AAR Rosewood Practice Chanter with 2 Free Reeds

I'd first like to start by addressing the complainer's reviews... IT'S $15.99!Why would an "expert/professional" piper be buying a $15 practice chanter anyway?If this is an "on a whim" purchase you may be scared away from trying to learn it the second you blow some air into it and the sound is not what you expect (think duck call or a loud kazoo lol) but keep at or seek help with it.The sound quality is definitely $15 dollars worth (think snake charmer). The reeds are not the greatest but throw a tiny rubber band around the reed (they don't come with one) and it makes quite a big difference in sound (or buy a new one all together).Great for learning finger placement and building up some lung power to move on to those GHBs.

The Chanter looks nice and is well finished but the chamber that encapsulates the reed is not long enough for the reeds that come with the chanter and is about and eighth of an inch too shallow for other practice chanter reeds I have. I put one of the reeds in the chanter and practiced a bit but was unhappy with the tuning.with the low A sounding at about 480 cps, so I added some hemp and brought the pitch down a little. The next day, I discovered this after the first reed I used was bent on the tip after sitting in the chanter overnight. This was obviously caused by the reed contacting the upper wall of the encapsulation chamber.I was able to bore the chamber a bit deeper so the reed could be seated for a pitch of about 450 cps for the low A. So, the first reed I used was damaged and probably won't work again, and when I need a new reed, I probably won't be able to find one that is short enough to fit in the chanter and tune properly.I wouldn't purchase this product again or suggest it for someone who needs to replace their Practice Chanter nor would I recommend this chanter for a beginner unless they have a mentor who knows how to adjust and seat reeds.

I bought this chanter because I didn't think that I would stick with learning to play the bagpipes. I wanted one that was cheap that wouldn't be a huge loss if I ended up quitting. This is a nice little chanter that is great for beginners, but not for anyone who is already an intermediate or advanced player. The sound is not great, and the reeds are cheap, but it looks great and is very strong for such a good price. I already need to buy some new reeds for it, but for the price, it should do what you need. I also got a drill press and widened the tops of the holes so you can feel where to put your fingers. The holes are kind of hard to feel, and for beginners this causes some confusion; "Why does my chanter sound like a dying cat?", "Check your fingering."

This item truly serves no purpose. Yes, different tones can be sounded by covering different holes, but for anyone even remotely interested in learning the bagpipes, this item would only be detrimental. Everything about it screams "cheap." The tone is barely audible and inconsistent, and the spacing of the holes is not consistent with that of an actual set of pipes. Finally, the reed is simply a piece of garbage, often does not sound a clear note. In short, one who is interested in learning more about the bagpipes would be better served sticking to watching youtube videos and saving up for a good $100 chanter such as one made by Gibson.

A good value for the price. Plays well and serves it's purpose. I like that it is quieter than my previous practice chanters.

It's decent quality for the price but you definitely would need more to use it for its intended purpose. Idk if a new reed would even help enough but I personally don't play my boyfriend does and we just bought it for our daughter to play with while he practices. The holes are different compared to his more expensive one. You have to almost press harder for it to work so it's not quite as easy to use as you'd want.

I've always wanted to learn the bagpipe, and was excited to finally check this one off my "bucket list", inspired in part by a recent TED talk entitled "Try something new for 30 days". I also ordered a John Walsh practice reed at the same time, because some of the reviews mention the reed being the biggest problem with this product. With chanter in hand, I started into Chapter one of "the green book". "Is it supposed to sound like that?" I thought. "Hmm, it's sort of difficult to feel where the notes are" (they aren't countersunk). Still, I forged along. After becoming somewhat proficient in basic scales, and a few embellishments, and committing the notes of "Amazing Grace" to memory, the only thing missing was a reliable sound. The notes seemed off tune and inconsistent. Herein lies my issue with this product - perhaps an expert piper can get a good sound out of this chanter, but that sort of misses the point, doesn't it. This chanter isn't consistent enough to provide the feedback a new piper needs to know whether she is giving the right amount of air, covering note holes properly, etc. It doesn't inspire the piper to keep learning, and sadly, might actually take the wind out of their sails, before they are ever able to pick up a set of great highland bagpipes.I've since ordered a Dunbar regular sized delrin® practice chanter and it remains to be seen what will happen. I'm hoping I am able to ride a quicker learning curve. Fortunately, my passion for learning the GHB has not been dampened.

I bought this mostly because I needed a new practice reed in a hurry. Wasn't really expecting much from the chanter at the price, and at first I was right. The chanter with the reeds included sucked balls. I tried the reeds with my main chanter and found that they sucked as well. I tried the chanter with a worn but decent reed, and found that it would be fine for our son to learn with. Quiet, but the tone isn't that bad. My advice would be to buy this chanter with a Gibson practice chanter reed.