Practice Chanter (J. Higgins Long) (In Stock)

The Chanter is great. Don't like the reed. I switched to one that didn't sound so flat

This chanter comes with a red Warnock reed which I am not a fan of. I've had a few of them in various chanters and could never get a good sound. Breath control with those reeds is critical - slightly underblow and you'll get a buzzy tone, slightly overblow and the reed locks up completely. Not ideal for a beginner, which I think is the target audience for this chanter. And this chanter/reed combo was no different. I was very disappointed at first and almost considered returning it or donating to the local pipe band, but a friend suggested using a Walsh reed, so I dug up an old one, and with a bridle and some sanding and tape on the high G, I dialed it in. The chanter now sounds fantastic, really good for what is considered an entry level chanter. My only beef is the fit and finish could be better. Looking through the bore and sound holes there is a lot of scrap material from the milling process that should have been cleaned out. But at this price point it's good enough and it doesn't seem to affect the sound. Also... not sure if these chanters are set up by McCallum or Higgins, but the top mouth piece was a bit loose on the tenon so I added a wrap of hemp to snug it up. All good now and I am enjoying my new chanter.

All my items arrived in great condition and timely.

Everyone else in our band uses a long practice chanter and my regular sounded like a kazoo. This chanter sounds great and fits right in. As always great Higgins service.

I purchased a McCallum extended length practice chanter from JHuiggins recently. Extremely happy with the price and quality of chanter. Very nice tone. My only complaint would be that it was sent in just a soft plastic bag. I was very concerned that it would be broken before I even got to play it. Last year when I ordered my McCallum bagpipes from JHuggins they came so well packaged, I was not concerned that the pipe chanter would be packaged so carelessly. But still I will continue to order from this company. All products I have gotten from them have been shipped correctly and quickly. (John's reply: Honestly, these chanters are almost indestructible and we wrap them before sending in the plastic mailer.)

I purchased a McCallum extended length practice chanter from JHuiggins recently. Extremely happy with the price and quality of chanter. Very nice tone. My only complaint would be that it was sent in just a soft plastic bag. I was very concerned that it would be broken before I even got to play it. Last year when I ordered my McCallum bagpipes from JHuggins they came so well packaged, I was not concerned that the pipe chanter would be packaged so carelessly. But still I will continue to order from this company. All products I have gotten from them have been shipped correctly and quickly.

Excellent product as always from J Higgins with fast delivery.

I have started learning how to play the bagpipes 2 weeks ago and I have found it an absolute pleasure. My instructor suggested the Jay Higgins site to which I then found specifically Higgins chanter. First off Higgins is much easier to play than the practice when I was given I don't have to blow as hard to get the tune right on point it's a beautiful piece it's comfortable in my hand and I have no complaints about any of the parts. The only things I noticed were the two parts that connect together to make the full chanter we're a little bit wiggly my instructor had some spare hemp to wrap around it and fix it which was nice but that was the only little problem. Oh and packaging I guess that's the only thing when it was packaged two pieces were night next to each other even though they were bubble wrapped if they were individually bubble wrapped it might be safer for future instruments. Nonetheless I love my chanter I practice with it every day My children want to practice with it or more like squawk but still I'm enjoying it immensely so and I look forward to playing actual pipes

I just recently bought the J.Higgins Long practice chanter. The tone is excellent and I really like the placement and feel of the holes. I am getting back into piping after many years and wanted to try a new practice chanter. This one is made for J.Higgins by McCallum bagpipes so I knew it would be superior quality since I bought a McCallum bagpipe chanter a few years ago. I also bought a Warnock reed which I am not as impressed with but it works okay. If you are looking for your first chanter or a backup, this is a great choice. I also bought the rubber mouthpiece protectors which will save the tip of the chanter.

Love the chanter, am currently trying to get used to finger placement before setting up lessons. The reed is very quiet so I bought a gibson practice chanter reed. Now it sounds awesome.

Chanter is ok. I purchased it because this is what the band uses. It feels a little cheap and comes with a horrible read but it gets the job done for $60. They shipped it in a plastic shipping bag with no protection at all. I am surprised it wasn't damaged on arrival. (John's reply: I'm glad I saw this review as this is first we've heard about the reed. We would be happy to replace the reed, but I want to say we test each reed before sending out, and that has been our policy since 1983. The chanters are extremely durable, and would be very difficult to damage, as was evidently the case here, but we do wrap them in bubble wrap, so they do have protection. Please feel free to contact us if you want to talk about the reed. Thanks, John Higgins).

Our pipe band found out that not all practice chanters are in the correct key when you play low A. Since it is the goal of every band to be in unison, this chanter made it happen. I found out an Abbott reed works better than the red one that comes with it. The red reed works great, but it seemed to make it harder work on blowing steady.