Question about Smallpipe sound

[Larry Darnell]

Today I ran across this video of Brighde Chaimbeul playing smallpipes. From searching on the internet it appears she plays "smallpipes made by Perthshire pipe maker Fin Moore."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igu61TR2d2k

I love the sound of her pipes and to my ear they sound much more mellow than other smallpipes I have heard. I am curious - is this type of really mellow sound due to the pipes themselves, the reeds and how they are set up, or the environment where she is playing?

Just curious. Thanks for any opinions!

[TwitchyFingers]

Part of what makes these pipes sound different is they are pitched in a C to C scale, which has a pretty sweet tone.

[John McCain]

Following is opinion - I have no inside knowledge.

I think the key to her consistently incredible sound is that she is concerned with everything. In addition to a fabulous instrument, she is apparently fanatic about the tuning of each note as well as the drones.

I've noticed she is almost always uses a particular model of Ear Trumpet microphones, too. This implies she accounts for everything she can control.

If you like her piping, she has several recordings available and is on the new The Piper and the Maker II album - an recording dedicated to Moore smallpipes in C.

Check out this very recent video of her giving an amazing presentation and is apparently having tuning challenges:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAvmja3WhSI

[Jim McGillivray]

Following is opinion - I have no inside knowledge.

In addition to a fabulous instrument, she is apparently fanatic about the tuning of each note as well as the drones.

As any piper should be!

[Larry Darnell]

John McCain - Thanks for that clip - another great listen.

[pancelticpiper]

I would always take the sound/tone/timbre heard on YouTube recordings with a lick of salt.

Any recordings, actually.

There's a levelling effect. I did a video comparing four or five Low D Whistles which in person sound quite different from each other, but when I listened to the video on YouTube they all sounded more or less the same.

On the other hand the same instrument can sound quite different in different recordings because everything from the type of mic, the positioning of the mic, the location, etc will impact the sound.

Then there's processing. Studio recordings are nearly always heavily processed. One giveaway is compression. On bagpipes (of any sort) as you play up the scale each note is of a different built-in volume, yet when listening to recordings usually the DB needle points straight up for every note.

This can be true with live stage performances too. I've seen Eric Rigler perform live many times and he processes his bagpipes (Highland, uilleann, smallpipes) through a unit he always has on stage. I can't recall seeing him play "raw" straight through mic to speakers.

Which is all to say that you won't have much of a clue how Brighde's pipes sound unless you hear them in person, close up, not being played through a mic.

[John McCain]

Which is all to say that you won't have much of a clue how Brighde's pipes sound unless you hear them in person, close up, not being played through a mic.

The OP has a clue what her recorded pipes sound like. That's what prompted the question.

[Tervs and Tunes]

I would always take the sound/tone/timbre heard on YouTube recordings with a lick of salt.

Any recordings, actually.

There's a levelling effect. I did a video comparing four or five Low D Whistles which in person sound quite different from each other, but when I listened to the video on YouTube they all sounded more or less the same.

On the other hand the same instrument can sound quite different in different recordings because everything from the type of mic, the positioning of the mic, the location, etc will impact the sound.

Then there's processing. Studio recordings are nearly always heavily processed. One giveaway is compression. On bagpipes (of any sort) as you play up the scale each note is of a different built-in volume, yet when listening to recordings usually the DB needle points straight up for every note.

This can be true with live stage performances too. I've seen Eric Rigler perform live many times and he processes his bagpipes (Highland, uilleann, smallpipes) through a unit he always has on stage. I can't recall seeing him play "raw" straight through mic to speakers.

Which is all to say that you won't have much of a clue how Brighde's pipes sound unless you hear them in person, close up, not being played through a mic.

Good points, although I would like to comment on the last statement. Many of us do indeed "have a clue", as we play C pipes made by Fin and/or Hamish. Indeed, the first Vermont Bellowspipe School back in 1988 featured C pipes. 1989 as well, I recall. C pipes in general are lovely. And anyone hearing my C pipes would say they are very similar in sound to Brighde's. Among other things, my assumption is that she is playing cane drone reeds, which enhance the already lovely sound.

I'm not suggesting the only wonderful C pipes are those made by Fin and Hamish. But it's not entirely an issue of recording.