Your 2019 setup?

[Graineag]

Aaaaand it's back to the Ezeedrone tenors for me. Finally got the bridles back juuust so. If only they were slightly less fidgety.

After checking out the drone samples on Will McKenzie's thread, I tried a few other reeds that I had been hoarding. For my pipes, at least, Cannings gave me the most cane-like tone, but they were also pretty fussy about strike-ins. The Selbie tenors were also nice--better than I remembered. I had been thinking of selling my Selbies on the Trading Post, but I think I might keep them now. A bit boring perhaps, but Ezee tenors and Kinnaird bass still seem overall best for me for tuning, tone, and stability. For now.

Incidentally, I thought I'd point something out re: Moose valve + Trap-Dri. When I first installed the Moose valve in my blowpipe, I thought there'd be just barely enough room to also fit the Trap-Dri bottle trap... I'd often leave it just a little ways out of the stock just in case--and it would usually fall out. Given that my blowpipe stock is almost 100 years old, I was also getting nervous about the valve being in there at all... Quick Google search and I came upon David Locky's ingenious modification--putting the moose valve INSIDE the bottle trap behind the Trap-dri.

You can read all about it here: http://www.lockyphoto.com/bagpipeecology/?page_id=29

At first, I was really nervous about having the valve that far away and also about the whole thing falling apart at the worst possible moment. If I'm in a competition or a performance situation, I'll probably use copious amounts of duct tape just in case, but so far, everything's been totally airtight and worked really well. I'm trying to get an hour a day in on the pipes these days, and since switching over to this, my Kinnaird bass reed hasn't had a wisp of moisture on it. Without the Trap-dri, it used to get totally drenched...

Thanks for coming up with this, David! If you're ever in Portland, drinks are on me!

[DapperDan]

I enjoy these threads.

New for me this year is a Begg sheep bag. I was skeptical that it would benefit someone of my level (grade 4 solo, grade 5 band), but I have to say I like it. I stop noticing that it's there while I'm playing sometimes, which I take as a good sign. I can keep a lot of air in the bag without any wheezing noises, though I attribute this more to my current drone reeds. My pipes hardly need any time to settle in (a tip I learned is to put my pipes inside a big ziplock bag before putting them in the case so the bag doesn't dry out too much, though obviously take care not to put them away wet in the colder weather). So for band I play:
Dunbar blackwood pipes
sheep bag, split stock with a vinyl tube
G1# chanter, G1 platinum reed
Henderson Harmonic Deluxe drone reeds.

I get a good full, bright sound, and my setup is easy to blow and very efficient. My PM tried my pipes recently and complimented the sound and how comfortably I was set up. One the prouder moments in my short time as a piper.

I have a solo set up, which I don't play as often as I like. My solo chanter pitches around Bb, so requires a change of drone reeds to play. When I have it going, I feel this set up has a warmer, more vintage sound

Dunbar blackwood chanter, Husk reed
Balance tone Bb reeds


Wishing everyone great tone and comfortable playing this summer!

[Klondike Waldo]

An update:
After almost 40 years, I've finally got around to setrting up a back-up/foul weather set of pipes, purchased in pieces over the last couple of years:
Unknown synthetic bag (white material);
Ayrshire Bagpipe Supply poly stocks and drones (drones are the latest addition, and to my surprise came withh threaded reed seats),
Two older chanters:
1970's(?) RG Hardie currently using a Sheperd reed;
Late '60's(?) Gillanders chanter with an Aberdour reed ( both tuning in at or about 466Hz)

I have several spare bag covers and even had the original drone cords from my 1979 G&Ms somwhen the dones arrived in Thursday's mail, I could get them all set up and playing that afternoon

[Anndrah]

My 2019 setup changed for the first half of the year. I swapped my custom made Wygent duotone reeds out of my 1931 S&8 Hendys and into my 1960s Hendys. I put a Canmore ext med hybrid bag on it along with my band G1 chanter and Megarity reed. This was my travel setup for the band trip to the European in Inverness. I used a moose valve and the Canmore tube/bottle trap. This setup worked very well, no issues at all in Scotland. I have been playing this set of reeds since 2005. Retongued once.

For the rest of the year, back in Az, I am swapping back to my old Hendersons and giving my later set to my nephew. I will end up with them back when he becomes proficient and gets a new set.

My old hendersons have an ext small Canmore hybrid, thatI will likely swap to the medium. I have been using the hybrid bags and feel they are very close to the sheep as far as tone and can run as dry or wet as you want. I have also been using the Tone protector on my chanter. That performs so well that I am considering going back to cane drone reeds. I didn't like the cost of tone protectors for the drones so I made some myself. I have about $25 in them, and they are virtually identical to the original. Now I just need to find some decent cane reeds.

[Tucker Fleming]

Bennet Goat bag, Rocket Bass and White Mamba tenors, MC3 Chanter, Megarity reed. No tubes or valves or anything.
Just switched from Rocket tenors to the White Mambas in the tenors, very niz. Brighter and very solid.
Drones are 1902 Thow.
Pipes definitely sound decent.

[pancelticpiper]

Originally Posted by Tucker Fleming

Pipes definitely sound decent.

I wish my pipes sounded that "decent"!

[Piping Potential]

I'll share a bit of wisdom I learned this summer at piping school:


"If it's going, and it's going well, don't f*#% about with it."

[super8mm]

I am trying a Canmore bag and for me it is much more comfy, I am also trying some more reeds.

I hope that big brown truck safely get my package to me in Sep/Oct and I will make another post

[Jim Fogelman]

Originally Posted by Piping Potential

I'll share a bit of wisdom I learned this summer at piping school:


"If it's going, and it's going well, don't f*#% about with it."

Ain’t that the truth.

The day before my first performance on pipes, my then sort of instructor decided to adjust my drone reeds because SM90 tongues are supposed to be a specific length and mine were longer. They wouldn’t play when the time came.

[Patrick McLaurin]

I once had a new PM have me reset my drone reeds so they shut off when I over blew. I then stepped outside and they stopped playing, so I put them back where they would play with the PM none the wiser.

I swear the weird voodoo that some pipers go through is just unnecessary.