The infamous Ennis chanter

[Kearnybagpiper]

I believe that someone told me that O'Flynn played Ennis' chanter on one of his CDs before the chanter was "modified".

Is this true? I'm guessing that it was on his "Fine Art of Piping" album, but would like verification. Thanks.

[billh]

Yes.

[Ceann Cromtha]

Do you know exactly what types of modification were made to the chanter? Thanks.

[PJ]

The only recording in which I'm sure he plays the Ennis set is on the Drones and the Chanters Vol II - the air Maire Ni Mhongain. He does play a C# chanter on Out to Another Side - Sean O'Duibhir i Ghleanna - but I don't know if it's the Coyne. Also, I don't know when it was modified.

Here's a thread in which this topic is discussed:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=34269&start=0

[billh]

He plays the Ennis chanter on The Fine Art of Piping (though he plays the Rowsome set on that album as well). That album was recorded before the, ah, 'renovation'.

[pancelticpiper]

PJ thanks for the link. Within that thread is a link to a still-earlier thread on the same topic, that of the modification of the Ennis Coyne chanter.
What is odd to me are the (seemingly) contradictory statements:
1) Ennis was troubled by an unstable bottom D so to correct it he put paper in the chanter's throat, thus reducing the throat's diameter, which corrected the problem.
2) The trouble was a result of chanter shrinkage. Rogge corrected the problem by reaming out the throat.
??????

[PJ]

What is odd to me are the (seemingly) contradictory statements...

I presume that Ennis's solution didn't work or perhaps just worked initially but not when the shrinkage got worse.

I think there's too much fuss about what Andreas Rogge did. I'm certainly against altering historic sets from how they were originally made, but Ennis's Coyne set had undergone significant work ever before Andreas Rogge got his hands on it. Remember that in 1905 it was a bunch of loose parts in a pawnbrooker's shop and was restored by John Brogan. There's no telling what he had to do the Coyne's original work to get it playing again.

[Sam L]

Ennis's Coyne set had undergone significant work ever before Andreas Rogge got his hands on it

This is certainly true, but the chanter is famous and noteworthy for how it sounded when Seamus was playing it, never mind how it was before. A parallel might be made with the Hendrix strat that went for £198,000 - I believe that his roadie tended to modify his instruments from stock, but further modifications would be pretty unthinkable in the guitar world.

But then no-one would be likely to play it again - in the vault with it I think . . .

A few other points from a source who experienced the chanter before and after Liam had it.

"It was evident that Mr Brogan or a previous owner had drilled out the throat with a twist drill creating a parallel section of bore. this may be indicative of someone not at all au-fait with Coyne reeding requirements, perhaps a little tuning a chanter to suit a reed going on, not the first time we've seen this sin occur! Putting a small paper lining in the throat by Ennis as noted may have served to undo this vandalism enough to make it playable...just..

2. The back d had been filled and redrilled lower down

3. When reeding up or playing it was apparent that the lower hand operated on a lower and narrower pressure margin than the top hand ( the effect being lesser in 2nd 8ve as you might expect)

Interestingly enough the rest of the bore was unmessed with which allowed it to continue to play ...just

and whats more the remaining bore and tone hole lattice is somewhat similar to another C# both in position (to within a mm or two) and size of holes (Ted Colgan had another Coyne C# where the bore has been reamed out totally screwing it)

[PJ]

This is certainly true, but the chanter is famous and noteworthy for how it sounded when Seamus was playing it, never mind how it was before.

It's a matter of opinion, but I don't think Ennis's pipes sounded good in the later years. Certainly in the Pure Drop and Fox Chase records their tuning was nowhere near as good as in the Bonny Bunch of Roses and some of the older "informal" recordings (like the 1957 Doolin session). If you want to preserve the Ennis sound, then IMHO his sound was defined by his piping in the 1950, not later.

Hendrix? Didn't he burn his strats?

[Sam L]

It's a matter of opinion, but I don't think Ennis's pipes sounded good in the later years

I agree completely, and it's not impossible that the chanter moved in the latter period of his life, but probably unlikely, and more probable that no-one was able to reed it up quite as well when the original reedmaker passed away.

But it was the same chanter as in the 50's.

Please understand that I'm not "taking a position" on all of this. I see both sides.

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

Certainly in the Pure Drop and Fox Chase records their tuning was nowhere near as good as in the Bonny Bunch of Roses

The tuning of the regulators on that LP is really bad. Try playing it and the PD OR FC at the same time and you'll see/hear.

[pancelticpiper]

"It was evident that Mr Brogan or a previous owner had drilled out the throat with a twist drill creating a parallel section of bore... Putting a small paper lining in the throat by Ennis as noted may have served to undo this vandalism enough to make it playable...

That exactly addresses the part I don't understand.
My logic is:
1) Problem: too wide a throat = solution: rush in throat
2) Problem: too narrow a throat = solution: ream out throat
If Rogge discovered that the Ennis chanter had too narrow a throat, and reamed it out to fix it, that means that Ennis' rush was making the problem worse.
If Rogge discovered that the Ennis chanter had too wide a throat, and that the Ennis rush helped it, reaming out the throat would make the problem worse. Instead he would add material in order to narrow the throat.
Unless you're saying that, through some mysterious physics, the Ennis chanter played best with either a wider throat or a narrower throat. Wouldn't be the first time that the pipes seem to defy logic and physics.

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

"It was evident that Mr Brogan or a previous owner had drilled out the throat with a twist drill creating a parallel section of bore... Putting a small paper lining in the throat by Ennis as noted may have served to undo this vandalism enough to make it playable...

That exactly addresses the part I don't understand.
My logic is:
1) Problem: too wide a throat = solution: rush in throat
2) Problem: too narrow a throat = solution: ream out throat
If Rogge discovered that the Ennis chanter had too narrow a throat, and reamed it out to fix it, that means that Ennis' rush was making the problem worse.
If Rogge discovered that the Ennis chanter had too wide a throat, and that the Ennis rush helped it, reaming out the throat would make the problem worse. Instead he would add material in order to narrow the throat.
Unless you're saying that, through some mysterious physics, the Ennis chanter played best with either a wider throat or a narrower throat. Wouldn't be the first time that the pipes seem to defy logic and physics.

Rogge didn't ream out the throat, he reamed out the middle of the bore because of "shrinkage," as George Castanza would say.

[pancelticpiper]

On the thread linked to above, "billh" said that Rogge reamed out the throat, which was what lead me to think that.
So, instead, if Rogge were to ream out everything BUT the throat, the effect would be similar to narrowing the throat, what Seumas was doing with the rush. That makes sense now.

[billh]

Could be, I've heard differing accounts (one from Andreas himself). I thought he referred to the throat but he may have just been referring to the upper bore.

(I haven't handled or measured the chanter in question either before or after, so all my info is hearsay to some extent.)