NPC and RGH team up to make final Duncan Campbell set available to highest bidder

Earlier this year, pipes|drums featured a profile story on the retirement of long-time R.G. Hardie & Co. Craftsman Duncan Campbell, who has made bagpipes for the firm for almost 50 years. Now, the National Piping Centre and R.G. Hardie have teamed up to make the very last set of pipes that Campbell made available to the highest bidder, with a part of the proceeds being split between Campbell’s retirement gift and the National Piping Centre’s Tuition Charity.

The pipes are mounted in full silver copied from an antique set of Henderson drones. The National Piping Centre says that the wood for the pipes was specially selected by Campbell, “choosing pieces with the darkest colouring and the best bores, which were roughed down and hand-finished by this master craftsman.

“The instrument is a piece of piping history.  Its materials, craftsmanship and tone make it a modern classic, comparable to the great sets of old and rich with history.”

Those interested in bidding on the pipes can do so by e-mail to the National Piping Centre in Glasgow: shop@thepipingcentre.co.uk, or by phone: 0141-353-0220. The reserve price for the pipes is £5,500.

In other R.G. Hardie news, the organization has just launched a new website that offers instructional videos, profile pieces, and downloadable guides. The website follows the company’s launch of a new Peter Henderson Pipe Band Chanter in April.

Alastair Dunn, general manager of R.G. Hardie, said about the chanter: “This is my ideal chanter as it is easy to set up to a decent pitch of 454hz, which is not too high, it is stable and projects well without the big holes. I used a sound level meter to define the volume and it was as loud as any other chanter in the pipe band prize lists.”

Dunn said that Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band pipers had a hand in developing the chanter. Dunn is Pipe-Sergeant of the band. He added “No big bands playing it yet, but plenty out on trial with good feedback.”

Dunn says his company is also looking to hire more bagpipe makers.