by Stuart Curnow Gimcracks and thing-a-ma-jigs Demystifying Moisture Control Systems
or new school? Pipe bands, solos or both, senior or novice, the quest for a stable instrument has been as- sisted enormously with the advent of synthetic reeds, bags and moisture control systems. Sometimes derided as “gimcracks and thing-a- ma-jigs”, there can be little dispute that these innovations of the last 30 years have helped the stability and quality of instruments in both pipe band and solo competitions. It’s interesting to look dispassionately at
A
the development and progress of the Great Highland Bagpipe over the last 30 years. Up until the 1980s, the bagpipe options were sheepskin or hide bag with cane reeds. There’s your choice. These days, the market is awash with products to enhance tone and control moisture, all with the specific purpose to stabilise the instrument and enhance control for the piper. However, you only have to trawl through the bagpipe forums to see three things.
RE you sheepskin or synthetic? Are you cane or plastic? Are you tube trap or canister? Are you old school
‘Lower grade bands the world over are developing a very good sound, very good technique, and a lot of this is due to the stability and ease of synthetic systems and moisture control’
Many pipers having diffi culty understand-
ing the fundamentals of how these systems work, discerning which system to choose and how to get the system they choose to work best for them. I asked Ian Lyons, a piper who traverses
the two piping worlds of “synthetic” and “natural” with apparent ease, to point out some of the most common inaccuracies about “synthetics” and pitfalls that solo pipers and pipe corps come up against in their setting up of an instrument. Being a developer of piping accessories, hav- ing played in the legendary Victoria Police Pipe
Band, winning the Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championship with a synthetic set-up and for the last three seasons with Field Marshal Mont- gomery Pipe Band using sheepskin and cane, Ian is the ideal person to speak on the subject. The much talked about Victoria
Police sound of the 90s and stability of that period was a game changer for pipe bands the world over. Ian’s Australian band, Moorab- bin City Pipe Band has just won the 2012 Grade 2 New Zealand Championship with a clean sweep of eight fi rsts playing a full synthetic system. Here is his take on fi nding a successful synthetic set-up.
PIPING TODAY • 40
SYNTHETICS Photo: Stuart Curnow
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52