I bought this chanter last year and love it. I can practice with headphones in the living room while my spouse is watching TV, and I can play it for hours without moisture worries. I adjusted the sensitivity into the negative range for each note which seems counterintuitive but embellishments are more clear this way. Yes it’s expensive but a great investment IMO.
Haha, apparently the family have just bought me one for Christmas!! Thanks to this video for making me confident enough to want one given the expense!! What a great family!! Cheers for the review Matt.
****UPDATE after playing*** This is the best piping thing I have ever received after buying my pipes!! I've played it pretty much hours a day since getting it for Christmas, absolutely superb instrument, love playing it and can practice quietly on my own in the living room while the family are watching the TV just using headphones. Highly recommended. This unboxing tells you all you need to know! Also see Matt McIsaac's review for Pipe/Drums also on YT. With headphones in, it highlights any imperfections in your playing. The sensitivity can be adjusted but beware that adjusting for bright lights (as Matt is doing here) is best done using the daylight compensation. It's pretty intuitive once you get started and the destructions are very clear. I found it really easy to play at the kitchen table without any compensation or adjustment. Only criticism for me *and* it's a small one is that the metronome can't be played as a PB bass section with a bass/tenor drum rather than the synthetic metronome. Like I said though, that's a small thing! Enjoy practicing anywhere without disturbing anyone!! Great stuff. Feels like a quality instrument to play and hold.
Another great unboxing Matt! Its nice to get a pro demo stuff like this, since I cant exactly walk down to the local music store and try them out for myself!
Awesome video and congrats to Mr. Barnett!! Looks like one of the more technologically advanced electro-chanters on the market. The smallpipes mode and built-in metronome are sweet! Needs more Cowbell tho.. ;)
I like the idea of optical sensors! Years ago I had a Deger electronic Chanter. I even bought a Behringer 180 watt keyboard amp to play it through. The amp had some cool features. If I set the reverb & vibrato just right it sounded like a large Pipe band. :-) I ended up selling the Deger. It had conductive contacts. I have very thick, dry skin & I was living in a dry climate, so, I had to rub copious amounts of EKG conductive gel into my fingers before each tune. Not good! By the end of a tune the gel would be drying & the Chanter would miss more & more grace notes, as I would play heavier & heavier handed to keep the main notes sounding. If I had nice, pink, moist skin, I would probably still be using that Chanter.
Oh wow! Thats for me! I sail & bring a pocket chanter so I can still keep up with our pipe band tunes whilst on our boat. Got a cheaper e chanter which is ok, but the Blair is far superior. Thanks Matt!
You mentioned "balance" for individual sensitivity; I worked with this for more than 6 months and had no success. My solution may seem backwards, I had the Deger and needed to use resin to keep my fingers moist to establish a contact. I have gone back to the same thing for the Blair and it works. It's not a heavy resin that would impair or harm the note holes.
It’s a great little thing to play on. I’ll play it when it’s too late to use the “big” ones. A little bit of trial and error is required when calibrating all the sensors, but that’s not really any big deal, it’s totally worth it in the end.
got sick and lost my breath. I used to play recorders. I am a Blair and my wife is a Taylor. We love the Scotts and Irish tunes. But I cant play wood wind or whistle any more. This just might be the trick. I had heard of the EWI but not an actual chanter. It help to have one such as you to look these things over and let us see what we might be getting into.
I own one of those I got it for my birthday and it’s fun to mess around with. I also just passed my audition as a bagpiper for the pipe band I’m in and the Blair digital chanter helped me learn tunes quick
It's right. Same experience, in spite of I'm still learning, but with this chanter you can play nighttime as well and the time dedicated to exercise is multiplied by n. Of course the blowing exercise is missing, but can be simulated in some way if you wish. Holes are a bit too little, but I do believe it should be due to technical reasons.
It’s been years and years since I played my practice chanter before getting the Blair chanter a week ago, due to having a bit more dosh than usual. My fingers feel like they’re made of wood! Stiff as boards, they are. I find the birl hole to be that little bit lower than is comfortable for me, so it’s like learning all over again. I’m still a bit confused as to how to dial in the sensors so that I don’t have to lift my fingers too high. Is it lower, or higher numbers for lifting the fingers not so high? I can’t remember my playing being this bad lol. I think I’ll start with slow airs and marches and leave the strathspeys, reels and jigs for a while. Maybe having to lift my fingers high, will be good for me. One thing I love about this chanter though, is the sound quality. It’s absolutely superb! “Hector the Hero” sounds really good.
Update to the above. I got the sensors tuned to my fingering and I must say my birl is much better now. It’s a matter of getting into the most comfortable position. I got the shut off foot switch which makes things easier. I’ve got the drones sounding better too. Balancing the bass and tenors to your liking makes a big difference so too does reverb which gives the pipes an even more realistic sound. I find digital stuff complicated so it’s taken me time to get it sounding as best as I can and as easy to manage as I can. I am very glad I bought it though.
Matt looking for a new chanter I don’t have lungs for my old one I do use a rose wood chanter and recorder looking upgrade too electric how much are they in Canadian dollars does this one able use headphones
Hi Matt, yes... About difficulty in executing cleanly certain notes and movements... adjustment can indeed be made to adjust sensitivity but you move to negative values not positive values. Strangely that seems to be the fix. Hope this helps.
If you had the appropriate dongle to go out from the Blair to the USB C on the iPad Pro, I don't see why not, though I don't own either the Blair nor an iPad Pro, so I can't actually know for certain. But I can't imagine it being a problem. Hope this helps!
My Blair is on the way from Henderson. Have you recommendations for wired earbuds and or headset? I used noise cancelling earbuds for my Deger I bought back in 2014. I am trying to retrain my ear to great pipes and my various small pipes chanter and drones.
I have all of the instruments that Blair offers, loaded onto my digital chanter. Are there other resources for instruments not included on the Blair download site?
As always, thank you Matt for a great video. This makes me want to get a Blair even more and I'm not even ready to advance from my PC 🙂 BTW, what tune did you play there with the smallpipes settings?
Very interesting and useful! I don't have a sound system. Plugging the chanter onto my laptop will be ok to get the sound (stupid question I guess...)? Thanks
I'm not sure if that would work or not... Unfortunately, I do not own a Blair, so I cannot test this on my end... You can get an inexpensive speaker like this one: ua-cam.com/video/VKb_3AvNVtI/v-deo.html
Which Electronic bagpipe do you recommend learning on for someone who never touched bagpipe chanters without disturbing neighbours by use of headphones.
All the different models have pros and cons. The Blair sounds best but is expensive and can be a bit tricky to get the finger hole light sensitivity set up. The Fagerstrom is a solid unit but still quite pricey. The GlenCoe is quite affordable (comparatively) but the sound quality is fairly poor and the raised electrical contacts are a bit uncomfortable. The Redpipes are another option...
Hope you don't mind my asking, I'm merely interested and intrigued ... do you play your birls in an Up-Down motion? Or are my eyes playing tricks on me? If so, that's a first ... never seen that before .. I'm fascinated.
I used to do the tap/curl birl, but in early 2004, my birl pinkie developed tendonitis and trigger finger. I got a few cortisone injections, but ultimately, the curling motion of the birl was destroying my tendon, so I had to come up with a way to birl that didn't involve my pinkie curling/bending at all. This was what I came up with... Starting from below, sweep up, then sweep down. It's a touch slower than the other styles, even after 15 years, but it was a great "da da dAA" sound to it. And there's no real chance of further tendon damage as the motion is mainly inner-hand muscle.
I too have noticed your unique birl. I’m going to do some experimenting with it, as I also have discomfort in my pinkie. Though I fear after so many years of traditional birls it may be a hard habit to break.
Not at all! That said, the important thing when starting as a later learner is to temper your expectation of how quickly you will progress. Also, depending on your dexterity, it may be advised to have simpler settings of the music (fewer embellishments and such) and to make sure that when you do transition to the pipes, that you have a good and very easy reed to start with. Where are you located? We'll need an instructor. If there isn't one nearby, I'd be happy to work with you over Skype. Cheers!
@@MattWillisBagpiper in Australia. Still considering it. Such as how much time daily/weekly. Driving neighbours crazy, not to mention my wife. It's something I've been thinking about for a some time. Many tell me that I'm past learning something as difficult as the bagpipes.
I'm 65 as well and I started to learn ghb music few months ago. This chanter is great for fingering exercise. You can accelerate dramatically the learning process because you can play at any time of the day and night without annoying other persons, mainly if you,as me, are living in a flat.
Could it happen, to produce bad and weak fingering in case you just practice on those e chanters? Even after 30 years piping expirience? Will be the old mouth blowen practice chanter in couple of years history?
I go over some of the pros & cons of e chanters in this video: ua-cam.com/video/ti8agOdi5e8/v-deo.html But I do not see the practice chanter going anywhere. We need to build our mouth muscles somehow!
Owned Ross, Deger, Fagerstrom and now Blair e-chanters...Blair nicest to play (after spending time setting the hole sensitivity) but Fagerstrom most portable, great sound (if hands not super dry), long battery life, built in features and price. You didnt mention MIDI output on the Blair. Useful if you are into that....
Thanks for the comment! The GlenCoe e-chanter is pretty good too, especially given the price! My unbagging and review here: ua-cam.com/video/Q01ILpCWHIQ/v-deo.html
Hi Matt thanks for all your great Videos. I have watched both this review and your carbony GHB whistle review and I'm wondering which you'd recommend more for practicing purposes. I'm not to worried about sound.
Hello and you're welcome! For practice purposes, the Blair digital chanter is a better tool. The whistle is super cool, but you have to do things a bit differently (as it's a whistle) than you would for the pipes.
Good day, I am a beginner who bought chanters,pipes etc when Covid started. I was taking lessons via Skype but burned myself out as I was playing 4 plus hrs a day. Recently picked up my chanter and have gotten back into it. My question is do you think the Blair digital chanter is a good instrument to have for a man the just had a new baby and will never play in a band etc and for someone who just loves the sounds of the bagpipes?
The Blair could very well be a good investment for someone who cannot regular makes noise with their instrument. That said, if you do desire to eventually play the pipes, the Blair on it's own will not help build the muscles around the mouth required to play the pipes...
I don't mind spending the money but what is the warranty on the Blair chanter and if it needs to be fix for some reason who do you send it too if the warranty is up ( there in Australia.) Other then that they sound fantastic !!
Great video Matt, I would like to buy one, can you recommend a good supplier who will send this to the Netherlands. Thank you in advance and kind regards, Robert Fleming
Matt, I am a merchant at our local "World of Faries" festival each year and I want to purchase the Blair changer to entertain myself between customers and also to draw customers to my shop. I plan on buying a "Pignose" portable amplifier to play the chanter through. Is that a standard 1/4" plug instrument cable you have their? Is there a 1/4" jack on the chanter? Also, the "bag" that is an accessory item for this changer is quite pricey (nearly $200.00) but I think it would make this instrument much easier to play than having to hold it in my hands. I play guitar and alto saxophone and I would NOT want to try holding the instruments, while trying to play. A penny for your thoughts! 🤗
So you don't need to blow in it to play. I think I could buy one and also buy a cheap bagpipe and remove the original chanter and replace it by the Blair electronic chanter. That would give a style of playing a real acoustic Highland bagpipe. I have the Roland AE-10 aerophone and it has the bagpipe sound, but the finger layout is actually made for practising playing saxophone.
It can be used as an instrument on its own, though it won't help develop your breathing or squeezing or mouth muscles. But it does sound great and can be used to learn the finger system of the instrument.
At around $700, that's a tough call. They're super cool, but that's a lot of money. If the longevity is there (and they don't tend to break like the other electronic chanters on the market) they could well be worth it.
@@MattWillisBagpiper ... mine DID already break. I'm fairly handy though, so I managed to get it back together and working after only a bit a tinkering. So in my opinion, the Blair IS on the delicate side of the spectrum .. but also, mind you ... the reason mine broke is from playing on the subway-the train made a hard, abrupt stop, and a fellow passenger fell right into my lap. Chanter busted right under the ferrule. The ferrule, as far as I can tell, seems to keep the top portion attached to the fingering stem ... but they clearly aren't meant to be separated.
Another notable, which I've had to clarify this for many folks ... the Blair chanter has a "built-in midi controller/interface." Now, it SEEMS like that's the same as many other comparable products, such as the Redpipes, Technopipes and Deger ... but IT'S NOT. With all those other products, yes, they can be set to output midi data ... HOWVER, that midi data needs to be interpreted by a midi controller (a good example, the iRig 2) before a computer can/will be able to use that data to produce sound. That's a whole separate device (and cables) that one normally needs to buy/use in order to truly use Midi capability. NOT SO with the Blair ... this "midi controller/interface" is fully BUILT IN. Therefore, so long as your computer is configured right (and it should be), simply plug the Blair USB cord into the computer & chanter, and you should ready to go. So that right there (besides being VERY convenient) is also an added ~$100 of "value" compared to all the others.
I bought one in August this year. My Grips and Tallourahs are much better. Not perfect but much better. I play it through a JBL Flip 4 speaker, sounds ok but with a much better speaker and more tweaking with the settings I can get the sound perfect. I am with Mark Gerber on this. Best investment I made next to my pipes.
@@MattWillisBagpiper still deciding..seems one needs a few accessories which makes it pricey (earphones, amp/speaker, possible bag if desired etc) More costly than a set of actual bagpipes! If I didn’t have my own pipes, I’d get one pronto! Haven’t played in 30 years. So much new technology it’s a minefield to me now.
I’d get a regular practice chanter to start. Much less expensive plus you’ll start building your face muscles. The Hardie twist-trap is a good one to start with.
May I make a request, sir? Could you review and compare the two different bags available for the Blair chanter? The memory foam ‘ergo’ bag and the air filled one?
First, someone has to send me both! Few manufacturers send me products to review for free. Also, I need a Blair chanter (was unboxing a student’s in the video)
Very helpful review by the way. As my practice and playing has been severly limited by Cov (looooong recovery), looking at one of these to help me get back up to speed while my puff improves. This does look better than the ones with electrical contacts like the Glencoe. It's a big spend but this review makes me comfortable that it's money well spent. Thanks so much.
This was very useful in deciding whether to buy one but why are we blokes so loath to look at the manual? I'm as bad as anyone. Must be a male ego thing.
I don't mind spending the money , but what is the warranty on the Blair chanter , is it worth it if it stop working in 2 years and who do you send it off too if needed to get fix
@@ryancorr9504 show us then instead of talking trash against a guy that does a lot of good. Make a video and show me how you are as good as Stuart Liddell
I bought this chanter last year and love it. I can practice with headphones in the living room while my spouse is watching TV, and I can play it for hours without moisture worries. I adjusted the sensitivity into the negative range for each note which seems counterintuitive but embellishments are more clear this way. Yes it’s expensive but a great investment IMO.
Welcome. May I know what is the price of this song?
My wife bought me one for Christmas, I am absolutely in love with it. Just have to make sure I play my full size pipes as much as I did before.
Haha, apparently the family have just bought me one for Christmas!! Thanks to this video for making me confident enough to want one given the expense!! What a great family!! Cheers for the review Matt.
****UPDATE after playing*** This is the best piping thing I have ever received after buying my pipes!! I've played it pretty much hours a day since getting it for Christmas, absolutely superb instrument, love playing it and can practice quietly on my own in the living room while the family are watching the TV just using headphones. Highly recommended. This unboxing tells you all you need to know! Also see Matt McIsaac's review for Pipe/Drums also on YT. With headphones in, it highlights any imperfections in your playing.
The sensitivity can be adjusted but beware that adjusting for bright lights (as Matt is doing here) is best done using the daylight compensation. It's pretty intuitive once you get started and the destructions are very clear. I found it really easy to play at the kitchen table without any compensation or adjustment.
Only criticism for me *and* it's a small one is that the metronome can't be played as a PB bass section with a bass/tenor drum rather than the synthetic metronome. Like I said though, that's a small thing! Enjoy practicing anywhere without disturbing anyone!! Great stuff. Feels like a quality instrument to play and hold.
I'm thinking about getting a Blair Chanter. It was nice to see you unboxing it. Thanks!
Glad I could help!
It does look amazing and the menu controls are an improvement over my Degerpipes. Might have to add this to the Christmas wish list :-)
Thanks!
Welcome!
Another great unboxing Matt! Its nice to get a pro demo stuff like this, since I cant exactly walk down to the local music store and try them out for myself!
This was a really good unboxing video. Very nice chanter. Just started to learn on a RG Hardie twist trap. Thank you for a very good channel😊.
Awesome video and congrats to Mr. Barnett!! Looks like one of the more technologically advanced electro-chanters on the market. The smallpipes mode and built-in metronome are sweet! Needs more Cowbell tho.. ;)
I like the idea of optical sensors! Years ago I had a Deger electronic Chanter. I even bought a Behringer 180 watt keyboard amp to play it through. The amp had some cool features. If I set the reverb & vibrato just right it sounded like a large Pipe band. :-)
I ended up selling the Deger. It had conductive contacts. I have very thick, dry skin & I was living in a dry climate, so, I had to rub copious amounts of EKG conductive gel into my fingers before each tune. Not good! By the end of a tune the gel would be drying & the Chanter would miss more & more grace notes, as I would play heavier & heavier handed to keep the main notes sounding.
If I had nice, pink, moist skin, I would probably still be using that Chanter.
I need a Dave in my life!
Oh wow! Thats for me! I sail & bring a pocket chanter so I can still keep up with our pipe band tunes whilst on our boat. Got a cheaper e chanter which is ok, but the Blair is far superior. Thanks Matt!
Welcome. May I know what is the price of this song?
You mentioned "balance" for individual sensitivity; I worked with this for more than 6 months and had no success. My solution may seem backwards, I had the Deger and needed to use resin to keep my fingers moist to establish a contact. I have gone back to the same thing for the Blair and it works. It's not a heavy resin that would impair or harm the note holes.
It’s a great little thing to play on.
I’ll play it when it’s too late to use the “big” ones.
A little bit of trial and error is required when calibrating all the sensors, but that’s not really any big deal, it’s totally worth it in the end.
got sick and lost my breath. I used to play recorders. I am a Blair and my wife is a Taylor. We love the Scotts and Irish tunes. But I cant play wood wind or whistle any more. This just might be the trick. I had heard of the EWI but not an actual chanter. It help to have one such as you to look these things over and let us see what we might be getting into.
I have one of them, a Blair Digital chanter that I’ve got for Christmas, and it sounds great
Welcome. May I know what is the price of this song?
I own one of those I got it for my birthday and it’s fun to mess around with.
I also just passed my audition as a bagpiper for the pipe band I’m in and the Blair digital chanter helped me learn tunes quick
It's right. Same experience, in spite of I'm still learning, but with this chanter you can play nighttime as well and the time dedicated to exercise is multiplied by n. Of course the blowing exercise is missing, but can be simulated in some way if you wish. Holes are a bit too little, but I do believe it should be due to technical reasons.
It’s been years and years since I played my practice chanter before getting the Blair chanter a week ago, due to having a bit more dosh than usual. My fingers feel like they’re made of wood! Stiff as boards, they are. I find the birl hole to be that little bit lower than is comfortable for me, so it’s like learning all over again. I’m still a bit confused as to how to dial in the sensors so that I don’t have to lift my fingers too high. Is it lower, or higher numbers for lifting the fingers not so high? I can’t remember my playing being this bad lol. I think I’ll start with slow airs and marches and leave the strathspeys, reels and jigs for a while. Maybe having to lift my fingers high, will be good for me. One thing I love about this chanter though, is the sound quality. It’s absolutely superb! “Hector the Hero” sounds really good.
Update to the above.
I got the sensors tuned to my fingering and I must say my birl is much better now. It’s a matter of getting into the most comfortable position. I got the shut off foot switch which makes things easier. I’ve got the drones sounding better too. Balancing the bass and tenors to your liking makes a big difference so too does reverb which gives the pipes an even more realistic sound. I find digital stuff complicated so it’s taken me time to get it sounding as best as I can and as easy to manage as I can. I am very glad I bought it though.
Excellent sound o.o
Matt looking for a new chanter I don’t have lungs for my old one I do use a rose wood chanter and recorder looking upgrade too electric how much are they in Canadian dollars does this one able use headphones
Hi Matt, yes... About difficulty in executing cleanly certain notes and movements... adjustment can indeed be made to adjust sensitivity but you move to negative values not positive values. Strangely that seems to be the fix. Hope this helps.
Good to know!
What's in the glass to your right?
Balvenie 14 year Caribbean Cask
Have you done I’m boxing on the 2G made in Sweden for the storm electronics chanter
Not yet, but would love to. Just need someone to send me one!
I have one love it good for practice
One more question Matt ,,,;0) Can you plug this in to the Ipad Pro and record on Garage Band ??
If you had the appropriate dongle to go out from the Blair to the USB C on the iPad Pro, I don't see why not, though I don't own either the Blair nor an iPad Pro, so I can't actually know for certain. But I can't imagine it being a problem. Hope this helps!
Thank you my friend , very helpful 👍
My Blair is on the way from Henderson. Have you recommendations for wired earbuds and or headset? I used noise cancelling earbuds for my Deger I bought back in 2014. I am trying to retrain my ear to great pipes and my various small pipes chanter and drones.
I tend to connect mine to a powered speaker and not use headphones. If I do use headphone, I use Shure ES215 in ear monitors.
I have all of the instruments that Blair offers, loaded onto my digital chanter. Are there other resources for instruments not included on the Blair download site?
Good question! I don't actually own this Blair, so I wouldn't know... I do really want one, however!
Welcome. May I know what is the price of this song?
Does the Blair reaction to false notes and poor finger placement like the practice chanter (squeaks and squaks) and bagpipe chanter?
Not really… it is good for hearing crossing noises however.
I want one!!!!!
Me too!
Me too !!!
How did i know you was going to do a twist pop with the bubble wrap
As always, thank you Matt for a great video. This makes me want to get a Blair even more and I'm not even ready to advance from my PC 🙂
BTW, what tune did you play there with the smallpipes settings?
Pretty sure it was The Rowan Tree...
Pattern welded scottish Dirk to open the package?
Very interesting and useful! I don't have a sound system. Plugging the chanter onto my laptop will be ok to get the sound (stupid question I guess...)? Thanks
I'm not sure if that would work or not... Unfortunately, I do not own a Blair, so I cannot test this on my end... You can get an inexpensive speaker like this one: ua-cam.com/video/VKb_3AvNVtI/v-deo.html
Which Electronic bagpipe do you recommend learning on for someone who never touched bagpipe chanters without disturbing neighbours by use of headphones.
All the different models have pros and cons. The Blair sounds best but is expensive and can be a bit tricky to get the finger hole light sensitivity set up. The Fagerstrom is a solid unit but still quite pricey. The GlenCoe is quite affordable (comparatively) but the sound quality is fairly poor and the raised electrical contacts are a bit uncomfortable. The Redpipes are another option...
Hi.. what do you reccomends between Blair Pipes and Red Pipes?
Are there great differences?
Tanx
Hope you don't mind my asking, I'm merely interested and intrigued ... do you play your birls in an Up-Down motion? Or are my eyes playing tricks on me? If so, that's a first ... never seen that before .. I'm fascinated.
I used to do the tap/curl birl, but in early 2004, my birl pinkie developed tendonitis and trigger finger. I got a few cortisone injections, but ultimately, the curling motion of the birl was destroying my tendon, so I had to come up with a way to birl that didn't involve my pinkie curling/bending at all. This was what I came up with... Starting from below, sweep up, then sweep down. It's a touch slower than the other styles, even after 15 years, but it was a great "da da dAA" sound to it. And there's no real chance of further tendon damage as the motion is mainly inner-hand muscle.
Since 2004, this is the style I teach my students since I don't want them injuring their fingers either!
@@MattWillisBagpiper ... very cool. Different strokes, different folks ... quite literally, ha ha!
Blast!!!! You beat me to the comment ... grrr (jealous)
I too have noticed your unique birl. I’m going to do some experimenting with it, as I also have discomfort in my pinkie. Though I fear after so many years of traditional birls it may be a hard habit to break.
Nice video. Thanks.
Looks like you're using the swipe up/down birl instead of the j motion. That's what I use now as the j motion wasn't kind to me.
More on why I birl like that here: ua-cam.com/video/ep2yBG7X2Tc/v-deo.html
@@MattWillisBagpiper Matt, does the Blair have a good, in tune, piobaireachd high g? Thanks.
A question. I love the sound of the pipes. I'm 65 and would love to learn to play. Am I kidding myself?
Not at all! That said, the important thing when starting as a later learner is to temper your expectation of how quickly you will progress. Also, depending on your dexterity, it may be advised to have simpler settings of the music (fewer embellishments and such) and to make sure that when you do transition to the pipes, that you have a good and very easy reed to start with. Where are you located? We'll need an instructor. If there isn't one nearby, I'd be happy to work with you over Skype. Cheers!
@@MattWillisBagpiper in Australia. Still considering it. Such as how much time daily/weekly. Driving neighbours crazy, not to mention my wife. It's something I've been thinking about for a some time. Many tell me that I'm past learning something as difficult as the bagpipes.
Do it!!!! 😁 It'll be so satisfying when you got milestones and find friendship and fun and pleasure in it.
I'm a 57 year old woman .If I can learn you can learn lol.
I'm 65 as well and I started to learn ghb music few months ago. This chanter is great for fingering exercise. You can accelerate dramatically the learning process because you can play at any time of the day and night without annoying other persons, mainly if you,as me, are living in a flat.
HI THERE, MATT , WHAT IS THE WEB SITE FOR THE E-CHANTERS, TO ORDER ONE I SEE NO WEB ADDRESS FOR THE THE E-CHANTERS FROM AUSTRALIA,
I'd look up Blair Digital Chanter Australia retailers and see what comes up. You could probably buy direct, as they're made in Australia.
Is there a video where you test it ?
There is not... The Blair chanter was not mine, so I didn't have any additional time with it.
@@MattWillisBagpiper 😩 thanks at any rate Matt
I WANT!
Could it happen, to produce bad and weak fingering in case you just practice on those e chanters? Even after 30 years piping expirience? Will be the old mouth blowen practice chanter in couple of years history?
I go over some of the pros & cons of e chanters in this video: ua-cam.com/video/ti8agOdi5e8/v-deo.html
But I do not see the practice chanter going anywhere. We need to build our mouth muscles somehow!
Owned Ross, Deger, Fagerstrom and now Blair e-chanters...Blair nicest to play (after spending time setting the hole sensitivity) but Fagerstrom most portable, great sound (if hands not super dry), long battery life, built in features and price. You didnt mention MIDI output on the Blair. Useful if you are into that....
Thanks for the comment! The GlenCoe e-chanter is pretty good too, especially given the price! My unbagging and review here: ua-cam.com/video/Q01ILpCWHIQ/v-deo.html
Hi Matt thanks for all your great Videos. I have watched both this review and your carbony GHB whistle review and I'm wondering which you'd recommend more for practicing purposes. I'm not to worried about sound.
Hello and you're welcome! For practice purposes, the Blair digital chanter is a better tool. The whistle is super cool, but you have to do things a bit differently (as it's a whistle) than you would for the pipes.
@@MattWillisBagpiper Thanks so much for your speedy reply!
Sure thing! Already on the computer editing tomorrow's video, so easy enough to swing by and type a bit. Glad you found the channel!
Does the chanter work with headphones as well as the speaker?
Yep!
@@MattWillisBagpiper alright great to know I can finally get some practice in without waking my whole family
Good day, I am a beginner who bought chanters,pipes etc when Covid started. I was taking lessons via Skype but burned myself out as I was playing 4 plus hrs a day. Recently picked up my chanter and have gotten back into it. My question is do you think the Blair digital chanter is a good instrument to have for a man the just had a new baby and will never play in a band etc and for someone who just loves the sounds of the bagpipes?
The Blair could very well be a good investment for someone who cannot regular makes noise with their instrument. That said, if you do desire to eventually play the pipes, the Blair on it's own will not help build the muscles around the mouth required to play the pipes...
@@MattWillisBagpiper thank you very much for the reply.. really enjoy your channel
Would you recommend this for the greenest of beginners?
It’s fine, but a regular practice chanter would be better. Gotta build the lip strength too.
are you required to either have headphones and or the amplifier for the digital chanter to work or does it sound without and attachments?
It requires headphones or amp. No internal speaker.
Matt Willis Bagpiper does the chanter come with connecting cables for the amp?
I can't recall... Luckily, even if it doesn't, those cables aren't too expensive.
Hey do you know that name of the song you played on the smallpipe setting
That would be the classic "The Rowan Tree"... Love that one!
@@MattWillisBagpiper thank you
Can you get this with a long chanter body?
He just makes one-sized instrument...
I don't mind spending the money but what is the warranty on the Blair chanter and if it needs to be fix for some reason who do you send it too if the warranty is up ( there in Australia.) Other then that they sound fantastic !!
You'll have to ask Blair what the warranty is, as I didn't think to look into any of that while unboxing (and unfortunately, it's not mine!)
@@MattWillisBagpiper Thank you Matt, I understand, great job on the review though
"THAT's not a knoïfe!" Crocodile Dundee :-D
Ever played the Rampart Lion digital Chanter? Saw one for a good price and considered it
I have not heard of that one. I’ll look into it!
Thanks. Your videos are all a great help and are well done!
Thank you! Glad you found the channel!
Can you use this chanter with headphones instead of a big speaker
Yep!
Great video Matt, I would like to buy one, can you recommend a good supplier who will send this to the Netherlands.
Thank you in advance and kind regards,
Robert Fleming
Try here: kiltsandmore.com/bagpipes/electronic-bagpipes/blair-electronic-chanter-:c703:len:1.html
Matt, Thank you very much thats exactly what I needed👍. I will contact the supplier, maby you can get a commission in the future 😁
Matt,
I am a merchant at our local "World of Faries" festival each year and I want to purchase the Blair changer to entertain myself between customers and also to draw customers to my shop. I plan on buying a "Pignose" portable amplifier to play the chanter through. Is that a standard 1/4" plug instrument cable you have their? Is there a 1/4" jack on the chanter?
Also, the "bag" that is an accessory item for this changer is quite pricey (nearly $200.00) but I think it would make this instrument much easier to play than having to hold it in my hands. I play guitar and alto saxophone and I would NOT want to try holding the instruments, while trying to play. A penny for your thoughts! 🤗
The jack is a standard headphone 1/8" jack. I have not tried the Blair bag, but it would definitely make it easier to play.
Thank you for your replies.
The 1/8" jack is the small one that the plug from a pair of Walk man headphones would fit into. Correct?
So you don't need to blow in it to play. I think I could buy one and also buy a cheap bagpipe and remove the original chanter and replace it by the Blair electronic chanter. That would give a style of playing a real acoustic Highland bagpipe. I have the Roland AE-10 aerophone and it has the bagpipe sound, but the finger layout is actually made for practising playing saxophone.
Out of curiosity, does it have a headphone Jack? Been looking into getting one and I'm trying to see if it's a good "fit" for me.
The Blair digital chanter does have a headphone jack. 👍
Hi Matt , what was the price of this dude ? Sounds great .
They seem to run north of $700 USD...
Matt Willis Bagpiper
Thank you 😎
Is this good as an instrument in of itself, or is it simply an advanced practice tool?
It can be used as an instrument on its own, though it won't help develop your breathing or squeezing or mouth muscles. But it does sound great and can be used to learn the finger system of the instrument.
@@MattWillisBagpiper Thank you. I'm seriously new to this whole area, hence why I ask
There are players in concert, you can check on youtube.
I really want to know what song he played on the small pipe
8:06 The tune here is The Rowan Tree
@@MattWillisBagpiper thank you very much it's such a beautiful tune I'd love to learn
Good video! Do you think it's worth the money? I've bought the technochanter twice (at $400ea I think...) and they both broke after a while.
At around $700, that's a tough call. They're super cool, but that's a lot of money. If the longevity is there (and they don't tend to break like the other electronic chanters on the market) they could well be worth it.
@@MattWillisBagpiper ... mine DID already break. I'm fairly handy though, so I managed to get it back together and working after only a bit a tinkering. So in my opinion, the Blair IS on the delicate side of the spectrum .. but also, mind you ... the reason mine broke is from playing on the subway-the train made a hard, abrupt stop, and a fellow passenger fell right into my lap. Chanter busted right under the ferrule. The ferrule, as far as I can tell, seems to keep the top portion attached to the fingering stem ... but they clearly aren't meant to be separated.
Wow... Good to know. Thanks for sharing that info!
@@MattWillisBagpiper there is a project so that the pc could transfer the playing digitally and then compare it with another file and find errors.
Another notable, which I've had to clarify this for many folks ... the Blair chanter has a "built-in midi controller/interface." Now, it SEEMS like that's the same as many other comparable products, such as the Redpipes, Technopipes and Deger ... but IT'S NOT. With all those other products, yes, they can be set to output midi data ... HOWVER, that midi data needs to be interpreted by a midi controller (a good example, the iRig 2) before a computer can/will be able to use that data to produce sound.
That's a whole separate device (and cables) that one normally needs to buy/use in order to truly use Midi capability. NOT SO with the Blair ... this "midi controller/interface" is fully BUILT IN.
Therefore, so long as your computer is configured right (and it should be), simply plug the Blair USB cord into the computer & chanter, and you should ready to go. So that right there (besides being VERY convenient) is also an added ~$100 of "value" compared to all the others.
My Blair is an important part of my Training .It was the best investment I made next o my Pipes
Are you finding it good for improving technique?
I bought one in August this year. My Grips and Tallourahs are much better. Not perfect but much better. I play it through a JBL Flip 4 speaker, sounds ok but with a much better speaker and more tweaking with the settings I can get the sound perfect. I am with Mark Gerber on this. Best investment I made next to my pipes.
Welcome. May I know what is the price of this song?
Good for parties
Do you need an amp/speaker to play this? Read comments of those practicing when commuting. Can’t see carrying around accessories.
It requires either wired headphones or a cable to a speaker/amp, as the Blair does not have a built in speaker.
@@MattWillisBagpiper still deciding..seems one needs a few accessories which makes it pricey (earphones, amp/speaker, possible bag if desired etc) More costly than a set of actual bagpipes! If I didn’t have my own pipes, I’d get one pronto! Haven’t played in 30 years. So much new technology it’s a minefield to me now.
I'm a 57 year old woman and I want to learn the bagpipes lol . Should I get the electronic chantier? or the plain one ?
I’d get a regular practice chanter to start. Much less expensive plus you’ll start building your face muscles. The Hardie twist-trap is a good one to start with.
@@MattWillisBagpiper Thank you
May I make a request, sir? Could you review and compare the two different bags available for the Blair chanter? The memory foam ‘ergo’ bag and the air filled one?
First, someone has to send me both! Few manufacturers send me products to review for free. Also, I need a Blair chanter (was unboxing a student’s in the video)
Whats the name of the intro song
That’s “The Highland Laddie”. You can hear the whole tune here: ua-cam.com/video/BruMa1FyMzo/v-deo.html
I love it but birls are very difficult to nail for me
Are the birls difficult for you in general or specifically on the Blair here?
@@MattWillisBagpiper specifically on the Blair, plus after spending time on the Blair, then going to the pipes ot takes awhile to get em back.
So many wants......
Very helpful review by the way. As my practice and playing has been severly limited by Cov (looooong recovery), looking at one of these to help me get back up to speed while my puff improves. This does look better than the ones with electrical contacts like the Glencoe. It's a big spend but this review makes me comfortable that it's money well spent. Thanks so much.
Bringing baggage to your "chanule"? Did you mean bringing BagPipeAge :P
Not good if you barely touch the electric tabs it will make a perfect note. Another system is needed
Cool. But. For $700 you are almost to a set of pipes...
This was very useful in deciding whether to buy one but why are we blokes so loath to look at the manual? I'm as bad as anyone. Must be a male ego thing.
Ha! Plus reading a manual in a video ain't too exciting. ;)
$719!
Pretty much. Super nifty, but quite dear...
I don't mind spending the money , but what is the warranty on the Blair chanter , is it worth it if it stop working in 2 years and who do you send it off too if needed to get fix
Jesus your birl technique is not good
Funny you should mention that, as I have a whole video discussing why my birl is played like that: ua-cam.com/video/ep2yBG7X2Tc/v-deo.html
Let’s see a video of your technique then corratheexplora
@@Colorado4x4 it’s literally just the normal tap and drag
@@ryancorr9504 show us then instead of talking trash against a guy that does a lot of good. Make a video and show me how you are as good as Stuart Liddell
@@Colorado4x4 bro you don’t need to get mad bec I said that his birl is abnormal lmao