Looking for a set of Dunbar P3s

[cclarkcolo]

hey gang,
I've been away from piping for...well, a while and it is time. Yeah, I know...WAY PAST time. I live in Colorado where it is really low himidity and the dryness raises havoc with wood instruments. Sooo I've been considering polypenco. I understand they are bomb-proof as far as the enviromnment is concerned. What I don't know is how they sound. Back in the day I had a set of R. G. Hardie's and they were awesome! Warm, full, perfect for piobaireachd until everyting started to crack - (got 'em used and apparently they set in a basement for 10 years and dryed out). So anyone with that experience would be greatly appreciated.

Secondly, IF they sound decent, then does anyone have a line on a set of P3s for under $800?

Thirdly, When I was playing, it was still old-school - L&M bag and leather flapper valve. I don't know the first thing about all the newfangled synthetic bags and water traps - not to mention synthetic reeds! Told you it had been a while

[imrichmond]

Dunbar polypenco pipes have the same bore specifications as Dunbar's African blackwood pipes and they sound very much the same. The polypenco pipes are a bit louder than the ABW version and the sound has a slightly more aggressive edge to it. On the whole, most people, including most pipers, wouldn't be able to tell whether you were playing polypenco or blackwood. We have several sets in our band (Dunbar and MacCallum) and they blend indistinguishably with the other drones. The main drawback to polypenco pipes is that condensation in the drones tends to be more severe than in wooden pipes, largely because the plastic is totally non-absorbent. In Colorado's dry climate, though, this shouldn't be much of a problem. Henderson Harmonic synthetic reeds sound very nice in the Dunbar polys. Given your dry climate, there is no reason why you shouldn't use an L & M hide bag. These have been improved since the "old days" and now require much less seasoning. Your pipes will likely be delivered with a flapper valve, but this will be made of synthetic material rather than leather. The modern flapper valves are much more reliable and are not prone to rotting the way the leather ones were.

[pbutts]

I just got back in the game recently, too. While I don't have any first hand experience with their poly pipes, I did have to replace my blackwood practice chanter this summer and I have been mostly happy with the Dunbar long practice chanter I replaced it with. The tone is actually better, though it is tedious to constantly need to drain out the reed chamber and dry the plastic practice reed. The band also uses Dunbar pipe chanters and it also sounds pretty good. If you are a "wetblower" like me there are several moisture control systems out there. There's lots of discussion about poly vs blackwood on this board -- http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/index.php

[ohiopiper]

I use a set of Dunbar poly pipes for gigs and such. They sound very good and are remarkably stable, in my opinion. Mine sound good with either full synthetic drone reeds or full cane, but not the mix of cane bass and synthetic tenors often recommended by others. First place I'd check would be Oliver Seeler at Universe of Bagpipes, in Ca. Has good prices and will asnwer any question you may have about what's available. He'll also set up the pipes prior to shipping with whatever bag and reed combination you want. Dunbar is prominently displayed on his web page, but he also deals in many other makers.

[cclarkcolo]

Great Feedback.
One more question - any difference between McCallum and Dunbar?

[ohiopiper]

Sound. Every maker has a slightly different inner profile to their drones, so a set of each will sound slightly different. Blend of tenor and bass will vary. McCallum is usually a little more tenor prominant than Dunbar, who tends to be bass heavy. Best way might be to find soundfiles of each online and have a listen.

[OC Richard]

At one time I owned three sets of Dunbars, two in African Blackwood and one in poly, and when I traded reeds back and forth I found that the poly bass drone sounded exactly like the ABW ones, but the poly tenors were slightly louder than the ABW ones.

I've not owned or seen poly McCallums but I used to own a set of ABW McCallums and they played very nicely. I would guess that McCallum uses the same internal specs for their poly pipes and the sound should be very similar to their ABW pipes. Naill is offering poly pipes also, I think.

Personally I don't care for poly pipes because 1) their weight (poly being considerably heavier than ABW) and 2) their appearance.

Though I did see a set of poly Dunbars fully mounted in engraved aluminum which were stunning-looking! Were I to get a poly set it would be like that, Dunbars fully mounted in aluminum, to reduce the ugliness of broad expanses of black plastic.

Here they are! Very nice! I should say that I really like the tone and performance of Dunbar drones. They're easy to reed and have a great full Hendersonlike tone. And the craftsmanship is top-class.

http://www.dunbarbagpipes.com/P4_Ful..._Bagpipes.html

[cclarkcolo]

Hey, thanks for all the feedback. I went with a set of McCallum P3s from Achiltibuie Backpipe Specialists. Alison was absolutely AWESOME to work with and I got a very competitive price as well.

so another question, doe any of you have experience with Surefire chanter reeds? following Q: for someone just returning with a little bit of a weak lip (at the moment) what chanter reeds do you all recommend?

[OC Richard]

My solo chanters are McCallums, one of the ordinary "band chanters" and a 466/concert pitch chanter, and the last three pipe bands I played in all used McCallum chanters, and we used either Ross reeds or Megarity reeds. Both guys live here so it goes to figure that we would use our local sources.

Ross reeds and Megarity reeds go great in McCallum chanters.