World-class piper Matt MacIsaac's video review of the Blair Digital Chanter, including MIDI examples and his own performance on the chanter and acoustic guitar.
At 75, I've been out of piping for about 20 years, and finally got around to purchasing a Blair chanter for myself. I also have a DegerPipe, and loved it until it started to go bung on me. Germany is one hell of a long way to get it fixed. It started to give me contact burns on the fingers; it felt like banging them up and down on pins. It definitely put me off long sessions. Martin Deger noted the problem as "rare" and said that he has reduced the voltage from 9 to ?2.5 in the newer model. Hopefully, my Blair chanter will give me the interest to get back to piping electronically. I've already noticed an improvement in the length of my practice sessions; so much so that I had to take a few days off, since my birl finger started to hurt. Hopefully, my skin will toughen up soon.... And thanks Matt for your playing !
Donald Chalmers I got my Blair about a year ago curtesy of PPI 😁 and I must say, the sound quality can’t be beaten. There’s free downloads on the Blair website for more bagpipe types btw. The tone of these pipes is so good, I feel can hear my taorluaths and grip etc. sound crisper. It’s showing up some sloppy fingering due to my long break in practicing though so I’ll have to revise on my exercises. Here’s wishing you good health and many hours of enjoyable piping 🍻.
I got my Blair chanter through the post yesterday and had trouble getting much out of it with missed notes . I watched this video again and realised that your sensor readings were all at plus. I had minuses dialled in. I just paused this video at each pair of notes you have from high a and high g, to b and low a, and copied the settings for each note. Much better! I’ll tweak each note gradually, but I’m much happier now. Being picky, I feel the chanter is too thin to be perfectly comfortable. I also found that if you are heavy handed, you,ll have problems with missed notes as much as with wrong sensor settings. A light fingering approach gave me much better results. Man oh man I’m so out of practice! It’s been a lot of years since I practiced regularly. It is an excellent instrument for teaching correct and clearly separated notes in the likes of doublings and taorluaths etc. The slightest errors show up instantly. I need to slow everything down and clean up my fingering! I tried to download the app from the Blair website but got an error message about it being an invalid file type or something. My pc is well up to date, so it’s not that.
There are different versions of the app targeted at Mac and PC. It is possible you clicked on the wrong one, which is quite easy. That would give you the "Invalid file type" error message. There is also a firmware file which is loaded into the app once installed. The website says that the downloads are "optional and complimentary."
Ubu987 Sorry I’m so late in replying. I can’t remember getting a notification from this thread. I managed to get the app ok and have updated my chanter with the new bagpipe types as well. I’m currently waiting on an Apple USB3 to lightening camera adapter so I can try the GarageBand app on my iPad. I got an audio interface but it needs power to work so the Apple connector has a power in, as well as a USB3 port. I looked for, and found on Spotify, a recording of Toyota pipes and drums playing “Mount Fuji” I remembered from the 1980s. I’d like to try getting a Japanese sounding backing track to my playing of it.
Hi Matt, Can you tell me how you connect the Chanter to an Ipad pro please . I have just got one of these chanters to record in Garage band , but do sure how to go about it ?? Thank you Alan
Great review Matt. Just got one a few days ago and I am really enjoying the sound and playing tunes on it. Thanks for a great tune as always my friend. Jermainiac.
Well now; We Rankins had a piping school on the Hebredes eons ago..this is something else. I have a midi wind expander but never got on wit it..looks like I'm going for an upgrade. Nice playing. Ty
Fantastic music. It sounds really genuine, incorporating the little nicks and imperfections that make the real bagpipe. I thought it might be possible to make bagpipe music by assembling an array of auto horns on a plank, 20 or so, suitably tuned and with a keyboard to play them. You think that might work?
That price with that timbres but no breath control yet? I know that it's useless for pipers, but with that cosmic pad I wish to add some more expression
Matt, would you say this is a great device for beginners to learn or more of a tool for seasoned players looking to digitize their playing (for GarageBand, MIDI playing, etc.)?
Do you think that "The Ergo Pipe Bag" that goes with this changer is a worthy investment? It is about $200.00, a notable increase in the cost of the chanter, but it seems it would be a whole lot more comfortable to hold the instrument with this accessorie. 🙂
Yes practice chanter, several other small pipe sounds as well as various great Highland bagpipe voices in various keys. They add to the voices periodically.
A band mate just got one and it's a lot of fun to play on! He's said it has increased his practice time per week by at least 50%. I've been saving up for one myself but I was disappointed to see the price across the board has been increased by $100 in the last 2 weeks!! Considering there has been no update or improvement to the product to justify this hike, I'm a little bummed.
Hi Matt - there have been several updates recently and while it certainly isn't cheap, I think it's the best e-GHB on the market. More updates are coming and the customer service is excellent.
I don’t know where you are, but in the UK there’s this guy in Scotland where I’ve just bought mine from; www.scottcurrieltd.com/product/blair-digital-chanter/
Excellent review. Expensive instrument, but I think it’s worth it for what you get. That Ethereal Bliss sound would be great as a background to a nice slow air.
Well, I got my Blair chanter and tried the garage band app on my iPad, but I can’t get a sound out of the app. All the external button on the app does is try to sell another app, which doesn’t work either.
Ive had mine for a year. Getting it calibrated was a challenge, to put it mildly. Hopefully they have worked out the bugs. I too, am looking for a firmware update.
Sounds great and for someone who's good it's nice.. but beginners I'm not too sure .. I think you can play open notes and it still sounds like proper finger positioning
@@tomburdick5452 He is critisizing that practicing on this will not be as good as the real thing, because this digital version is quite forgiving, probably.
I can’t get a sound out of garage band when I connect my chanter to my iPad. All the external instrument button does, is to try and sell another app which doesn’t work either.
Matt MacIsaac Music Sorry, I’ve just noticed your reply. I’ve had my chanter connected directly by USB cable. There is conflicting advice out there, and someone was told that the chanter had its own midi interface built in so you should be able to plug in the chanter directly but the Blair website says to plug the chanter into a midi interface device, then into the iPad or laptop. I have the one shown on the left of Blair’s web page (Audio Technica ATR2 USB) ordered via Amazon but it’s coming from the USA. All this is easier if you’re more computer savvy than me lol. I don’t want to do anything elaborate, just play a nice slow air with a cool sounding backing track to it.
Indeed a great thing but what also mentioned it’s a pitty you can’t put your sound from your own bagpipes in it ! And I miss the sound of the Irish uilleann pipes like the V pipes that would be AWESOME maybe the next model 😉
All really fantastic, but if we rely on electronic chanters/pipes too much, we will loose our blowing stamina - the lips will go and othe muscles (abdominal/diaphragm etc.).
God for the price of this thing I dont understand how anyone can stomach dropping the money on it, when for a few hundred more you can buy an actual set of pipes. Thats what I did, and grabbed a Glenco Echanter for like $150. The only reason id ever consider dropping the money on one of these is to use it as a midi controller, and even then theres others out there on the market cheaper than this thing. Blair really needs to rethink their price. $600 for a practice chanter or $900+ for a decent set of poly pipes? It makes no sense to me. Amazing Jig at the end though, loved it.
I am moving into a luxury condominium building and somehow I don't think my neighbors would appreciate being awakened each morning at 6:00 am. Which is when I currently play my electric guitar and keyboard, into my headphones. I like to practice 1st thing each day, before anything else can distract my attention. Plus, no matter how badly the rest of my day might go, at least I've gotten better on my instruments. 😉
je n'ai jamais réussi à bien régler les sensibilités des capteurs pour chacune des notes !! c'est épouvantable !! jamais je n'ai pu jouer correctement. Je suis en permanence en train de régler les capteurs. J'ai abandonné au profit d'un practice avec capteurs sentitifs bien plus fiables. je ne recommande pas ce practice blair :-(
Came for the review but stayed for the performance. Cheers, Matt!
At 75, I've been out of piping for about 20 years, and finally got around to purchasing a Blair chanter for myself. I also have a DegerPipe, and loved it until it started to go bung on me. Germany is one hell of a long way to get it fixed. It started to give me contact burns on the fingers; it felt like banging them up and down on pins. It definitely put me off long sessions. Martin Deger noted the problem as "rare" and said that he has reduced the voltage from 9 to ?2.5 in the newer model. Hopefully, my Blair chanter will give me the interest to get back to piping electronically. I've already noticed an improvement in the length of my practice sessions; so much so that I had to take a few days off, since my birl finger started to hurt. Hopefully, my skin will toughen up soon.... And thanks Matt for your playing !
Donald Chalmers
I got my Blair about a year ago curtesy of PPI 😁 and I must say, the sound quality can’t be beaten. There’s free downloads on the Blair website for more bagpipe types btw. The tone of these pipes is so good, I feel can hear my taorluaths and grip etc. sound crisper. It’s showing up some sloppy fingering due to my long break in practicing though so I’ll have to revise on my exercises.
Here’s wishing you good health and many hours of enjoyable piping 🍻.
Thank you for the info.
I’ve just received my Blair but your playing was amazing.
I got it recently & what would be great for the battery is to show the percentage.
I got my Blair chanter through the post yesterday and had trouble getting much out of it with missed notes . I watched this video again and realised that your sensor readings were all at plus. I had minuses dialled in. I just paused this video at each pair of notes you have from high a and high g, to b and low a, and copied the settings for each note. Much better! I’ll tweak each note gradually, but I’m much happier now.
Being picky, I feel the chanter is too thin to be perfectly comfortable. I also found that if you are heavy handed, you,ll have problems with missed notes as much as with wrong sensor settings. A light fingering approach gave me much better results. Man oh man I’m so out of practice! It’s been a lot of years since I practiced regularly. It is an excellent instrument for teaching correct and clearly separated notes in the likes of doublings and taorluaths etc. The slightest errors show up instantly. I need to slow everything down and clean up my fingering!
I tried to download the app from the Blair website but got an error message about it being an invalid file type or something. My pc is well up to date, so it’s not that.
There are different versions of the app targeted at Mac and PC. It is possible you clicked on the wrong one, which is quite easy. That would give you the "Invalid file type" error message. There is also a firmware file which is loaded into the app once installed. The website says that the downloads are "optional and complimentary."
Contact me at Piper@RobertBurns.biz and I'll share you with you my experiences and would love to know how things have gone for you in the last year.
Ubu987
Sorry I’m so late in replying. I can’t remember getting a notification from this thread.
I managed to get the app ok and have updated my chanter with the new bagpipe types as well. I’m currently waiting on an Apple USB3 to lightening camera adapter so I can try the GarageBand app on my iPad. I got an audio interface but it needs power to work so the Apple connector has a power in, as well as a USB3 port. I looked for, and found on Spotify, a recording of Toyota pipes and drums playing “Mount Fuji” I remembered from the 1980s. I’d like to try getting a Japanese sounding backing track to my playing of it.
Robert Burns
Sorry for the late reply. I’ll be glad to chat about the Blair and anything piping related, thanks.
Hi Matt, Can you tell me how you connect the Chanter to an Ipad pro please . I have just got one of these chanters to record in Garage band , but do sure how to go about it ?? Thank you
Alan
I know this is an old post, but all you need is a USB to lightning connector and you are good to go.
Great review Matt. Just got one a few days ago and I am really enjoying the sound and playing tunes on it. Thanks for a great tune as always my friend. Jermainiac.
That looks like an excellent piece of kit. Thanks for the review and the nice wee tune at the end.
I just bought one, best thing I ever did!
Great review and even better reel. So good!
Great review!! This tune is awesome!!! Is there music for it anywhere? Brilliant!
Well now; We Rankins had a piping school on the Hebredes eons ago..this is something else. I have a midi wind expander but never got on wit it..looks like I'm going for an upgrade. Nice playing. Ty
Dude!!! That was bloody brilliant 👏👌
I need to get me that toy! I also need to get some of that reel version of the handshaker sheet music!
Amazing ! Thank you so much for your sound
I bought a chanter and I'm puzzled,,,everything i can play on tin whistle I can play on the chanter .... is that possible?
Amazing. When I came up we were still using cane drone reeds with hairs under the tongues and elk hide bags.
Can I have the scales to the handshaker that you made it sounds great and I would love to play it.
Loved the song! Thanks for the great review :)
Fantastic music. It sounds really genuine, incorporating the little nicks and imperfections that make the real bagpipe. I thought it might be possible to make bagpipe music by assembling an array of auto horns on a plank, 20 or so, suitably tuned and with a keyboard to play them. You think that might work?
I just ordered mine about an hour ago!!
That price with that timbres but no breath control yet?
I know that it's useless for pipers, but with that cosmic pad I wish to add some more expression
Agreed!
where can I find the original song I've been looking for it
2:00 full battery icon top right
Bagpipefanatic thank you for pointing that out :)
Murray Blair posted recently that there is an overcharge protection cutout built in so it can't be overcharged.
Thanks for the review. Can you connect bluetooth earbuds to this?
🙋hi from Scotland that is just amazing loved the tune take care
Matt, would you say this is a great device for beginners to learn or more of a tool for seasoned players looking to digitize their playing (for GarageBand, MIDI playing, etc.)?
Does anyone know if it's possible to slide notes and play F and C naturals on this please?
Alex McGrotty I wanna know as well
C and F naturals do work but I'm not sure about slides
Hi Alex - C & F natural yes, vibrato on C, D, E, F, piob high G, but no slides at the moment.
Sounds great, thanks.
Do you think that "The Ergo Pipe Bag" that goes with this changer is a worthy investment? It is about $200.00, a notable increase in the cost of the chanter, but it seems it would be a whole lot more comfortable to hold the instrument with this accessorie. 🙂
is there mode on it to make it sound like a chanter?
Yes practice chanter, several other small pipe sounds as well as various great Highland bagpipe voices in various keys. They add to the voices periodically.
A band mate just got one and it's a lot of fun to play on! He's said it has increased his practice time per week by at least 50%. I've been saving up for one myself but I was disappointed to see the price across the board has been increased by $100 in the last 2 weeks!! Considering there has been no update or improvement to the product to justify this hike, I'm a little bummed.
Hi Matt - there have been several updates recently and while it certainly isn't cheap, I think it's the best e-GHB on the market. More updates are coming and the customer service is excellent.
How often do you use yours? What do you think of the hole spacing? Thanks
How can I purchase
Great Sound....
Sure I'm adding just what other people have already said, but I would class this as a world class reel
This is excellent!!
Brilliant tune
Great composition
Sooo Awesome!!
Can we found the sheet music somewhere?🙏
headphones or no?
Zachary Hollen yeah
How much usd???
vst sound ?
All that is fine, but i cant find the link to buy it anywhere...
I don’t know where you are, but in the UK there’s this guy in Scotland where I’ve just bought mine from;
www.scottcurrieltd.com/product/blair-digital-chanter/
Do you need to connect the chanter to a speaker
Yes - or headphones.
Interesting.. but I would have preferred less music and more review.
if not, see some of the questions below
Leslie Thomson but the music is the best part. 😍
Certainly some work to do on the balance of content within the review videos Leslie. Thanks for your input.
How much
Are the holes spaced as per GHB or practice chanter_
really nice!!! how much does it cost?
KotKa SVB the cheapest I’ve seen is 600 US dollars.
Caden Semenza YIKES
Awesome!!!!
Fantastic!
My own new blair digital chanter
Excellent review. Expensive instrument, but I think it’s worth it for what you get.
That Ethereal Bliss sound would be great as a background to a nice slow air.
I like the instrument, but holy hell, it IS expensive. I'd love it in the $200-$300 range. But at $650-750.00 I will only admire it.
Well, I got my Blair chanter and tried the garage band app on my iPad, but I can’t get a sound out of the app. All the external button on the app does is try to sell another app, which doesn’t work either.
Can anyone help me with the guitar tuning in this? Can’t figure it out!!
DADGAD :)
Thank you so much.
There is a capo on the neck, dont know which fret though
@@DannyBoi2112 Pretty sure it's the 8th fret, A# (B flat).
Is it honestly worth £500?
It’s more than my ‘78 Hardie for god’s sake
bluestanley123 I wouldn't pay that. It's nice, don't get me wrong; but it seems that it's taking the true art out of piping.
times are changing man...
Ive had mine for a year. Getting it calibrated was a challenge, to put it mildly. Hopefully they have worked out the bugs. I too, am looking for a firmware update.
Good solution as the practice chanter is too loud haha. Hopefully the prise is good...
Yass need one
Sounds great and for someone who's good it's nice.. but beginners I'm not too sure .. I think you can play open notes and it still sounds like proper finger positioning
Beginners don't sound good on any instrument. A good teacher and good practice habits are the key.
@@tomburdick5452 He is critisizing that practicing on this will not be as good as the real thing, because this digital version is quite forgiving, probably.
Want one!!!
Which tune did Matt play?
Thanks
Hi Yann - it's a jig by Allan MacDonald called "The Handshaker", which I've turned into a reel / hornpipe.
what notes did you use for the guitar?
Cameron Cantrell yes
@@ryancorr9504 lol
This is great!!!!
How can i get my doubling D C B to perfect .. thx
G grace takes you to the note, followed by either e,d or g gracenote. And open them up
It's called practice - slowly at first then increasing your speed.
I can’t get a sound out of garage band when I connect my chanter to my iPad. All the external instrument button does, is to try and sell another app which doesn’t work either.
How did you connect it to your iPad?
Matt MacIsaac Music
Sorry, I’ve just noticed your reply.
I’ve had my chanter connected directly by USB cable. There is conflicting advice out there, and someone was told that the chanter had its own midi interface built in so you should be able to plug in the chanter directly but the Blair website says to plug the chanter into a midi interface device, then into the iPad or laptop. I have the one shown on the left of Blair’s web page (Audio Technica ATR2 USB) ordered via Amazon but it’s coming from the USA. All this is easier if you’re more computer savvy than me lol. I don’t want to do anything elaborate, just play a nice slow air with a cool sounding backing track to it.
@@jazzman1626 I had my sound man hook mine up.
Indeed a great thing but what also mentioned it’s a pitty you can’t put your sound from your own bagpipes in it ! And I miss the sound of the Irish uilleann pipes like the V pipes that would be AWESOME maybe the next model 😉
You can put the sound of your own bagpipes in it
Whaaat! thats amazing. Getting rid of my bodhran : )
Chanter 😀thanks
Come on you got to teach us how to play this song
Awesome step forward in e chanters, but it still doesn't sound at all like a real set
All really fantastic, but if we rely on electronic chanters/pipes too much, we will loose our blowing stamina - the lips will go and othe muscles (abdominal/diaphragm etc.).
I think this is a great way to practice and keeping your fingers nimble and memorizing new tunes etc.
I live in London and have nowhere to practice so it helps me
$849.00 - $982.00 what a price.
I thought the it was a review about the chanter? It turned out to be a recital at the end, very poor video!
God for the price of this thing I dont understand how anyone can stomach dropping the money on it, when for a few hundred more you can buy an actual set of pipes. Thats what I did, and grabbed a Glenco Echanter for like $150. The only reason id ever consider dropping the money on one of these is to use it as a midi controller, and even then theres others out there on the market cheaper than this thing. Blair really needs to rethink their price. $600 for a practice chanter or $900+ for a decent set of poly pipes? It makes no sense to me.
Amazing Jig at the end though, loved it.
Poly pipes?? I guess if you don't care about the tonal quality - polypipes would be ok. LOL
I am moving into a luxury condominium building and somehow I don't think my neighbors would appreciate being awakened each morning at 6:00 am. Which is when I currently play my electric guitar and keyboard, into my headphones. I like to practice 1st thing each day, before anything else can distract my attention. Plus, no matter how badly the rest of my day might go, at least I've gotten better on my instruments. 😉
Suggest not playing guitar next time. It overpowered the chanter.
je n'ai jamais réussi à bien régler les sensibilités des capteurs pour chacune des notes !! c'est épouvantable !! jamais je n'ai pu jouer correctement. Je suis en permanence en train de régler les capteurs. J'ai abandonné au profit d'un practice avec capteurs sentitifs bien plus fiables. je ne recommande pas ce practice blair :-(
Chanter not changer! 😣
Please Matt, play this nice Set of tunes with a real Bagpipe!!!
Show off! Lol
Shut it you, its called talent