A wee bit of info on Practice Chanters and reeds

I don’t sell myself as any great expert but I’ve a love of the instrument and 51 yrs of experience man and boy. Hope this is informative .

[@yasdnilknarf1885]

That Warnock reed was spot on in terms of tuning.

[@mccypr]

I just received my first Practice Chanter. A MacCallum Long Blackwood with a Poly top. It has a red Warnock reed. My Chanter is quieter than I expected. I’d like more volume. I’m new to the Pipes. I intend getting a set of Small Pipes in A next year. I already play at Fiddle, Recorder, Guitar, Bass etc. Thanks for the videos! 🙂😎

[@dane5896]

I hadn't seen that high-tech chanter before. 👍

[@FatRedBiker]

They are very cool well worth the investment!

[@AngryMonk_24]

Thank you …this helped

[@FatRedBiker]

Much appreciated, glad it helped. It make’s playing your chanter fun!

[@PegasusArcher]

Stumbled upon this Arctic Piper 😉 Great video from the other Arctic Piper!

[@FatRedBiker]

Hey Johnathon! Great to hear from you.

[@Smudgegs]

Great stuff, thanks for the video. I completely agree, we spend countless hours playing the practice chanter, there's no need to suffer and out of tune horrible sounding instrument "because it's just a practice tool" (as I've been told in the past). I have a poly chanter I carry around with me and use wherever it's likely to get bashed about, but I much prefer the sound and feel of a wooden pc. That said, either will work equally well, it is just personal preference. With regards to the long v short(or "standard") practice chanters, I favour a standard length as I'm only 5'6" tall so it rests much more comfortably on a table while I play. I compared my long and short pc's and the hole spacing is as near identical as to make no practical difference, so I don't see that either is better or worse for transitioning to the pipe chanter. As well as the off the shelf chanters, many small pipe makers will make you a practice chanter for a very reasonable price, something worth considering for anyone who fancies a wooden chanter, my "good" pc was made to my own spec by Johnstone Bagpipes in Menstrie. Also, as with your original chanter, if an old chanter turns up with a cracked top section a poly lined replacement/replica can be made. At the end of the day, we old geezers play for the pleasure of it, so it makes sense to play a PC or PC's that you love :-)

[@FatRedBiker]

Thanks for the kind comments!

[@robertlynn7332]

A few years ago we purchased a set of Macallum poly chanters with Warnock (red) reeds (with dental band bridles) for our band. It's so nice to be able to come to the practice hall and play with very little fiddling around to get a good sound. It also makes practicing harmonies much more pleasant.

[@dominiclapinta8537]

Also, there are synthetic reeds that work for Uilleann Pipes(Irish Bagpipes), and are in tune, where you can take the chanter separate from the set, and play it as its own single instrument. Below is a link to my sheesham chanter for uilleann pipes, but i have another video of my Hakam Din chanter for Uilleann Pipes, where i am using a synthetic reed and playing it alongside other musicians. kzbin.info66lzidtZr6s?si=MXjVgT2U8MUsiWEo kzbin.info/www/bejne/mn26nWiEn85seZosi=x5oAzrd7oz2oLIut

[@CEOLMOR-oc1ly]

Give us some more bagpipe stuff

[@FatRedBiker]

will work on it !

[@gds28650]

thanks for the video. i just got the Frager Warnock chanter and trying it out. it didn’t come with the rubber bands on the red reed. maybe this reed doesn’t need one ? i’ve only played a recorder 47 years ago so it’s familiar but the lower hand takes getting use to. thanks again

[@FatRedBiker]

Aye, you can buy the wee dental latex rubber bands from most on line piping stores. Most reeds don’t come with a rubber band. Big difference from the recorder you will find, especially in the way you hold it. All the best!

[@TnBagpiper68]

What reed did you find to play well in the High Tech ESSC PC ? Your chanter sounded good. I noticed that the reeds that come with the Chanter have a bit narrower staple bore than most reeds.

[@FatRedBiker]

I stick with their reeds, haven’t tried any other. They seem so well set up for that chanter. The chanter came with extras and I of course bought extras dues to my OCD! 😂

[@TnBagpiper68]

@@FatRedBiker thank you

[@jeremyrusu9687]

I love the sound of that ES session chanter, it's making me ponder getting one. Plus being able to play in a, like you can on small pipes, is fantastic. I have a Gibson practice chanter which pitches somewhere in the 470, two 480 range. It works well with a Gibson Reed and plays in tune, with only a little bit of tape on the D, and slightly on hi g but not by a lot.