WTB: Practice Set in D

[Anita]

I'm looking for a Practice Set in D - reasonably priced and in good working order- from an actual "maker" (Pat Sky, etc) not e-bay Pakistani pipes please....

If you've got one ready to pass along to the next newbie, give me a yell- you can send me a PM or e-mail-

Anita

Almost forgot-due to the current exchange rate , probably only sellers in the US or Canada would be viable as I'm in the states.

[PJ]

Hi Anita,

Any luck with your search for a practice set? If not, why don't you consider picking up the parts separately?

[Anita]

Hi PJ

Just various leads, so far unaffordable; but there is always e-bay
re: picking up the parts separately- I have been considering this actually- I know I'd need the bellows, bag and chanter- what else? I have thought about getting the "bellows kit" that Dixon sells and building that to save some money- could then swing a better chanter perhaps- ideas?

I think I either need to find a pretty cheap used practice set that I can then resell for about what I paid for it when it's time to add drones- or else find a practice set that will be worth upgrading later. So putting it together in pieces could be one way of doing this...

Anita

[straycat82]

Hi Anita,

I don't know if my experience is worth much to your current situation but here it is for what it's worth:

I got started recently (June) and sort of pieced my set together as you are discussing. It worked out well for me but the hardest element to find used was the bellows; I had a tough time finding a quality bellows for sale separate from a practice set. The bags can be had brand new from several different places for a reasonable cost and there are many used chanters that pop up between the various classifieds on the Chiff boards, Uilleann Forum and Uilleann Obsession. I ended up coming across my bellows along with a set of drones so that worked out well and was luckily within my budget. I did have to redo the leather hinge and the intake valve to make them more efficient. I have a friend who is currently playing one of David Daye's D-I-Y bellows kits which seems to work well enough. My situation (being a left-handed player) made it more cost-worthy for me to purchase the elements separately rather than paying for bag that was tied in right handed that I would just be scrapping. It may not be as cost effective for you to piece together your pipes that way if you can play a used practice set as-is.

The one (potential) drawback with buying a brand new bag in the beginning is that you will have to tie in your own stocks. I did this succsessfully with my own Tim Britton bag but I had good local guidance so that may or may not be something for you to consider based on the local resources you have. It's not a terribly complicated procedure but since you are paying upwards of $150 for a bag you only get one chance to make the right cuts (so measure twice, cut once!).

[OzarkMountainFluter]

Anita - PM sent...

[Anita]

Stray Cat-

So what's with the left-handed player bit? I haven't figured out what you would do different since you're using both hands anyway? I'm mostly lefty but I just do a lot of stuff righty as the world is made that way- play fiddle, whistle etc the same as anyone else who's a righty- just did what everyone else did. Is there a major difference with pipes? What arm/hand would you use differently with a set for a lefty?

Anita

[straycat82]

I'm the opposite of you; I am right handed but began playing the whistle left-handed (with my right hand on top) because I just didn't know better; I had no guidance when I started and that was what felt most natural for me. I tried switching to right-handed posture on the pipes but it just didn't compute for me.

The biggest difference is the bag/bellows position. Whichever hand is on top of your chanter needs to be your bag arm. Likewise, whichever hand is on the bottom of the chanter needs to be your bellows arm. To set your pipes up otherwise would not be ergonomically ideal (and it would keep you from being able to play the regulators in the future, among other things).

[Key_of_D]

This has never been pointed out to me, so it's all speculation as far I'm concerned, but the following is something I had been thinking about, regarding the whole left hand or right hand bit, and the pipes. Seems to me, that if you are normally right hand dominate, playing the pipes right handed might help to maintain even arm size, and/or strength, simply because the bag arm does more physical work then the bellows - as far as squeezing the bag vs. the bellows, chanter and regulator playing aside. The idea being that it's less overall work for your right side I guess. For me anyway, I too play the pipes and whistle left handed and also is right hand dominate. Ever since I started pipes, I've noticed more strength in my right arm, while my left arm doesn't appear to have changed. So since I don't lift weights, I don't know what else would be causing this. As for whistle, in my experience anyway, I feel the top hand does a bit more work overall then the bottom hand, and in that regard too, I wish I had learned right handed. Maybe this is all obvious to others, but I don't know. I too have always wondered why playing right vs. left handed on the whistle, flute, pipes or even other instruments was the way it is so, these are my thoughts anyway.