The Ebay Bagpiper: Devil Drone Reeds by Vince Janoski

Wherein Pipehacker purchases and test drives assorted bagpipe junk from ebay—so you don’t have to. If you spend any time sorting through the bagpipe offerings on Ebay you’ve seen them. The strange and wonderful variety of “off-brand” drone reeds from just about every continent on Earth. Serious pipers will simply give these goofy entries a [...]

Pipehacker Holiday Gift Guide 2012: Vintage Bagpiping Bundle by Vince Janoski

Today’s Highland bagpiper has never had more media and music at their fingertips. The internet, expanding interest, and the number of live events all feed one another to create an ever-expanding reservoir of quality music. But such was not always the case. Once upon a time, CDs and print music releases were few and far [...]

The 5 Best Recording Devices for Musicians by Vince Janoski

The Bullettproof Musician blog is a great place for performance advice and the psychological side of playing music. The latest post lists the five best music recording devices favored by readers. A great snap review of the best tools available to playing musicians. Pipehacker’s favorite, the Zoom H2, features third after the iPhone! You will [...]

Pipehacker Tools: Rite in the Rain All-Weather Memo Book by Vince Janoski

You’re out on the pitch in full kit and it is coming down in buckets. Most Highland games soldier on rain or shine and we pipers are left to deal, grumbling about the wet, our reeds, trying our best to remember where to be and when. Worse, it’s been nice and partly sunny all day [...]

Pipehacker Project: The Piper’s Perfect Pressure Gauge by Vince Janoski

The bagpiping world seems to be divided up into two groups: 1) The denizens of bagpipe internet forums who are sure manometers, i.e., tubes filled with water, will make them better pipers and talk as if manometers and pressure gauges are as commonplace in your piping gear as hemp and black tape; and 2) everyone [...]

Pipehacker 2011 Holiday Bagpipe Gift Frenzy: Black T-Shirts “Today Is a Good Day to Pipe” by Vince Janoski

McNab was staring at his weapon thinking of the day to come. All his training had led to this. One final, Thunderdome-like smackdown. He pressed his kilt three times in preparation, each pleat like a razor’s edge. His ghillie brogues shone like waxed obsidian. When he thought of all the hours he put in, all [...]

Pipehacker 2011 Holiday Bagpipe Gift Frenzy: Embossed Bees Wax by Vince Janoski

A furious feeding frenzy in which various unique, gifty bagpiping items are offered for holiday giving in a reality similar to our own.     “Hey there, I need to hemp my drones. Can you spare some wax?” “Bzzz bzzz?” “Some wax. You know…” “Bzzzz bz bz bzzz.” “Well, I don’t know, a decent sized [...]

Pipehacker 2011 Holiday Bagpipe Gift Guide—Black Friday Edition by Vince Janoski

If there’s something pipers love more than a good tune and a pint, it is stuff. And what better way to get stuff than to ask Santa Claus come the 25th of December? I mean, who wants to be out in retail stores the day after Thanksgiving? Not this piper, I assure you. That doesn’t [...]