Bagpipes: A Complete Buyer's Guide

Choosing your first set of bagpipes is not like picking a guitar off a rack. The range is narrow, the price points are steeper, and a poor choice early on can make learning feel much harder than it needs to. Claire walks gently through what to look for, what to spend, and what to leave until later.

Start with a Practice Chanter

Before you think about buying bagpipes at all, you need a practice chanter — a small, quiet reed instrument that lets you learn fingering, scales and tunes without the physical and acoustic demands of the full instrument. Every serious piper starts here and stays here for months. A good practice chanter from Colin Kyo, Dunbar or McCallum costs £45–80 and is the single most useful purchase a beginner can make.

Only after you can play a handful of tunes on the chanter, reliably and with some musicality, is it time to consider a full set of bagpipes. Your teacher will tell you when you are ready. If you have no teacher, find one — it will save you months.

Buying Bagpipes: New vs. Secondhand

Student-grade bagpipes bought new from a reputable maker are a reliable, if not cheap, option. Secondhand bagpipes can offer excellent value, but require some knowledge to assess — worn drone reeds, cracked stocks or a dried-out bag are all problems you need to identify before buying. If you are new to the instrument, bring a piper friend when buying secondhand, or buy from a reputable dealer who has inspected and set up the instrument.

Budget: What to Expect

Student-level bagpipes from established UK and Canadian makers begin at around £500–700 and increase sharply with material quality and craftsmanship. The most commonly recommended entry-level sets come from Dunbar, Kintail and McCallum — all produce instruments that play reliably, tune consistently and last years with proper care. Prices in the £700–1,000 range cover mid-range instruments suitable for competitive band piping. Professional-grade bagpipes from makers like David Naill or Peter Henderson start at £2,000 and upward.

What the Materials Mean

Traditional bagpipes are made from African Blackwood (also called Mpingo or Grenadilla) — a very dense, stable hardwood that produces the characteristic warm resonance associated with quality pipes. Resin-composite pipes use a synthetic body material that is more resistant to temperature and humidity changes; these are increasingly accepted in band and competition settings. Beware of extremely cheap bagpipes made from unknown materials — they are often impossible to tune and unreliable to play.

Bags and Reeds

All bagpipes use a bag as the air reservoir that feeds the drones and chanter. Sheepskin bags require regular seasoning (treating the inside with a hemp-based compound to maintain airtightness) and can be affected by humidity. Synthetic bags (from makers such as Canmore or Bannatyne) require no seasoning and are less sensitive to environmental changes — they are now the standard choice for beginners.

Reeds — both chanter and drone — are consumable items. Synthetic drone reeds (Ezeedrones, Kinnaird, and others) are strongly recommended for beginners: they hold tuning more consistently than cane, last longer, and require less daily adjustment. Your first bagpipes should include synthetic drone reeds if at all possible — it is one of the most practical decisions you can make at this stage.

Recommended Makers

• Dunbar: Widely used in UK pipe bands. Consistent quality, good availability of spares. Made in Canada.
• Kintail: Popular student instrument. Reasonable price, plays well with proper setup. Good beginner option.
• McCallum: Scottish maker, well-regarded for mid-range instruments. Consistently good reeds and stocks.
• Gibson: Popular in North America. Produces a bright, projecting sound. Used in competition settings.

Where to Buy in the UK

Specialist bagpipe retailers in the UK include McCallum Bagpipes (Kilmarnock), The Highland House of Fraser, and online retailers such as Bagpipe World and Reel Music. Buying from a specialist means your bagpipes are set up correctly before they reach you — something a general instrument retailer cannot reliably provide. The best picks guide covers specific models worth considering at each price. New to all of this? The beginner's guide explains where to start.

Frequently Asked Questions