Twist Trap Practice Pipes by R.G. Hardie & Co. (HD) | Unboxing & Review 

Thanks heartily for the post.

Hi Matt, I just bought a set and your video is super-helpful. I really enjoy your channel - greatr work. All the best from New Zealand

its amazing how much these sound like a baby set of smallpipes. great video once again mate

Matt, I learn a lot just by watching you doing stuff here... many thanks!

Great video and demo Matt! Has a very sweet and calming tone to it. I can also see how this would have made for a far less daunting jump to the GHB.. Particularly found the reed selection and tuning part helpful. Even after years, I still find reeding/tuning to be among the more difficult aspects of the instrument. Would love to see a dedicated video to reed adjusting and chanter taping :)

Beautiful sounding set, wish I could afford em !

I got them a few weeks ago, they came without a valve unfortunately so I ordered some and had to wait for them to come it, once they came I put one in and have been playing. Couldn't be happier with them, they are super fun to play.

These play nicely with my A whistle, thank you! 😊👍

Very nice set, it’ll make a fine addition to my collection.

Just ordered them!

Good video! I started to learn GHP 25 ago for 2 two years and gave up. Many times I've wanted to start learning again but without any motivation. Few time ago someone gave me his practice pipe Hardie&co and since then I PRATICE EVERY SINGLE DAY WITH A LOT OF PLEASURE !!! As you said, it's very good to learn how to blow precisely before passing to the GHP.

Eyeing a set of these on a popular auction site... You have convinced me I actually better get them!

Mine came a little over a week ago and I really like them.

Your video has helped me so much. I have had my practise pipes for a year and love them. With your help and the Peterson tuner they now sound amazing. I wrote Mr Dunn and told him helpful your video was to me. thank you.

Wow! I LOVE the Scottish Smallpipes and your demonstration convinced me that this would be the best model for me if I were ever to get a set. The ease of accessibility and lower volume are just right for me who loves to hear bagpipes and other instruments playing together. The built-in drying mechanism makes them easier to maintain. They do seem a bit difficult to tune, but that's true of EVERY bagpipe EVER MADE; bagpipes are just one of those instruments like guitar or violin that require frequent tuning. Overall, LOVE the video, great model for practice, ESPECIALLY if you like the Scottish Smallpipes.

Really interesting and will consider. getting my own.

Good review and playing. Really liked the way you started from scratch and put them through their paces right out of the box. ;{)

I think I might get this, thank you very much for the review

Hi Matt, thanks for doing a review on these. There aren't many decent reviews out there on youtube. I found it very helpful and i think you have convinced me to get a set of my own. Please do more videos with the twist trap practice pipes🙏 the drones add a beautiful addition compared to just the chanter. Keep up the amazing content. Greetings from South Africa by the way🤙🏼

Thanks for the review Matt. I bought a set as a transition from a practice chanter and love them! They make me want to play every day!

I'm going to get these on kilts and more I love that water trap

I'm really enjoying the set I got. I did have an issue where there was a plastic burr partially obstructing the mouthpiece about halfway down the tube but it was easily fixed with a thin knife. The intonation is really nice. It's made getting started with the pipes super easy.

Great video, thank you ! Nice interpretation of Hector the Hero ! Cheers from Bretagne

Got some on order, as I said before, as much as I love my Blair chanter, the finger-spacing is a good bit tighter than what you would find on a real chanter/PC/smallpipe chanter, also you don't feel any "krack" that a real chanter has, so I am going to also try to use this for practicing, also good to practice pressure/blowing technique too!

I have had a set for quite some time. I use them to extend my practise schedule and to work on my steady blowing technique. They are a great transition instrument for learners. In Australia, they are available from the shop with a door, St Kilda Trading at Booval, Ipswich. I thoroughly recommend the product to both Beginners and Advanced Pipers, They have a great sound and make good 'Parlour Music'.

Thank you for the great video. I have always loved listening to the bagpipes, probably in my blood, being Irish and Scottish. I am seriously considering buying this bagpipe and I think having previously played the clarinet that should help a little too. I did like and subscribed.

Hi Matt i just ordered that from Jeramy in Texas . Thank you for the advise ☺

I have the standard chanter with the twist trap and it’s a great plus that it’s so low maintenance - I will be progressing to these as I wouldn’t be confident with pipes that needed a lot of maintenance and moisture control systems etc. still I’m a long way off yet, but may get a twist trap goose after Christmas as I can then use the chanter on the bag. I know the sound the chanter makes is mostly dependant on the skill of the player, but I have ordered a maverick chanter as I’m not over keen on the sound of the plastic chanter. The wooden chanter will sound better and will be a boost in the meantime. But I really enjoyed this review and found it useful. Thank you 😊

Oh I used to have the R.G Hardie twist trap pipes

Thanks for sharing I have been looking for a good review about these pipes for ages. Ps love all your fantastic vids your really amazing piper love from Kilmarnock Scotland

I ordered a set for christmas and came early, I’m dying to use them

Hello Matt - Is it possible for you to make somewhat similar video about McCallum Folkpipes? Not the review (you've got that covered on your channel) but more about setting Folkpipes up with some tips and tricks (taking care of the chanter reed, setting up the drone reeds, do's and dont's etc). I have recently received Folkpipes as a birthday gift and have a lot of problems with drone reeds especially - for example a strange wheezing/buzzing sound on top of a normal sound. Mentioning something about how are they different from Highland pipes in terms of pressure, playing etc will also be very helpful. Some tips on how to determine if reeds are broken or not. Hope you will have time for that - it will certainly help a lot of beginners with our transition to mouth blown pipes!

Hi Matt. Great review, especially as the pipes come with no set up instructions themselves, bit lacking there. I sat down and went through the set up with your review playing and it worked a treat, thank you. Now am playing like mad to rememder all my repertoire for when the band can play again after lockdown. Pipe on brother.

Matt, First I respect your channel a lot and find it very useful as a beginner with about two tunes under my belt. Second, I would love to consider some Skype lessons in the future. Third, I notice that the chanter seems to drown out by the drones. Is this different in person, or would you recommend a different, possibly louder reed?

Hi Matt. Thanks for this video. I love all your content, so helpful! I have some TTPPs, but I have trouble getting the chanter in tune. I have used the best of three reeds that I have. The bottom hand is in tune, and the top hand is not bad - G sounds good, A is close. But F is very flat. Is there a way to manipulate the reed to only sharpen F? Should I just buy new reeds? A video on manipulating plastic reeds would brilliant. Thanks!

I think I May have found my new favorite teacher!

I feel sorry for the 1 person who disliked this video

YOU MADE ME DO IT ... Ha Ha Ha ... Looooooooooong ago (70's 80's) I played a bit but due to life changes that ended. THEN .. they grew feet and walked away :-( I would have given anything to see there face when they opened that hard case up !! I'm now almost 75 and have decided to give it another go. In another 4 or 5 days Twist Trap Practice Pipes should be here ... Yaaaaaa Apartment living and a tad older I thought this set of pipes would be the best !! Wish Me Luck !!! :-)

Most excellent. Thank you. Will be purchasing a set soon to practice them. By the way, what is the tuner app you use please?

Great review! BTW, I know EJ Jones!

Hey Matt I need some new reeds for my Hardie small pipes any recommendation thnx great video

Hi Matt. Great video, can you use a pipe chanter instead of the one supplied?

I have a Bagpipes Galore set of these. Very similar except less expensive.

I have always been a fan of the bagpipes. And I always thought that would be fun to play. Do you think these ones would be a good thing to start with.

Great video! How long would you suggest learning the chanter or what level should you get to before learning a set of practice pipes? Thanks!

I'm parked Scottish and Irish and I would like to learn some of my heritage by playing bagpipes

Hi Matt, thank you for the video. I've just bought a set... I use a Braw Bagpipe Tuner. Which of the chanter tuning settings would you recommend for the twist traps? GHB Standard, Just Intonation, Seumas MacNeill or Equal Temprament??? Best wishes, James

Dear Mr. Willis, I bought a set of these pipes as my very first set of bagpipes, (much to the dismay of my parents lol, cause they want me to focus on studying here at University) and after a week and a half on the chanter, I pulled apart the practice chanter and stuck it onto the bag. I know that if I had a teacher, I wouldn't be transitioning to using the bag that quickly though. The most difficult thing for me about transitioning from the chanter to these pipes is that I feel like I need to blow less into the bag than I do into the chanter, cause I tune the chanter and drones without the bag, then I put them back on the bag, and I can't figure out what the air pressure was that got all the pipes to play in tune with each other. Also, I wish this came with a little spool of hemp, the bottom two segments of the bass drone are a little loose...otherwise, I have really enjoyed learning bagpipes with these. P.S. I'd be interested to see a detailed review like this one on the $500 delrin GHB by Bagpipes Galore tbh.

Do you have a video on how to setup the tuner I’ve just purchased it?

A matt have you ever tried a set of Abbot smallpipe reeds or any other smallpipes reeds in A to see if they would give a little more volume or better or louder tuning to the practice chanter and drones. I played a Abbot "A" in a Gibson practice chanter for years and it sounded great. I thought that you had large access to p.c. reeds you might try it or even thought of doing this on the R G. Hardie twist trap practice smallpipes to see if you can get a little more volume or tone out of them

Love your videos I want to get into playing the bagpipes so what would be a good beginning set? Where could I find some?

Good video, thanks. I have various pipes, big, small bellows-blown, 3-drone parlour pipes (3-drone w/ tiny tongue reeds), but considering these for my son who doesn't have the strength to play the big pipes. These are a few hundred more than the Pipers' Choice Kitchen Pipes that look very similar... just wondering if anyone has thoughts of one over the other?

Hi, Loved your vid. I found the R.G. Hardie & Co. twist trap pipes very interesting. I had a look on their site and noticed they are in the key of A. I have a set of small pipes I bought off the internet, I don't know what brand they are but they are in the key of A as well. I have a small hand and there is just no way that I can reach the bottom note the hole is just out of reach of my little finger. Is there anything you can recommend

Hi Matt I was looking at getting a set of these from Lone Star Piper. You’ve sealed the deal for me. How long did domestic US shipping take? I couldn’t find anything on their site.

Where did you get your stand to hold your various chanter parts? I saw it in previous videos.

the two bass drones tuned like moog sound :-)

Hi Matt! Thanks for doing this review. I bought my practice chanter but I'm total naive in this stuff so i have a question for you. This practice chanter needs hamping? Because when i put the reed inside it just doesn't works... Don't know if the problem is the reed or the hamping that i haven't done yet. Thanks for your help!

Hi Matt, lovely review once again. I'm considering getting one of these however would like to use the chanter as my main chanter to go to bandpractice with. Is it going to form a problem that this chanter is in A or are all practice chanters in A?

Just a quick question, Matt. Would the stopper on the bass drone work on the tenor drone? As in, buying an additional stopper from R.G Hardie?

Hi there! Have you tried any other reed types other than what was supplied with the pipes? Cheers Richard

What app is that that u use for tuning

You should get a kaba gaida

Hi Matt, Thanks for sharing this unboxing and review. I have purchased a set and I am having fun with them. My question is, all 3 practice reeds seem to blow at the same level but when I pop them in, the chanter seems to disappear against the drones. Is there a way to quiet down the 2 drones. Or do I need to find a louder reed for the chanter Thanks Bruce

Question regarding your tuner app. I was about to download the Blair bagpipe tuner app and was curious of your thoughts between that and the istrobosoft that you are using. Thanks!

Excellent video. What is the piece you play before playing Hector the Hero?

Hi Matt- what material are the Twist Trap Practice Pipes made from and what do the cost? They look as though they play easily and have a pleasant enough tone, I'm quite surprised and impressed actually, I see what you mean- you could practise for hours in a room and never cause any complaints and disturbance in the household or upset the neighbours. It was always an ongoing issue for me for years playing the pipes at home as a kid when playing the full set bagpipes was an absolute requirement with no easy alternative method. I think what you're doing here on your channel is outstanding mate, Cheers and long may you continue - you'll get no "complaints " from me. Lang mae yer Lum Reek!!

Oh these are ace!! Guessing not much puff required? Sound lovely! What was the tune you played seated? Family offered me a set of McCallum small pipes to get back up to speed on post-Cov but would prefer not to have all the pump faff. Need to practice bag pressure control!!

Does the chanter have a threaded reed seat or are you just forcing it down a bit?

Hi Matt Have you tried the twist trap practice smallpipes with real smallpipes "A" reeds. I have played a practice chanter, Gibson, with a smallpipe "A" reed for years and it's a Gibson long poly practice chanter and it sounds perfectly fine. Even in a piob" tune. And play almost all of the old pipe tunes i.e. AC/DC , QUEEN and another modern tunes that will play on a highland pipes, just better 🎶 and in tune to what you hear on the radio. I'm 64 and been playing pipes for 55 years. I can read music and also play by ear. I'm wondering in your massive collection of practice chanter reeds and smallpipes reeds if you can come up with a combination of smallpipe reeds in "A" that can give a little more volume but still be in tune. Thanks, Chris

Hi Matt, thanks for the review. I would like to buy my first bagpipe, but i dont know what bigpipe should i buy. Is there a cheap and decent bigpipe for beginners? I will travel to ireland soon and i will try to go to scotland too. Greetings from Chile.

so question, as someone who is looking into starting to learn bagpipes, is it better to start with normal pipes or practice pipes?

hello, i'm in the process to purchase a Hardie bag. In your video with the Hardie you show blowing a clean A.The chanters i have are all around A#. Did you pitched the recording down a half step or is the Hardie blowing really an A.

Hi Matt- thanks for the great work on the channel! I really enjoy the product reviews- especially the pipes. However- I'm new to piping and I'm looking at buying my first set. I live up here in the northeast and I'm in an apartment so most of my practice will be outside in the weather. Given that, I'm considering buying a set of acetal pipes. Could you do a video on purchasing your first pipes, choices for beginners and maybe review a few different acetals like the Hardie RGHP01 (the ones I'm looking at), the McCallum P0/P1 poly's, plus any other decent (and durable) entry-level ones that someone could pick up for, say under $1000? Would be a great help for us newbies! Thanks!

What tuner app is that? The one I use is not working the way I’d like it to.

Hey man, great video but wath's the tune your playing at the begening? I tryed shazaming it but i cant find it

Hi Matt, I've had the twist trap for a few years, a few days ago I replaced the original reeds with new Warnock reeds but I can't set them well... are they special reeds? do I have to buy them again directly from Rg Hardie? Thank you and congratulations for your great work!

Great Video Matt! Received a set of these today. I Find that the drones are drowning the chanter, i can barely hear it. Also the reed seems to shut down very easily. Even when its set up as a practice chanter the reed shuts down everytime i go from high A to low G. is it something i'm doing wrong?

I own a set of these practice pipes from R.G Hardie. I would suggest tuning these at 450hz since 440 makes them out of tune since I use a Korg chromatic tuner. However, I love these because I don’t have to pull out my big pipes and tune. Tuning is simple and easy . I can take these anywhere and not bother anyone too much.

Hi Matt - greetings from Poland. I'm a beginner piper and I've currently bought Twist Trap Practice Pipes and I'm using Braw Bagpipe Tuner for them. Recently I realised something - I do not know for sure if I should use equal or just temperament setting on my tuning app for my practice pipes... - Can you please give some advice?

Hi Matt, wish these weren't so expensive.

Hi, Matt. Thanks for the review. Do you think 11 years old can master this training set? He plays different recorders and flute. Thanks

I'm sure this would be my ideal transition instrument from the practice chanter, but I'm afraid the price is a little too steep. I'm probably going to get the Indoor Practice Pipes from Bagpipes Galore soon. What's that tune you're playing at the beginning and the end, because I want to learn it?

Very naive question. So for a beginner, would it be better to just get a chanter or a set of these?

would there be a way to cork it up to turn it into a goose as well?

Got mine today after seeing your video. I have been wanting to learn the pipes since I was 16 years old, Im now nearly 70.What I would like to know is, is the bag meant to deflate as fast as you blow it up. I can hear the air coming out of the chanter stock. The disc at the bottom of the chanter stock has a 5mm (1/4 inch) hole at the bottom. Is there meant to be a non return valve on it. Great videos by the way.

I just got one of these minus the reeds. Any idea what reeds they use? Or is it just any threesome of the same practice chanter reed?

Ay up me duck i am 5ft 7inch do I go for the long practice chanter or standard size thank you

I was wondering how these compare with Walsh shuttle pipes

As a 61 year old retiree thinking of taking up playing the pipes, would this chanter/practice pipes be a good first investment of or should I just go for a chanter first? if so which one would yo suggest?

Hallo Mr. Willis, I want to buy one, and I saw 2 version on the website.... Twist and Junior... what is the defence between both of them... on the website isn't clear. I like very much your video's.. thanks.. I learning much from them. Tony

it is close to a smallpipe? in your opinion?

Hey Matt! Love your channel mate :) I was hoping you could help me out with my Twist trap pipes, the drones are tuning way high up on the hemps and at a different note each :( Have played with the reed in regards to sharpening and flattening the notes.. even played around with the chanter reed in hopes to bring that into the right neighbourhood but no luck :( Hope you can help or have some ideas of what I'm doing wrong. Cheers heaps! -Tyler

I'm Australian and wanna learn. Reckon this is the best buy for a beginner?

Cant get mine tuned for the world. Chanter is way off and drones wont tune to chanter. Im not the only person I've talked to with this issue either.

@MattWillisBagpiper Hey Matt, do you still recommend this product as a first bagpipe?

Can these be used for beginniner Piper's ?

Where can I find these pipes?

Where can I find these?

It might be the recording but the drones seem to over power the chanter. The resonance is fine in low A but it washes out the higher notes.

Is it possible to play these pipes left handed?