Way back in 1959, while attending the U of Nevada in Reno, I purchased a learner kit. It was Ivory, sterling silver and blackwood. Wish I still had it.
Beautiful pipes and it looks like it played very well. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Matt. "Stewardship" is such a great idea and yes, it should always be a "vision". (Mary C. One of your devoted fans from your "Killdares" days). :-)
Listening back, it does seem lighter in drone sound. That said, I recorded this two years ago and have made a few hundred videos since then, so I can't recall...
Those drones sound freakin’ awesome man! Thanks for posting this. Im currently in the market for a set of Scottish Smallpipes, and Nate Banton’s name seems perrenially mentioned by experienced/professional pipers as being among the best in the biz. And for good reason obviously lol. Gorgeous set!!
As far as I can tell it, seems as though all of the top pipes makers have a pretty good waitlist. To be expected I suppose, if you want the best. Thanks for the video, hope there will be more of these!
@@Fabtech44 ... absolutely. The wait list exists for a reason-several, in fact. For one, it means that the maker has high demand, and it also will most likely mean that the maker is not cutting corners/quality in order to push out more products faster. One man only has two hands (so to speak), there are only so many hours in the day, etc. It's also notable that Banton/Woodson have closed the order list for borderpipes at the moment ... the wait is getting so long that they can't in good conscience take any more orders until they're caught up. That is integrity. I won't lie, if/when I come across an instrument maker, and the wait is slim-none, I kind of now ask myself "hmm, why is this so easy?" A new maker who hasn't gotten word out yet could be a reasonable explanation, but then of course, if I haven't tried the instrument in person yet, I am going to remain skeptical.
I entirely agree with Mr. Willis and Mr. Silva: the wait was tough, but oh so worth it! As a student of Matt's, I had the benefit of hearing/sampling multiple SSP's by various makers, and after much research had my heart set on Nate Banton Smallpipes.. Each maker has their own take on the instrument (which is part of the fun, in my opinion), but for me, there was no beating the dulcet sound of Nate Banton's drones. Not to mention the sheer artisan craftsmanship; it's an heirloom quality instrument (which I suppose bodes well for the next steward lol).
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing this! The antler/blackwood combo is quite stunning, very “traditional” looking. I have couple of stupid questions, if you’d be so kind. I count 4 drones but see that some are corked, can they all be used at the same time? Is the 4th drone worth it? Is there any reason to ever disassemble that set (for maintenance or cleaning), since you’re not blowing into it? Is that special chanter reed difficult to adjust? Sorry for all the questions, I’m just fascinated. I’ve always wanted to learn the highland pipes, but they’re simply too physically demanding for me to enjoy, and I’m not getting any younger!
1. All the drones can be used, but that would give you two harmony drones (both an alto and baritone E). As is with this set (which currently only has an A chanter), I'd use either the baritone E (below the tenor in pitch, as I did in this video) or the alto E (above the tenor in pitch). The four drone set up is typically for use with a D chanter as well, where the two harmony drones become the fundamental drones for the D set (and the A tenor becomes a harmony A baritone in D). The low A drone is usually corked when playing a D chanter.
3. Reason to disassemble: You'd need to likely disassemble the set to some degree for travel, but otherwise, not really. I do oil my smallpipes, but since they're not mouth blown, I only oil them about once a year. There isn't much to clean, as you could imagine.
4. The chanter reeds for smallpipes are delicate and best left untouched unless something is going wrong. The cane is quite thin and they're easy to damage. The metal bridle can also be tricky to adjust (often requiring gentle turning of the wire to tighten or loosen). For this set, no adjustments were needed. For my own personal EJ set, I've tweaked the bridle a few times over the last 13 years I've owned them, but probably no more than 3 or 4 times. When properly set up, smallpipes are pretty stable.
thanks for clearing/putting a disclaimer at the early stage of the video. Because in my mind, it was saying "where the hell did this guy get all the money to buy such an expensive pipe(s) and other various type of pipes"? hahha. cool vid man. enjoyed it
Ha! Yeah, there’s no way I could afford all these instruments. Grateful I have students and friends willing to wait to open their instruments on camera with me!
@@natesilva3650 Nick (proud owner) here, and right you both are! I've actually been recording my first several hours on them; thought it would be interesting to study the learning curve of a piper who's new to bellows-blown pipes. The bellows technique certainly feels unnatural, but even after my first hour of practice there's a marked improvement, such that I could manage to squeak out Danny Boy lol.. Maybe Matt can edit/annotate it and put it up on the channel after some progress updates!
@@johnnickpappanastos3382 ... wicked! And welcome to bellows pipes friend! Congrats on the pipes, I still can't get over the sound that Nate's pipes produce. You've got some of the best that can be had. And yeah, you'll get used to the feel of it really quick. Listening is the key, the smallpipes really force you to listen intently to the sound, and adjust pressure to compensate. If you're a highland piper, I think you'll find that playing the smallpipes will lead to improvements in your blowing tone on highlands. It certainly did for me! Enjoy ... cheers and chunes! ~Nate (Silva, not Banton!)
The uilleann pipes are an Irish instrument in a different key and with several additional features, including the ability to stop the sound coming from the chanter and play a second octaves. A full set of uilleann pipes also has additional pipes called regulators that are keyed pipes played by the wrist as you also play the chanter. The smallpipes are basically a super nice highland bagpipe practice chanter hooked into a bag with drones.
The smallpipes are basically a highland bagpipe practice chanter with drones. The Northumbrian pipes are a totally different animal, and one I don't actually know too much about. I know it has a closed chanter and is often played in a more staccato style that is not possible on the smallpipes here.
Mat, I play Northumbrian smallpipes, another thing is, the chanter of a set of Northumbrian pipes has a lot more keys than a set of Scottish smallpipes. Scottish smallpipes may have 2 or 3 keys on the chanter to extend the range of notes, but on a hole, scottish smallpipes don’t have any keys. Northumbrian smallpipe drones usually have a tuning valve on each drone witch when opened can allow the drones to be tuned to different pitches. so if your Northumbrian pipes are in F, they can be retuned to play in G. to put this simply, Northumbrian smallpipes are far more complexed than scottish smallpipes and are much quieter than SSP’s.
@@MattWillisBagpiper I can't tell if these unboxing videos are helping me to control my, "need," to buy all bagpipes, or adding fuel to the fire... Either way - great videos, man!
You're welcome! I first heard about the idea of instrument "stewardship" from a saxophone repair channel, and it really resonated with me. Our instruments will all outlast us if we take care of them!
Ditto here. It's fascinating to think of where our instruments may have been before us, and where they may end up after. My highland pipes, for example, are over 100 years old, and I sincerely hope they will go on being playing 100 years after my time with them has ended.
@@MattWillisBagpiper I must have missed that one ;) Hey, I let Chucknado play 'em; baby steps lol (but seriously, "I couldn't love a human baby" as much as I love those pipes).
I have a set of Banton pipes as well. They truly are awesome, and Nate is a first rate craftsman. Enjoy them!
Couldn't agree more!
Way back in 1959, while attending the U of Nevada in Reno, I purchased a learner kit. It was Ivory, sterling silver and blackwood. Wish I still had it.
I wish you still had it too! Wow...
Wow, I bet those were a sight!!
Titanic is bs thats a true love story, at sight you and the pipes were made for eachother. 😔
Liking your videos with unboxing, fun to be part of that. Kind of like having the UPS truck arrive. Sounds like a great instrument too.
Great video! This was a lot of fun, thanks Matt!!
How much do they cost?
I love how, even though I'm new entirely to bellows pipes of all kinds, I can tell the sound is beautiful and clear, really nice set there
Well done Matt. As always I really enjoyed your video and those small pipes sounded great
Glad you like them! They are a great set of smallpipes. Wish they were mine!
That was really beautiful!
Thank you so much!
Wow, a really soothing sound
really interesting video. and great playing too! thanks for sharing
chipoo82 you’re welcome!
Beautiful pipes and it looks like it played very well. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Matt. "Stewardship" is such a great idea and yes, it should always be a "vision". (Mary C. One of your devoted fans from your "Killdares" days). :-)
Thank you! Glad you found me here. Make sure you subscribe to the channel if you haven't! Trying to get to 1000 subscribers as soon as I can!
Is it just me but fir the kansas city hornpipe you had a drone of? Listening w/ headphones and there is a difference
Listening back, it does seem lighter in drone sound. That said, I recorded this two years ago and have made a few hundred videos since then, so I can't recall...
Wow. KEY!
Beautiful set.
They really are... I love my EJ Jones smallpipes, but Nick's set here is a stunner!
le son est excellent ! belle dextérité aussi. Rowan Tree a été joué à l'enterrement de mon père. bien joué et mille fois merci !
Finalement un autre français qui regarde ces merveilles!
Those drones sound freakin’ awesome man! Thanks for posting this. Im currently in the market for a set of Scottish Smallpipes, and Nate Banton’s name seems perrenially mentioned by experienced/professional pipers as being among the best in the biz. And for good reason obviously lol. Gorgeous set!!
His wait list can be intimidating, but the quality really is amazing on these, as is the tone. Thanks for watching. Hope you're a subscriber!
As far as I can tell it, seems as though all of the top pipes makers have a pretty good waitlist. To be expected I suppose, if you want the best. Thanks for the video, hope there will be more of these!
@@Fabtech44 ... absolutely. The wait list exists for a reason-several, in fact. For one, it means that the maker has high demand, and it also will most likely mean that the maker is not cutting corners/quality in order to push out more products faster. One man only has two hands (so to speak), there are only so many hours in the day, etc. It's also notable that Banton/Woodson have closed the order list for borderpipes at the moment ... the wait is getting so long that they can't in good conscience take any more orders until they're caught up. That is integrity.
I won't lie, if/when I come across an instrument maker, and the wait is slim-none, I kind of now ask myself "hmm, why is this so easy?" A new maker who hasn't gotten word out yet could be a reasonable explanation, but then of course, if I haven't tried the instrument in person yet, I am going to remain skeptical.
I entirely agree with Mr. Willis and Mr. Silva: the wait was tough, but oh so worth it! As a student of Matt's, I had the benefit of hearing/sampling multiple SSP's by various makers, and after much research had my heart set on Nate Banton Smallpipes.. Each maker has their own take on the instrument (which is part of the fun, in my opinion), but for me, there was no beating the dulcet sound of Nate Banton's drones. Not to mention the sheer artisan craftsmanship; it's an heirloom quality instrument (which I suppose bodes well for the next steward lol).
Good to know, I had a feeling such was the case. I can def appreciate such a commitment to quality.. Quality over cheap/fast any day!
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing this! The antler/blackwood combo is quite stunning, very “traditional” looking. I have couple of stupid questions, if you’d be so kind. I count 4 drones but see that some are corked, can they all be used at the same time? Is the 4th drone worth it? Is there any reason to ever disassemble that set (for maintenance or cleaning), since you’re not blowing into it? Is that special chanter reed difficult to adjust? Sorry for all the questions, I’m just fascinated. I’ve always wanted to learn the highland pipes, but they’re simply too physically demanding for me to enjoy, and I’m not getting any younger!
1. All the drones can be used, but that would give you two harmony drones (both an alto and baritone E). As is with this set (which currently only has an A chanter), I'd use either the baritone E (below the tenor in pitch, as I did in this video) or the alto E (above the tenor in pitch). The four drone set up is typically for use with a D chanter as well, where the two harmony drones become the fundamental drones for the D set (and the A tenor becomes a harmony A baritone in D). The low A drone is usually corked when playing a D chanter.
2. Is it worth a 4th drone? I think so, as it gives you more tonal options, even if you only use any given three at a time....
3. Reason to disassemble: You'd need to likely disassemble the set to some degree for travel, but otherwise, not really. I do oil my smallpipes, but since they're not mouth blown, I only oil them about once a year. There isn't much to clean, as you could imagine.
4. The chanter reeds for smallpipes are delicate and best left untouched unless something is going wrong. The cane is quite thin and they're easy to damage. The metal bridle can also be tricky to adjust (often requiring gentle turning of the wire to tighten or loosen). For this set, no adjustments were needed. For my own personal EJ set, I've tweaked the bridle a few times over the last 13 years I've owned them, but probably no more than 3 or 4 times. When properly set up, smallpipes are pretty stable.
Hope that helps! And if you haven't subscribed, please do! Cheers!
I like these, but the D smallpipes are my prefered choice.
thanks for clearing/putting a disclaimer at the early stage of the video. Because in my mind, it was saying "where the hell did this guy get all the money to buy such an expensive pipe(s) and other various type of pipes"? hahha. cool vid man. enjoyed it
Ha! Yeah, there’s no way I could afford all these instruments. Grateful I have students and friends willing to wait to open their instruments on camera with me!
Nice video ... though I would LOVE to hear to hear the new owner/steward playing on them at some point. Nothing against you, of course, sounds great.
Well, it’s the owners first set a bellows pipes, so I suspect he’s like a bit of time practicing on them before going public!
@@MattWillisBagpiper ... understood, and such is what I figured. That being said, it'd be quite nice to see a quick followup when he's done so!
Nate Silva we’ll make that happen!
@@natesilva3650 Nick (proud owner) here, and right you both are! I've actually been recording my first several hours on them; thought it would be interesting to study the learning curve of a piper who's new to bellows-blown pipes. The bellows technique certainly feels unnatural, but even after my first hour of practice there's a marked improvement, such that I could manage to squeak out Danny Boy lol.. Maybe Matt can edit/annotate it and put it up on the channel after some progress updates!
@@johnnickpappanastos3382 ... wicked! And welcome to bellows pipes friend! Congrats on the pipes, I still can't get over the sound that Nate's pipes produce. You've got some of the best that can be had.
And yeah, you'll get used to the feel of it really quick. Listening is the key, the smallpipes really force you to listen intently to the sound, and adjust pressure to compensate. If you're a highland piper, I think you'll find that playing the smallpipes will lead to improvements in your blowing tone on highlands. It certainly did for me!
Enjoy ... cheers and chunes!
~Nate (Silva, not Banton!)
Matt, I do have bagpipe acquisition syndrome. I did not know what my mental illness was called but now I know!!! 🤣
There are worse afflictions to have! I'll be getting my Morrison uilleann pipes soon!
What are the differences between these and uilleann pipes?
The uilleann pipes are an Irish instrument in a different key and with several additional features, including the ability to stop the sound coming from the chanter and play a second octaves. A full set of uilleann pipes also has additional pipes called regulators that are keyed pipes played by the wrist as you also play the chanter. The smallpipes are basically a super nice highland bagpipe practice chanter hooked into a bag with drones.
@@MattWillisBagpiper Thanks so much.
these are a totally different kettle of fish all together.
they don’t even sound like Irish pipes.
What kind of antler?
Yes.
Deer
How different is this set from North Umbrian piped?
The smallpipes are basically a highland bagpipe practice chanter with drones. The Northumbrian pipes are a totally different animal, and one I don't actually know too much about. I know it has a closed chanter and is often played in a more staccato style that is not possible on the smallpipes here.
Mat, I play Northumbrian smallpipes, another thing is, the chanter of a set of Northumbrian pipes has a lot more keys than a set of Scottish smallpipes. Scottish smallpipes may have 2 or 3 keys on the chanter to extend the range of notes, but on a hole, scottish smallpipes don’t have any keys. Northumbrian smallpipe drones usually have a tuning valve on each drone witch when opened can allow the drones to be tuned to different pitches. so if your Northumbrian pipes are in F, they can be retuned to play in G. to put this simply, Northumbrian smallpipes are far more complexed than scottish smallpipes and are much quieter than SSP’s.
I'm pretty sure Nate told me that my common stock was made from mesquite.
That would make sense; mesquite has a reputation for incredidle stability.
Nate confirmed that is correct: he uses mesquite for his drone stocks.
Oh, man, I can't watch this... I don't have enough money for this...
There's never enough money for all the pipes! That's why I like opening other people's stuff. :) :)
@@MattWillisBagpiper I can't tell if these unboxing videos are helping me to control my, "need," to buy all bagpipes, or adding fuel to the fire...
Either way - great videos, man!
@@MattWillisBagpiper haha
Great, thanks for sharing
And I agree with your vision of "stewardship".
You're welcome! I first heard about the idea of instrument "stewardship" from a saxophone repair channel, and it really resonated with me. Our instruments will all outlast us if we take care of them!
Ditto here. It's fascinating to think of where our instruments may have been before us, and where they may end up after. My highland pipes, for example, are over 100 years old, and I sincerely hope they will go on being playing 100 years after my time with them has ended.
I would have BAS, if I had a whole ton more money
Uh...I think Nic will take those to the grave
Indeed, fully assembled and strapped to me lol
Nick: don’t you remember my COMMAND YOUR BAGPIPE episode where I talk of being a steward to your instrument? 😉
@@MattWillisBagpiper I must have missed that one ;) Hey, I let Chucknado play 'em; baby steps lol (but seriously, "I couldn't love a human baby" as much as I love those pipes).
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