Argh!

Everyone points new folks to the plastic Dunbars when they are on a budget! Don't assume that plastic pipes are that much cheaper! Figure out what you want first! Only get plastic pipes if you want plastic pipes. There are reasons to use plastic, but price is not really one of them, when you compare to other entry-level bagpipes.

The plastic Dunbar pipes are not really much of a savings over blackwood when you compare apples to apples. The cheapest price I know of for P1s is at www.hotpipes.com. He has them for $775. Not bad, really. But that's with cane reeds and a leather bag. Now, a new piper does not need the headaches of learning to use cane reeds. Your instructor will agree with me there. By the time you add in a set of Ezee drone or Wygent or MG or other modern synthetic reeds, you have added about a hundred bucks to the price. So, realistically, you are looking at more like $875 to get a set of Dunbar P1s with reliable reeds. What else can you buy for the same price?

Well, at www.jhiggins.net you can get a set of McCallum AB0s, in blackwood, minimal metal, elegant and understated for $895. Comes with MG reeds and a Canmore bag. That's right, spend another $20 and you get blackwood and one of the hottest names in new pipes. I play McCallums and they are like thee Yamaha of the piping world - there are better pipes, but not for the same price point.

Or, there's www.thescottishpiper.net where you can get a set of Wallace, plain turned pipes in blackwood with Ezeedrone reeds for $750. Includes shipping. In other words, $25 cheaper than the cheapest source I've seen for Dunbar. Scottish made, good pipes. And you get the synthetic reeds and bag as part of that package. And they still look fancier than those P1s.

If you check around with your local pipe bands and ask your instructor, there may be used sets available for a decent price, too. That's often the best way to go, really. A well-played bagpipe that has been properly treated will sound better than a new one. The wood improves with time and playing. This is true of any wooden instrument, as far as I am aware.

If you really want to get Pakistani pipes, find out how much they will cost to get them up and running. Compare to the cost of any of the pipes I am talking about, then factor in some of the other details. Your initial cost is probably going to be around $200, right? You will need to replace reeds, almost certainly. That's about $100, as I mentioned above. If you are lucky, the bag will be good. If not, you have to replace it. Last Pakistani bag I saw was gooey on the outside from whatever greasy mess they used to season it. I've been told this is standard, nowadays. Nasty. I would not play that, ever. My clothes are worth a replacement bag. A new one will cost over $100, perhaps over $200, depending on what you get. Used bags do show up on the market for around $50, but I never trust that they will have a lot of life left in them. If you know a piper who tried a bag for a short time and wants to pass it on cheap, that's fine. Then there's also the chanter. Pakistani chanters just are not made right. I'm talking about holes in the wrong places, notes so far out of tune that they just won't be capable of playing a true scale. Many are also pitched very flat of modern pipe standards, so you will be unable to play with others at all. A plastic chanter of any quality is going to be at least $150 new.

You can try to get a bargain on your pipes if you want, but you run a very real chance of paying at least $350 more for a set of Pakistani pipes than you would think from the sticker price. And possibly more, depending on what might be wrong with them in terms of boring of the holes, proportions overall, seasoning of the wood, and all the other things that might be wrong with them. And there are darned few (though I will be fair and say there are some) that sound anywhere near as good as a first-world-manufactured instrument. You'll never be sure of getting one of the good sets via mail. You have to try them to be sure.

I can't really suggest any cheap alternatives, though I have thought for years that someone should put a decent chanter and bag on Pakistani drones that have been properly bored and polished and sell them as a starter set for cheap, but with a return warranty and full disclosure. However, as I see it, that means a bagpipe for about $500, which is 2/3 the cost of an entry-level Scottish pipe (the Wallace). If I was in the market for a new set, I'd just save another few months and get the set made in Scotland.

I just realized that if I ever start teaching pipes, I am going to get a set of the cheapest junk Pakistani pipes on the market and be able to show them to my students so they will know why not to buy them. It would actually be worth it for educational purposes.

I hope this does not overwhelm you, I just feel that there are several bases that need to be covered when this topic comes up.

-Patrick