Brian Howard pipes

[Uilliam]

So, I take that to meaning he was happy with the Howard chanter?

Unwise to presume.I saw Tommy plenty of times in London and didnae see a Howard chanter in his hands
Also ye need to take into consideration the fact that he was raising a young family and probably had other things on his mind.. not least of all paying all the bills and there certainly wasnae the large choice of makers that seem to proliferate these days so choice would have been somewhat limited...interesting he went Froment tho,that should indicate something to ye...but not to be negative and to balance things up a wee bit Both Finbar Furey and Heather Clarke had Howard sets.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

[myrddinemrys]

don't feel bad about stating your opinion. I respect that and appreciate information that may be of help. I am suspicious why Howard would sell tuning irises, or why some chanters would require a wire rush at the bell to flatten the bottom/hard D. Also, as I wasn't being presumptious, I asked whether or not the guy liked his Howard set. Sometimes I ask questions in a roundabout way. take care.

[Jay-eye]

I wonder how much value we should put on actually liking the pipemaker we're giving (or thinking of giving) our custom to? There are lots of makers now producing very good quality sets. So taking hypothetical pipemakers of equal ability producing comparative sets of pipes, wouldn't you rather deal with someone on your wavelength? Or perhaps someone you already have a (maybe embryonic) friendship with? Or should we set relationship aside in pusuit of the elusive 'nyah' we percieve as being definitive?

Just thinking.

I suspect friendship would sway the decision with me. If I was Myrddinemrys I'd be making some calls, having a chat with some folks. But then, I also walk away from folk who don't seem to want my business.

j.i.

[Patrick D'Arcy]

On the being friends with your maker thing.... it's not important, but it is immeasurably nice

My advice is:<ol><li>Find a set of pipes that plays perfectly
<li>Find a set of pipes that turns you on
<li>Find out who made them
<li>Assess whether you are truly worthy of owning such a set; will you ever be able to play them properly?
<li>Think of the children that could excell on such an instrument and become great players
<li>If your answer to #4 is YES then proceed to #7, if not stop now and buy some CD's - send me a check for $1000 in thanks
<li>Contact that maker and plead for all your worth
<li>Offer a pot sweetener of say an extra 1K
<li>Offer good whiskey (make sure the maker isn't in AA first, this can get nasty)
<li>Wipe your eyes and stop sniffling, nobody likes a jessie
<li>Visit them and bring a present
<li>Don't stop until they give you a delivery date
</ol>Patrick.

[Jim McGuire]

Tommy has certainly been satisfied with the Howard drones and regs over the years. It sometimes is happenstance on what someone ends up playing. Also, the pipemakers with a long time at it would have all kinds of items in use - some *buy* back old stuff.

Even a highly regarded chanter or set might not suit you, so you need to invest time in sorting all of that out. Most pipemakers will custom build their sets to suit you, within limits, so it pays to be knowledgeable going in. The last thing to be concerned with is the set up of the pipes, both in terms of reeding and how you will be holding them. So, height and girth come into play - more knowledge the better on this, too. Picking up the pipes in person and a chance to sort out issues there on the spot is important but not always feasible.

[tommykleen]

That's a great list you've made there Patrick. It's fun to learn the Secrets of The Successful

I shall have to look up 'jessie' in my list of Dublin slang

t (the anti-jessie)

[rasp]

jessie - a feeble, easily scared person, a softy

[Joseph E. Smith]

jessie - a feeble, easily scared person, a softy

Do you think that Rick Springfield was aware of this when he wrote 'that' song?

[rasp]

jessie - a feeble, easily scared person, a softy

Do you think that Rick Springfield was aware of this when he wrote 'that' song?

one never knows, what a songwritter means or knows when they write a song, but as you listen you place a meaning by what you know.

[myrddinemrys]

On the being friends with your maker thing.... it's not important, but it is immeasurably nice

My advice is:<ol><li>Find a set of pipes that plays perfectly
<li>Find a set of pipes that turns you on
<li>Find out who made them
<li>Assess whether you are truly worthy of owning such a set; will you ever be able to play them properly?
<li>Think of the children that could excell on such an instrument and become great players
<li>If your answer to #4 is YES then proceed to #7, if not stop now and buy some CD's - send me a check for $1000 in thanks
<li>Contact that maker and plead for all your worth
<li>Offer a pot sweetener of say an extra 1K
<li>Offer good whiskey (make sure the maker isn't in AA first, this can get nasty)
<li>Wipe your eyes and stop sniffling, nobody likes a jessie
<li>Visit them and bring a present
<li>Don't stop until they give you a delivery date
</ol>Patrick.

Hey, why not? thanks for the tip. And Jay-eye, I completely agree with you. I'm a bit of an introvert, but I have been thinking about giving some people a-holler just to say hello, let them know I enjoy their work, find out more about them and what they do, and so on. Thank you for the tip as well.

[ambaiste]

Uilliamwrote
Also ye need to take into consideration the fact that he was raising a young family and probably had other things on his mind.. not least of all paying all the bills and there certainly wasnae the large choice of makers that seem to proliferate these days so choice would have been somewhat limited..

was that Brian Howard or Tommy if the latter Tommy was a young single man in 1977 when he bought a full set of Howard pipes, if Howard then probably things about wife and family are true.

[Uilliam]

Tommy..late 80's early 90's just afore he moved to Miltown,( corrected by Peter to Oranmore)
The point I was making about family etc is that when ye have those commitments then ye tend to stick with what ye have and the xtravagance of indulgence is put on the back burner as needs must.Hence his move to Froment later on...I didnae mention the year in my post so I can see how that threw ye..anyways it was Last Century and he was wynching Jacqueline
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

[Cayden]

just afore he moved to Miltown

He's in Oranmore.

[Uilliam]

Stand corrected ,thanks Peter.
Slán Go Foill
PS Give him my regards when ye see him
Liam

[Cayden]

I will, and I won't nag yez by saying he mostly plays the Wooff B these days . I was at a session awhile ago that was in concert pitch and he had the Howard body there, was sort of an interesting night Kevin Rowsome, Benedict Koehlet, JOBM and Billy Browne were also there, playing with Peter O Loughlin, Geraldine and Eamonn Cotter.
Padraig, Tommy and Jacqui's son, played at a concert here a few weeks ago (as did Tommy and Jaqui, and myself and Kitty Hayes among others. After Tommy came up and said 'that was one of the best two pipes and concertinaduets of the night, peter' ), very nice, he has Tommy McCarthy's Rowsome now.