Chanter of the month club.......

[Pipesergeant71]

Okay, so I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that is a chanter freak.

I can't seem to stop buying new stuff and I'm always trying to improve my sound. I love experimenting too.

So I'm wondering, all of you out there, what's your current favorite chanter flavor of the month?

I just got an McC2 in blackwood and I'm really impressed with it. It's got a very nice tone. All the notes are very stable and it takes a number of reeds well.

I've currently got a nice stiff Higgins in it and it's really going good. Just a touch of tape on the high G and the E. I had a weak Troy in there just prior to the Higgins and it sounded okay but I had a wee touch of tape on every hole but high and low A, and B.

As far as tone goes, I'd put this almost on the level with a good Naill. I think Naill still has that special edge for me, but this McC2 is much easier to reed.

What about you?

Shawn

[Bobby]

I am a chanter freak. And I am quickly becoming a bagpipe freak. I like all kinds of pipes and chanters for many different reasons.

Two chanters that I think are seriously underappreciated from a band perspective are the new Gibson (redesigned in the last 3 or 4 months) and Warmac chanters. Last summer the Canadian Airforce sent a band comprised of all of the pipemajors and regular armed forces pipers and drummers to Russia to participate in a Military tattoo with such groups as the Scots Guards etc, in red square. They brought along a set of new Warmac chanters for the occasion and the feedback from the band members afterwards was that the chanters were fantastic and pitched perfectly with the other bands.

Solo wise, I think the Strathmore is the best around. Naill is an incredibly close second, and so is the McC2.

[Reid]

Originally Posted by Bobby

I am a chanter freak. And I am quickly becoming a bagpipe freak. I like all kinds of pipes and chanters for many different reasons.

Two chanters that I think are seriously underappreciated from a band perspective are the new Gibson (redesigned in the last 3 or 4 months) and Warmac chanters. Last summer the Canadian Airforce sent a band comprised of all of the pipemajors and regular armed forces pipers and drummers to Russia to participate in a Military tattoo with such groups as the Scots Guards etc, in red square. They brought along a set of new Warmac chanters for the occasion and the feedback from the band members afterwards was that the chanters were fantastic and pitched perfectly with the other bands.

Solo wise, I think the Strathmore is the best around. Naill is an incredibly close second, and so is the McC2.

What about Sinclairs?

[Bobby]

Sinclair is a very nice chanter as well. Very powerful sounding chanter with pleasing harmonics. Not terribly well suited to piobaireachd playing though in my experience. The high G's tend to screech on a piob style hi G. They're also about twice the price of everything else. Available only from Sinclair. Second hand ones tend to be heavily carved. There have been fakes circulating on the internet so be very careful. Anything earlier than the 90's would generally be almost played out and difficult to reed in my experience.

Everyone that has one prizes it.

[Piper Mac]

Bobby,

My Gibson poly chanter is only about 2 yrs old, how much different are the new Gibsons, what pitch, etc....

[Bobby]

Essentially theyve gone back to a really good design they had in the 90's that was very popular for them. Much easier to reed up. Pitch isn't a whole lot different, maybe a bit lower. I've played one of them and I found it quite pleasant.

[Bobby]

I find that most of the qualities that go to describe a good chanter are subjective in nature and have to be experienced first hand to be understood and appreciated.

Having said that, some characteristics are certainly more concrete and less subjective:

It must be easy to reed. It must be balanced from top to bottom notes in terms of volume, tuning,and clarity. The overall pitch must be pleasant and acceptable to the player. The chanter must "fit" well in YOUR hands with the holes comfortably placed and easily covered by YOUR fingers.

Some people like the neck to be thicker than others, some people need the holes to be smaller than others.

To use a catch phrase, "one size", or one chanter, doesn't always fit all.

When you have decided on whichever brand you like best, rely on a good dealer to select one for you as there are cases where they have to go through a number to find the one that sounds good. A thoughtful dealer will sift out anything that is problematic and return it to the manufacturer. My own experience long before I became a dealer was that not everyone did that.

[stuartFSPB]

I enjoy my Gibson Chanter very much. The band just bought a set of wood ones to replace our poly's. They have a mellower sound and feel to them, very nice. It seems though that the D's are a little flat no matter what, nothing a little carving cant fix...

[Scottish piper]

I've have got an absolutely beautiful, chanter. Both in sound and looks. It is an old (50 year+) Shepard Blackwood chanter with a large ivory sole. I've bought a couple of good, hard Shepard reeds to go with it.
It was passed on to me by my old P/M.

[Paul Ouellette]

I didn't know Shepherd made chanters 50 yrs ago.