David Glen was a giant of piping. He was a prolific and significant compiler and publisher of pipe music, and the leading Edinburgh maker of bagpipes. His pipes are prized for their rich, steady tone, and stamped sets are historical icons. His meticulous craftsmanship is the envy of pipemakers even today.

This set is cocuswood with button mounts and nickel ferrules and rings. The David Glen stamp appears at the top of the bass drone stock.

The tone is vintage Glen: rich and remarkably steady. This set is more reserved than the Henderson or MacDougall sound, but is fuller than most Glens, perhaps due to the cocuswood.

This set is flawless but for one very effective repair in one tenor top. A crack that begins under the ferrule and extends above it has been ‘whipped’ under the ferrule with the addition of a brass ferrule under the nickel ferrule. The crack has been sealed with glue. This repair existed when the previous owner acquired the pipes in 1986, and the pipes have been played ever since with no change in the status of the repair. The seam of nickel ferrule opened at some point, but it too has never budged.

The finish in light varnish is also the pre-1986 finish and is in immaculate condition. No refurbishment was required on this bagpipe. This set was recently removed from an almond oil bath, resulting in some reflection in the photographs.

This is a lovely David Glen set with a sweet sound, and with no concerns for travellers or buyers worried about ivory mounts.