Piob Beag

There are several species and numerous subspecies of Scottish smallpipes. In addition to the Highland Smallpipes and Great Pipes we make, there are 2 other species of Scottish pipes: Lowland Smallpipes; and Scottish Border Pipes.

The border pipes sound like a GHB, but are quieter - similar to a “reel” pipe. They use a modified GHB chanter reed, are often bellows blown w/ a common stock, and have a conically bored chanter like the GHB.

The lowland pipes in their modern incarnations use a northumbrian type of chanter reed/bore system. Yes - I know it’s confusing, and that’s a story in itself! They can have keyed chanters, and the sound is both a bit louder and different than the Highland Smallpipes.

Now to the pipes we make: The Highland Smallpipes in their mouth blown versions are also called parlor pipes, miniature pipes, and chamber pipes. Walsh’s Shuttle pipes and Gibson’s Fireside pipes are subspecies of this pipe. Their defining characteristic is that they use a practice chanter type reed for the chanter, and operate at a slightly higher pressure than the Lowland pipes. Their natural sound volume blends well with acoustic instruments such as with fiddle, guitar, or harp, but aren’t loud enough for most session playing.

Our pipes standardly come with a hand rubbed satin oil finish, except the combed sets which have a catalyzed varnish finish -See GHB notes for a complete description. They have nickel or brass ferrules, our hand sewn leather bag & bellows, and cords [with separate stock or Piob Mor configuration]. They are hemped, seasoned, tuned, and ready to play.

The common stock can be tied in to rest on the shoulder where the bass drone would go for mouth blowing, or to lay across the chest to the right shoulder for bellows or combination bellows & mouth blowing [recommended]. The mouth blown version, with separate stocks, is also known as the “parlor pipe” or “miniature pipe”. Although our original bore design was based on two antique instruments, there has been much evolution over the years to its current state. We have developed a bore system based on the plastic practice chanter reed. This enables the same instrument to operate either mouth or bellows blown. You can have your instrument set up to do both, something we believe to be unique in smallpipes today.

Our drones come equipped with brass bodied, plastic tongued reeds - These reeds are crude to look at, but they work very well, and should last for years. They are very delicate, so take great care in handling them. You can also use the cane drone reeds if they are available, or in a pinch you can use plastic practice chanter reeds - but they’re not quite as steady. The same drones are used for both the A and B-flat chanter.

The drone set up for A & B-flat is similar to the Piob Mor , the difference being that the two tenors are in unison with low A on the chanter, and the bass drone is one octave below the tenors. [On the great pipes, the tenors are one octave lower, and the bass is two octaves lower than low A.] People that play the pipes with both the A and B-flat chanters have been tuning one tenor to A and the other to B-flat, thereby only needing to retune the bass when switching back and forth.

The D set comes with three drones: a tenor drone pitched at D in unison with the chanter; a baritone drone at A; and a bass drone at D an octave below the tenor.

We now offer 2 drone sets. This eliminates the baritone drone on the “D”’s and the 2nd tenor on the “A/Bflat”’s. Some people consider the third drone - especially when it is the Baritone drone - to be unnecessary, or to contribute too much harmonic presence. We are now offering the two drone sets in response to this request.

We also offer a 4 drone set so you can play A, [or B flat], and D by switching chanters and having the drones for all the chanters in one stock. The four drone set comes with: a tenor drone pitched at D as above; alto drone at A; baritone drone at D an octave below tenor; and a bass drone at A an octave below the alto. You will notice a pressure difference when you switch from the D chanter to the A or B-flat chanter. This a consequence of using the same reed for both instruments, requiring a bit of retuning of the drones when you switch back and forth.

On all sets, the chanter comes with a detachable hemped stock body, and a substock which is tied into the bag. This serves as a blank stock or reed protector, allowing you to remove or exchange chanters easily without exposing the reed. Our chanters are set up with plastic chanter reeds. These reeds eliminate most of the temperature and humidity change problems associated with cane reeds. However, take extreme care of them. They must be individually tuned to the chanter to have a perfectly balanced scale. You may get lucky when going to replace the reed, but the best route is to take great care of it, and purchase a spare with your pipes. If bellows blown, these reeds can last for decades! The reeds aren’t as easy to adjust as great pipe reeds, so extra care should be taken when handling the chanter and reed. Should you experience difficulty in balancing a new chanter reed, we recommend that you send the reed and chanter - in it’s stock body of course - to us for setting up. Usually you can tap the end of the drone to shut it off, but optional drone plugs can also be used to shut off the drones for tuning. They are attached to the top of the drone -under the bell- with a cord “safety binding” and dangle when not in use. I’ve also used pipe cleaners in the bore as drone plugs - not as elegant, but functional!

Of interest to Great pipe players, the B-flat set uses our Full Size Chanter with the same spacing and hole size as the Piob Mor, so all of your practice on the smallpipes translates perfectly to them. See Piob Mor description for more details on the materials used in the pipes including silverwork by Steve Walker Metalsmiths . A Bor Mor valve is supplied with the pipes, as well as our Cushing mouthpiece on the mouth blown versions

Piob Beag Prices

Complete Set of Smallpipes with bellows & chanter , wood mounted [antique style] African Blackwood drones w/ brass or nickel ferrules, in A or Bb [bag cover not included]

Complete Set of Smallpipes with bellows & chanter , wood mounted, fully combed and beaded African Blackwood drones w/ brass or nickel ferrules, in A or Bb [bag cover not included]

Complete Set of Smallpipes with bellows & chanter , imitation Ivory mounts, fully combed and beaded African Blackwood drones w/ brass or nickel ferrules, in A or Bb [bag cover not included]

Complete Set of Smallpipes with bellows & chanter , imitation Ivory mounts and ferrules, fully combed and beaded African Blackwood drones, in A or Bb [bag cover not included]

Set #05 The "Cabar Feidh Set": Elk antler projecting mounts and bushings, Sterling Silver high relief Celtic design ferrules & w/plain sterling silver slides by Walker Metalsmiths, both the chanter and bellows outlet tube have silver ferrules on their ends, fully combed and beaded African Blackwood drones tied into an elkhide bag, velvet cover*, drone plugs. These sets look like jewels!

#05AB for a bellows blown, 3 drone A or Bflat set [includes 11-3/4" ferrules, 1-2" ferrule, 8 antler mounts] $2060

Set #05 The "Culloden Set": This set has the same specifications as the #05, but with a chalice top uncombed unbeaded style for the 1700’s look

#05AB for a bellows blown, 3 drone A or Bflat set [includes 11-3/4" ferrules, 1-2" ferrule, 8 antler mounts] $1935

Piob Beag extras

If any set is ordered in D, deduct the following:

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For a four drone set with 2 Chanters - [“D” & “A” or “D” & “Bflat”] :

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Smallpipe drone reeds - brass body w/ plastic tongue specify Bb, A , or D set; Tenor, Bari or Bass drone $10.00 ea

*Specify black, blue , burgundy, or green cords if tied in Piob Mor style-separate drone stocks

**While we do make this style of pipe ornamentation, we don't recommend it as the wood becomes very weak under the ferrules - especially with natural materials such as antler. We also won't guarantee the wood against checking under the ferrules in this style of pipe. This problem isn't an issue with the Delrin #4DF model. Mastodon Ivory, & Legal [Certified] Elephant Ivory are available upon request.

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Our bellows have the traditional hour glass shape, and are constructed with solid walnut cheeks, ebony stain impregnated - [this goes completely through the wood, so it won’t wear off] - with a hand rubbed satin oil finish. We hand stitch our bellows leather to the cheeks in the traditional way. The inlet valve and cover plate are of Delrin, . The outlet tube connection is brass. The chest strap is of a durable belt leather, the arm strap of a more flexible, soft leather. Our outlet connecting tube is plastic, but you can have it covered with leather for a more traditional look -add $10. We will also hand stitch a traditional leather outlet tube for an additional $30, but you must specify length . Also please specify chest size [at the bottom of the rib cage]

Piob Beag Scottish Highland Smallpipes

Piob Beag
Scottish Highland Smallpipes