Price estimation of a not playable Half-Set

[Ugi]

Hi Uilleann-community

In 2009 I bought a Half-Set made by Chris Bayley from Ebay (a french seller it was). Because some parts (chanter, bellows, bag) weren't playable I had to send them to Chris Bayley for a repair. After a looong time I got it back in spring this year. The now fully-keyed chanter is still not playable because there's no good reed in it and the keys are not working smoothly. The bag isn't airtight but the bellows seem to be.

I then went to Tom Aebi's workshop so he could have a look at the drones, bellows and chanter. Tom made the drones airtight and glued some wooden parts that were broken. Unfortunately the reeds weren't usable anymore except the bass drone reed. So I ordered a tenor and baritone drone reed from Ray Sloan. Now the tubes of the reeds were to big for the bore of the drones. Still, Tom said that with proper reeds, the drones should work fine.

About the chanter Tom said that it would be possible to make a reed for it and adjust the keys to make it playable.

So after all this struggle I decided to not spend more money on this set and just stay and play with my practice set.

Now I would like to sell this Half-Set but I don't have a clue how much its worth in this condition. I know that this is nothing for a beginner or someone who is not familiar with the build of the pipes (like me).

So my question is: How much can I reasonably charge for this set?

Thank you very much!

[zarb]

I would venture to guess that the price would be quite low, but still,I am interested if we can come to a fair price.

[Ted]

You would be in a better position to get a good price were Mr. Aebi to reed the drones, make a chanter reed, free up the keys and seal the bag. You would realize more than double of the reeding and repair costs to sell it as a working set. If you are so disgusted with the whole thing you can sell it as is and take the loss. That is up to you. Were it me, I would get it working and get a lot more for it.

[Elmek]

In 2009 I bought a Half-Set made by Chris Bayley from Ebay (a french seller it was). Because some parts (chanter, bellows, bag) weren't playable I had to send them to Chris Bayley for a repair. After a looong time I got it back in spring this year. The now fully-keyed chanter is still not playable because there's no good reed in it and the keys are not working smoothly. The bag isn't airtight but the bellows seem to be.

I then went to Tom Aebi's workshop so he could have a look at the drones, bellows and chanter. Tom made the drones airtight and glued some wooden parts that were broken. Unfortunately the reeds weren't usable anymore except the bass drone reed. So I ordered a tenor and baritone drone reed from Ray Sloan. Now the tubes of the reeds were to big for the bore of the drones. Still, Tom said that with proper reeds, the drones should work fine.

About the chanter Tom said that it would be possible to make a reed for it and adjust the keys to make it playable

Are you saying that you brought the set in non paying condition that was damaged with broken parts or that repairs failed. What did you send jus the bag bellows and chanter ? Keys stick it is a perennial problem with wood movement with the seasons especially in countries where they vary greatly.

Would suggest a message to Chris Bayley for advice initially. I do not know if you aware but he has been struggling with a very debilitating allergy the past few years and recently had a spell in hospital but I understand he is finally on the mend as the cause has now been found

I play a Chris Bayley half set (regs on order) and it plays very well, is in tune through both registers.

[Ugi]

Thanks for the answers so far!

@ Ted

Thanks for the suggestion, didn't think about that! Still, Tom is quite busy these days and I'd really like to close this unfortunate chapter now


@ Elmek

Yes, I bought the set in non playing condition (with some of the wood broken beneath one brass cover) . Repairs didn't fail so maybe the shipping conditions just caused some damage to the reed and made the keys stick. However, there was no altering to the chanter after I got it from Chris. And yeah, I knew of his health conditions, that was the reason why the repair took so long. He kindly made the chanter fully keyed to compensate the long wait.

[Ugi]

Since I'm finishing my master's degree next month and a little bit of extra cash would help me until I find a job, I finally decided to sell the set mentioned in this thread (just noticed that I posted it almost one year ago ).

So I would like to ask your opinion if 1000$ would be a good price? Or maybe more or less?

My deep appreciation for your help!

[Chris Bayley]

1000$ (£630 Sterling) would be very reasonable and less than I charge for a practice/starter set and current half set price new is from £2000.00 (basic student set).

Fees for servicing / repairing my own instruments are modest

As regards health I am pleased to state that the cause of the allergy that affected my eyes and has caused me so much trouble and delays over the past years has been found and will be covering this in detail in a separate post in the near future.

Chris

[bcullen]

I started with an unplayable set from a well known maker.(years of neglect) I spent a year learning to tie stocks, bags airtight and then airtight again make chanter reeds and voice them make a valve for the bag and make drone reeds and tune them. The biggest problem was getting tools and waiting for material. So this is my advice. Take ownership of the pipes, dismantle and slowly and with help from this site piper friends Utube and the like bring them up to scratch,take control.
"You can do it Grasshopper".
At one stage i thought i was flogging a dead horse. I am now playing and the tone of the pipes has a WOW factor
I am going through the process again with an old small bore D set

Bryan

[trophi11]

Ugi,
Do you have pictures of the set? I may be interested