Selling Out

[Ed Harrison]

Jack you've heard a lot of good advise. Mine would be to wait till
after you have been at the music school. I think selling that B set
is a big decision, plus you are a outstanding musician. I have had some very
excellent instruments and have later regretted selling them, as they are hard
to replace, if not impossible.

All the best. You will make the right decision...... Ed

[tompipes]

You have a tough decision to make there Jack.

I'd tend to agree with Ed here.
I would wait till I was settled a bit longer in school and see if you find any more use for the set.
A lot of pipers have helped pay for school by playing at weddings, parties, etc.
You'll want a fairly reliable set for that especially if you only get to play them every other week.

Another thing to consider is that with the current recession you might get less for the set than you might in 6 months from now.
It's a tough one so best of luck with it.
You'll be grand anyway.

Tommy

[caedmon]

Ya know, if they are just sittin' there, collecting dust, I would be more than obliged to store them at my house for ya. I would even make it a point of keeping them in use until you wanted them back.

[HUMP]

That's tough, I know. So tough that I have more instruments than I can count. My insurance gal thinks I'm nuts every time I call her to add something crazy. I'm a band director, so I have mostly band instruments. I've probably sold more horns than I have now and made as much money as I've spent, but I seem to be adding to the collection all the time. Plus, the recession has me holding off on selling my more "unique" instruments.

I would hang on to those nicer pipes for a while. Committing yourself to some gigs/performances will keep you going for awhile. I'm sure the folks at Berkeley would love a little piping thrown into your recitals. I rarely play my accordion any more, but every now and then a musical like "Fiddler on the Roof" pops up, and I'm hooked again! (plus the extra cash is nice!)

[hpinson]

Off topic, but you made an excellent choice in a music school. First year there is musical boot camp and if you can stay away from the drugs in the dorms, and focus, there is endless opportunity to learn and be exposed to other wonderful muscians, learn some heavy theory, and mainly to just play music a lot. As a guitar player it is a bit easy to get lost there-- the pipes might help you to stand out and make connections in that regard, so you might consider keeping them as a musical meal ticket. The string program at Berklee is top notch. Boston also has a thriving ITM community. Best of luck with it!

[patsky]

Jack,
Holy smokes you are already in Boston Everything is moving so fast.
In regard to your letter. My advice to you is do keep the pipes, study the fiddle as your main instrument of study and take up the guitar as a hobby.

One thing about guitars today brand name are meaningless. There are plenty of very good playable guitars, electric and acoustic, for under $2-400.00 that will serve you well in the learning stage. Don’t sell the pipes to purchase a guitar…you’ll regret it later.


So there…my 2 cents,

Pat Sky

[sjcavy]

Coming in way too late after Mr. Sky's post....


I'd be happy to trade my guitar/case/and amp for your pipes, and when you wanna trade back I'd gladly trade all over again.

It's not a great brand name guitar, but my neighbor who's played guitar for 20+ years has been trying to buy it for the past couple of years now. He says it has some major potential, and it sounds absolutely great when he plays it.

it does have one small nick in the paint, about half the size of the smilies on this forum. You'd have to supply your own strings though.

I also have a harper non tunable high D that I'd trade with it if desired.

[simonknight]

One thing about guitars today brand name are meaningless. There are plenty of very good playable guitars, electric and acoustic, for under $2-400.00 that will serve you well in the learning stage.

This may be true if all you expect from a guitar is to strum a few chords. If you are serious about studying blues, jazz and swing, and you want to play the guitar, you need an instrument that will produce a good tone for solo work, be able to cut through a big band, have an action that will allow you to play with the speed, subtlety of phrasing, and expression necessary for jazz. You won't have to spend a fortune, but you will need a decent instrument (and possibly pay to get it set up well if you can't do it yourself)

The big names like Gibson do make some great instruments, but their quality is patchy. Some of the lesser names (Heritage, Eastman, etc.) and independent luthiers can be great value. Do some research.

For jazz guitar, you don't need to spend a fortune on an amp - A Roland Cube 60 or 80 is very usable.

As for the flat set, if you can afford to and want to keep it, do so. If you can't, don't let it prevent you from following through on the commitment to your music course. It might take you few months to find something, but there are plenty of other good if not better flat fish in the sea.

[patsky]

Simonknight,

You mentioned Eastman guitars. Guess what, they are made in China, as are their Violins. So are some of the Martins and Guilds. I played a Guild last week that sold for $300.00 and it was a beauty. The sound workmanship, everything....made in China. My wife has 2 Chinese Violins both for under $900.00. She went through over 30 violins with huge prices and found that the Chinese Violins were just as good.

On the horizon is a good set of well made Chinese pipes for under $2000.00 look out pipe makers.

Pat Sky

[simonknight]

Simonknight,

You mentioned Eastman guitars. Guess what, they are made in China.

Pat Sky

I know. The recipe for success seems to be a good design (usually from the US) then post-manufacture setup and quality control in the US. In the case of Eastmans, the Chinese luthiers that make seem to be excellent in their own right - I think they've been making violins for longer, and that translates well to carved top archtops.


Nevertheless, you still get what you pay for. You can pay over $3000 for an Eastman. I've not played a $300 archtop that didn't come up short after a few minutes playing, and people's long term experience with them seems to include problems with cheap electrics, nut and bridge work.

The sad thing is that Gibson custom shop can turn out shoddy work at twice the price, but also some exceptional instruments.

Do you think the volume is there to make investing in UP production in China worthwhile? Even then, wouldn't it need the support of a good pipemaker, just for reeding and setup?

[patsky]

Simonknight,
Actually I was joking about the Chinese Uilleann pipes. The market is just not big enough.

You are right also about Gibson. The have just about given up on quality control. I have had quite a few of them over the years and I just loved them

I haven't a clue about arch tops. I know that Guild makes them.



Pat