Bagpipes materials & construction

The Wood

Kilberry manufactures most of its instruments in either Argentinian Karanda or African Blackwood. If you aim to play the bagpipes to competition standard, then there is really no choice, since Blackwood produces the superior tone. Karanda, on the other hand, offers good tonal quality at a lower price and is a perfectly suitable alternative as a good starting set on which to learn.

All our woods are bored out and left the appropriate length of time to allow for settlement.

Ornamentation

We finish pipes in a wide range of mounts, soles, ferrules, and other embellishments.

But whilst these may or may not be important to you in terms of presentation, it is important to remember that the differences are purely cosmetic. Only the wood used for the drones will make a significant difference to the sound produced.