Chiff and Fipple Forums

At Miltown Malbay I took delivery of a C set from Joe Kennedy. This set was modelled on an instrument that was made in 1823 by the younger Kenna and is now in Ken MacLeod's collection. I took it along to Ken's and we photographed the two sets side by side:

<http://ephemer.al.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/bothpipes1.jpeg>

<http://ephemer.al.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/bothpipes2.jpeg>

I also played the old set briefly. The chanter doesn't sound quite the same, as Joe uses a Coyne bore rather than Kenna's. However the new set is a wonderful instrument. Over the last couple of weeks, as I've got used to it, my playing seems to have improved a lot

Ross

Ross, that new C design by Joe is generating a lot of talk. Glad you're enjoying it.

To get your image links to work, replace the opening angle bracket with [img].%20Replace%20the%20closing%20angle%20bracket%20with[/img].

e.g.

[img]link.stuff[/img]

djm

Good luck reposting the photos, I would really like to see this set.

.... wow, deja-vous...

Joe did a great job, that's a very nice looking set!

Very nice work by JK. Ross - well ware.

What wood was used for those two sets?

Mukade

I know's it's not, but the wood in the top set is very similar in appearance to Tasmanian Native Olive which is what Malcolm McLaren uses on occassion - when he can get it.....very rare.

Cheers,

DavidG

It's made out of apple wood. Fruitwood was what people used two
hundred years ago, so that's what I chose.

The chanter tone is comparable to an old Coyne set I heard at Miltown.

Sorry about not posting the images directly at first - I had not posted
photos to this board before. (In fact I'd intended to post to the thread
on pictures of your pipes but that also didn't work.)

Ross

Ross wrote:It's made out of apple wood. Fruitwood was what people used two
hundred years ago, so that's what I chose.

The chanter tone is comparable to an old Coyne set I heard at Miltown.
Ross

Hi Ross:

That is a nice set. Thanks for giving me a go on it in Miltown.

It's often said that fruitwood was used, but in reality I don't think it's really known what wood Coyne (or Kenna) used for these old 'fruitwood' sets (it seems that the sets were stained or shellaced to give a dark look even when new). It might have been apple, but then again it may more likely have been crabapple and quince than 'domestic' fruitwood. That would account also for the fact that the wood on the old chanters seems a good deal harder and perhaps finer-grained than the apple or pearwood available today (even the 'top' grades). Then again it could even be some other native wood, perhaps hawthorn?

Maybe someday someone with an original set undergoing a repair will be in a position to shave a bit of end-grain wood for science, there's a piper in the wood identification/microscopy department in U Limerick who could probably solve the riddle, given a sample. But of course nobody has volunteered to shave pieces from a historic chanter.

Bill

billh wrote:But of course nobody has volunteered to shave pieces from a historic chanter. :DBill

Depends on what part of the chanter you have in mind...
I'm starting another post about old woods, so people don't have to wait 20 minutes for this page to load.
Ken made those Kenna chanter keys himself. Horrible things, look like little tapeworms.

What's the key below the Fnat ring-key on the two chanters? Eb?

Nice, Ross!

Do you find the drone effect to be louder
due to the straight bass drone? I was talking
to someone about my C set, and upon mentioning
that it has a straight bass drone, he said, "Oh,
nice and loud, then." I was a bit taken aback
as he's strictly a fiddler so far as I know. Just goes
to show that inclination doesn't imply ignorance,
necessarily. My drones are indeed very "present".

I'm interested in the direct bag/chanter tie-in,
especially with a stop key. Do you find this mode
of tying-in to ease up some intonation issues, as
has been suggested, or does the flow restriction of
the stp key mechanism negate this? Also, does one
have a specially-cut bag for that kind of setup?

Thanks.

PJ wrote:What's the key below the Fnat ring-key on the two chanters? Eb?

Yep. Or D#, take your pick

I have straight tie-in on my JK B set. It doesn't seem to have much effect on intonation or tuning. However, it is weird hearing the harmonics come all the way back up the neck by my ear. It is not a special bag, per se, just leave the neck longer. Joe uses a tube of flexible car wiring insulator to keep the longer neck from collapsing.

djm