The Electric Pipes Thread!!!

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:01 pm

Maybe I put too much enthusiasm into that title...

Anyway, I started into the world of piping using one Deger Electric Bagpipes (lovingly called DEB). I find these to be really a pretty neat idea. Hole (alias electric finger sensor) spacing is the same as on a regular GHB chanter, so it's an easy crossover. Also, should you like some accidentals, there is a mode to add them to the scale. You can also play the beastie in almost any key of the rainbow!! Very handy when playing with a band, who may not have their repitour in Bb. Has a mode to change the voicings from GHB to SSP for some added fun effects, and is MIDI compatable. The best part (I think) about the set up is that you can plug in headphones, and practice (with the drones sounding!!) in private!! I used to practice on the bus!

This thing is truly awesome. It looks quite sleek, and plays well in tune. There is even a way to tweak tuning to match other instruments!! I've also put mine through an electric guitar 'chorus' effect to achieve the sound of a whole pipe band.

I know that there are other electric bagpipes out there. Any info on them? Any players with stories to tell?

Yuri · Post by **Yuri** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:35 pm

I never tried electric pipes, and live in a place of no neigh bours. But out of curiosity, can you change the fingering pattern to that of the recorder? (the fingering on all my pipes, so they are cromatic)

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:12 pm

The fingerings are pretty much locked in. So far, the Deger pipe is my favorite of all the electro-pipes.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:27 pm

What's the latest on the syn-Uillean chanter? I don't intend to pressure anyone, just keeping a finger on the pulse of its development.

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:39 pm

I thought this was a "no UP allowed" Forum

I've heard nothing about an elcetric UP, would be pretty cool, though. As far as the pulse idea, I think this one's flat-lining.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:44 pm

lordofthestrings wrote:I thought this was a "no UP allowed" Forum

It is, and remains so... the syn-uilleann is simply that... synthetic. It's not a bagpipe, let alone an Uilleann Bagpipe.

CHasR · Post by **CHasR** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 2:08 pm

When last I played around with a MIDI wind controller,(1992?) it was well on the way to being able to be configured into pretty much anything. bends, vibrato, graces, assignable touches, 16 octave range, etc, etc, etc...Probably only reason theres no syn-uilleann yet because theres no syn-uilleann market...
thankfully!

Bill Reeder · Post by **Bill Reeder** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:09 pm

Joseph E. Smith wrote:
lordofthestrings wrote:I thought this was a "no UP allowed" Forum

I thought this forum was dedicated to Pipers Of Other Persuasions, aka P.O.O.P.

P.S. All in fun - I've got several sets of the funny little pipes as well.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 7:32 pm

Bill Reeder wrote:
I thought this forum was dedicated to Pipers Of Other Persuasions, aka P.O.O.P.

nice one Bill.

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:36 pm

I saw my first one of these (can you call that mini parking meter a 'set'??) and it sounded far better than the visual promised.

MarcusR · Post by **MarcusR** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:21 am

I have played around with the Technochanter by Fagerström and that was great fun

The technochanter has now grown into Technopipes with drones and full midi.
These are perfect if you commute to work by bus or train and the price is also very affordable

Currently available versions are (others are under development):
- Great Highland/Smallpipes
- Northumbrian smallpipes

Here are some sound samples:
GHB
SP
There are a few more on the website

One of the distributors has a good summary of the technopipe and all the new features, here

/MarcusR

The Sporting Pitchfork · Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:14 am

I have one of the Fagerstrom Technochanters. It's a bit of an earlier model--GHB & SSP chanter but no drones. Not the most authentic sound, but it's been a serious lifesaver during times that I've been away from home and not had my GHBs around to practice.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:22 am

Hi guys,

Hope you don't mind my resurrecting this thread.

In my ongoing efforts to find an electronic whistle of some kind, I recently stumbled upon the technopipes. It seems to my untrained eye that the Open Galician fingering would be relatively easy for a whistler to adapt to. Any thoughts on this idea?

Plus I quite like the sound of the Galacian sample.

The website I've been looking at is: http://www.technopipes.com/

kings taxes · Post by **kings taxes** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:05 pm

the deger or any other type of electronic chanter was kind of nifty when they first came out but are actually total sh*t when compared to Mark Sauls set up. check out his myspace www.myspace.com/marksaul

i asked him about it a few years ago and he tried denying that he recorded using an electronic chanter, its sounds that good i believed him

wgority · Post by **wgority** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:04 pm

As far as the GHB e-pipes, I prefer the Deger model to the others (although I've not yet tried Anders Fagerstrom's newest offering - I hear it's the fa-shizzle - or whatever it is that young people are saying these days.).

As to UP e-pipes, there's always the mythic V-Pipes http://www.vpipes.com/. I've not seen them yet either. I'm wondering if the "V" stands for vapour...........

Back in the day (about 15 or so years ago) George Boyd in Chicago was making some pretty kick-arse GHB e-pipes and was well into the process of developing UP e-pipes as well. I recall speaking with him at the time and being told that he was integrating the processor etc into the "bag" and also building in an arm-operated pitch bender. He was also intending to develop regulators for this beast. My understanding is that he was etching his own processor boards and as a result developed multiple allergies and sensitivities that pretty much compelled him to leave the arena. A real shame, that........ If anybody has anymore info, I'd sure be interested in learning more.