Standard Specifications
Chanter
Two mounts,
Brass head with mount; C key
Regulators
One mount; tops with ferrules; detachable bass regulator top; hand forged keys
Bag
Hand sewn from leather.
Drones
Bottom part with two mounts; slides (top parts) wood with ferrule, and one mount.
Special Orders
There is a range of special features that are available for the instruments, some add to the functionality of the instrument, others are decorative.
Chanter Stopkey
To cut off air to the chanter - handy for tuning the drones.
Additional Keys on the Chanter
F; G#; A#; D(3d)
The C key comes as standard, as it is the only key that is used with
some regularity in the traditional repertoire, as the C in the 2nd octave
cannot be obtained by cross fingering.
Extra Mounts and Ferrules
Double Bass Regulator
Wooden Chanter Head
Left Handed Sets
Materials
Pipes are made out of the following materials.
Wood
For the pipes, outlets, mainstock and bellows.
Imitation Ivory, or Boxwood
For the mounts.
Metal
For ferrules, bends, and key.
Leather
For the bag and bellow.
Chanter, drones, regulators and outlet
These are made out of stable and dense hardwoods. At the moment the following species are available:
African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon)
The best-known wood for pipes and other musical instruments from a FSC-certified community forestry project in Tanzania. Hard and dense, with a colour that ranges from dark-brown to black.
Coracao de negro (Swartzia benthamiana) - from FSC certified forests.
A hard and dense species from Brazil. It has a reddish-brown colour when freshly sawn, that quickly darkens to black-brown with occasionally a purple shade.
Bellows
Bellows are made out of Papua New Guinea Rosewood or Meranti (from FSC-certified forests) with a boxwood valve.
Mounts
Mounts are of boxwood. Other options, such as imitation ivory, a different, contrasting, wood, mammoth ivory, etc, can be ordered.
English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
A native hardwood traditionally used for woodwinds. A hard and dense species with a slightly milder tone than blackwood. The colour is pale yellow with occasional light brown stripes. This timber is usually stained to a light brown colour.
Mainstock
The mainstock is usually out of a suitable stable timber that is available in thicker dimensions such as Cumaru (from FSC-certified forests) from Brazil or Planchonia from Papua New Guinea.
Metals
The metal that I normally use is brass. Other metals such as nickel-silver, silver, and nickel or silver plating can be ordered. All the keys are hand forged.