Charlie Martin's Product Reviews

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  Kinnaird Carbon Fibre Drone Reeds Reliable performance and sound, September 12th, 2013

  A great drone reed! Mine were acceptable right out of the box and took very little effort to optimize for my drones (Graingers 1981). After playing for a while, I swapped the tongues to the easier ones which went much better with my chanter setup.
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  Kinnaird Evolution Drone Reeds Bold in Hardie Pipes, September 12th, 2013

  I just finished setting up a set in my 1968 Hardies. Hardies are known for their "mellow" sound. Not with these reeds!. Bold, steady, well-blended. I have a set with the easier tongues to match my chanter setup better. This is now my band set of reeds.
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  Ezeedrone Reeds My go-too solo reed, September 12th, 2013

  I use these in my 1969 Hardie tenors with the original Kinnaird bass drone reed. They took a little time to break in and set up but have been flawless since then. Great comments from the judges! This is the best blend I have found for solos. I use the sharper reeds to bring my drones to the proper tuning location with the higher pitched chanters of today.
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  Gilmour Chanter Reeds Great reed for CK chanter, September 12th, 2013

  This is my top reed for the Colin Kyo chanter. All the five reeds I purchased were bright and bold in the chanter even with an easy reed. Tunes well and was "plug and play."
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  McCallum McC2 Gold Poly Chanter A good band chanter too, September 12th, 2013

  My grade 5 band uses the MCC2 chanter. While not thought of typically as a band chanter, we find the lower pitch and ease of reeding helpful for the lower grade band. Good volume, tone, projection. All the things you want in a chanter.
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  McCallum McC2 Gold Blackwood Chanter A good band chanter too., September 27th, 2013

  My Grade 5 band switched to the McC2 chanter and never looked back. Although the chanter we were using is a great chanter, the lower pitch of the McC2 meant that we stayed in the 470s to lo 480s in hot weather with 475 common during a moist winter performance. Much easier to control the band tone for lower grade players. A great all-around chanter!
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  Technopipe MKII by Fagerstrom Not much to not like, September 27th, 2013

  I didn't think I would use this chanter much. Now I wish I had one 30 years ago. Very easy to use. All of the features are fantastic if you can remember how to use them. I've heard some of the top players play this hooked to an amp/speaker. Sounded great with other smallpipes. My only complaint is the print of the instructions s getting hard to read at my age!
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  Chesney Chanter Reed My band reed of choice, September 12th, 2013

  Great reed for the MCC2 chanter. My band uses these. We've tried a number of others and keep coming back to these. I've come across very few duds and they tend to be very consistent.
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  M&M (Megarity) Chanter Reeds Another great band reed, September 12th, 2013

  Next to the Chesney Warnocks, these are my band reeds of choice. Consistent and easy to set up. Good life even with grade 4 players. We use MCC2 chanters but I've also had great luck with these for Colin Kyo chanters.
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  Walsh Mouth Blown Small Pipes Just darn fun, September 12th, 2013

  While maybe not to the same standards as a custom setup from a small maker, these pipes are a real instrument that hold their own. I love the fact that I can toss these in a suitcase to go with me anyplace and I don't have to worry. I love sitting on my porch on a nice summer evening playing. The chanter is a bit "practice chanter" in sound but true of scale. My drone reeds did need a bit of fiddling when first purchased despite the warnings to leave them alone. The A tenor just would not tune without some reed work. Since then, not a problem.
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  Dunbar Practice Chanter The best chater for the buck, September 27th, 2013

  There may be chanters with better tone but, for an all-around PC,the Dunbar I hard to beat. The hempless joint makes maintenance a breeze. The tone is a bit brash to me but still well in tune with itself. All reeds I've tried worked well. No complaints with the feel of it or hole spacing.
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  HBT3 Highland Bagpipe Tuner OK but not the Go-to tuner, September 27th, 2013

  I had high hopes for this tuner. The size and ease of use are fantastic. However, I'm not convinced that the accuracy and response is that good for the high notes. Those in the band tend to grab another tuner after trying this one. I'm glad to see others find it better but I'm not thrilled with it.