B flat chanter

[johnnie nine fingers]

Boyzngirlsnfellow pipers , I seek a wise answer ; Who makes the best B chanter ?

[Nanohedron]

Boyzngirlsnfellow pipers , I seek a wise answer ; Who makes the best B chanter ?

I think it would be better to ask who makes a good B or Bb chanter. "Best" is subjective, really.

[djm]

And how many years you are prepared to wait. (If you have to ask price you are not a serious contender).

djm

[billh]

Boyzngirlsnfellow pipers , I seek a wise answer ; Who makes the best B chanter ?

For my money it's a tossup between Coyne and Kenna, though you can't beat the sound of Jimmy's Colgan drones...

[wolvy]

Bill would know.

But finding a decent Coyne or Kenna would be about as easy as finding a Lloyd Loar mandolin at a flea market.

[PJ]

Among the living pipemakers, Andreas Rogge seems to make very nice B chanters. Doesn't Liam O'Flynn play a Rogge B set?

[Cayden]

No he doesn't

[Joseph E. Smith]

Tommykleen does, with a matching Rogge B full set too, no less! Excellent pipes, of that there is absolutely no question.

[djm]

I just noticed the thread title says a Bb chanter, but the first post says a B chanter. Which do you want, or does it not matter to you? Joe Kennedy is well known for his flat sets. I understand Brad Angus has made some B and Bb sets as well. Geoff Woof will make you whatever you like if you have 15 years to wait.

djm

[Joseph E. Smith]

I am quite pleased with my Joe Kennedy B chanter. Sweet tone. But give some thought to hand size if you're thinking about a Flat chanter. C is a stretch from D and after that the spread isn't all that much. But from D to Bb, well, it'll take a bit of getting used to... especially if your hands are on the smallish side.

[Cayden]

there is absolutely no question. smile

In piping there not many absolutes. Almost everything in piping depends on who you are talking to

[Steampacket]

As regards modern makers: Geoff Wooff, Dave Williams, Joe Kennedy, Alain Froment ..., look out for anything second hand from these makers - I'd be wary of Bb chanters by Brad Angus if you're a newbie, there have been tuning issues there If at all possible get an experienced piper to try the chanter before you put your money down

[Joseph E. Smith]

there is absolutely no question. smile

In piping there not many absolutes. Almost everything in piping depends on who you are talking to

... one absolute that comes to my mind is most folk will say their chanter is best... myself included.

[simonknight]

I have a B chanter (part of a full set) by Brad Angus. I've found that his reeds don't travel that well to a drier climate, but with a bit of adjustment his stuff plays really well. The B chanter is very well in tune (by UP standards ). What does throw the scale off is trying to get too much volume out of it.

[The Sporting Pitchfork]

I've never heard a Brad Angus set that didn't sound excellent--then again, he lives 10 miles away from me, so the reeds are very much in their native climate. I'm a bit puzzled about the set that Steampacket mentioned that wound up in Scandinavia not playing well...I remember seeing it--I think I might have even had a go at the chanter--and I remember it sounded fantastic and spot-on in tune at the time. Perhaps there were some difficulties related to climate/transport.

By contrast, one of the other makers listed above (ain't sayin' who!), who has garnered much praise as a "master pipemaker" on this forum and has made sets for a number of well-known pipers, made what is without a doubt the worst non-Pakistani UP chanter I have ever seen/played. In pipemaking, there are no absolutes and every maker churns out the occasional lemon. The question is whether they take that lemon and throw it on the fire or try and sell it on to a punter they think won't know any better...Things like that shouldn't happen, but occasionally they do.

In the end, what threads like this and the recently locked Martin Crossin thread demonstrate is that everyone has certain makers they like and certain ones they hate, whether their opinions are well-founded or not---sometimes, people can get very touchy if someone else questions such opinions. Ultimately, all you can do is try and do as much research as you can and cross your fingers.