, not the throat clearing :D
B. Kildow
12-22-2002, 07:38 PM
Originally posted by ODB:
I know they played the Ross bag, with a Sinclair. Don't know on the reed. You must be listening to an old recording they broke up in 1998. :shrug: They did??? They're still listed on the Australian Pipe Band Association page (www.apba.org (http://www.apba.org)) with contact/practice info and all and the "Page Info" shows it to have last been updated in March 2002..... :shrug:
B. Kildow
Adrian Melvin
12-23-2002, 09:32 PM
The Vic Police played Sinclair chanters with Shepherd reeds There was also I think 2 MacFarlane chanters in there too. We played Ross pipe bags and Ross drone reeds.
I played in the band during the good run that we had and this set up gave the band a unique great sound which was a very stable and dependable in all types of weather conditions.
The band did not break up . They just stopped doing competition. They still operate in Melbourne under P/M Nat Russell entertaining the public.
A few of the band members moved away after we stopped competing , like myself .
Adrian M. Melvin
ex-Vic Police , now P/M Chicago Caledonian .
Kent Argubright
12-26-2002, 07:17 AM
I believe RP Blandford & Son Pipe Band, Grade 2, WUSPBA, Redlands, California now plays Vic Police's Sinclairs.
Jeff C.
12-26-2002, 09:22 AM
Thanks Adrian,
As my father used to say:
If you have a question go straight to the horses mouth. Otherwise you'll end up talking to the horses ass (that being me) :thumb:
Jeff
Just wish to clarify my earlier post, I think I might of heard two stories around the same time re: alterations to chanters. I believe that I have mixed them up, and that the Victoria Police didn't carve their chanters as much as I was led to believe. My humblest apologies to any who were misinformed/offened :eek:
ratherbpiping
01-06-2003, 01:22 AM
Ash 75 said "Just wish to clarify my earlier post, I think I might of heard two stories around the same time re: alterations to chanters. I believe that I have mixed them up, and that the Victoria Police didn't carve their chanters as much as I was led to believe. My humblest apologies to any who were misinformed/offened"
Don't worry Ash, They are carved up now!!