I’ve only seen one other MacDougall bagpipe configured quite like this one. It was thought that the metal mounts might be a retrofit, but a careful examination indicates they are original. It is in keeping with Duncan MacDougall’s trend before the 1890s of virtually custom-building every bagpipe.

The set is ebony and mounted in ivory and engraved silver. The tuning chambers are fitted with brass slides, a practice particularly associated with the MacDougall family, though it was done by others as well.

The stamp “Dn McDougall Breadalbane” appears in three places: on the top and bottom of the chanter stick and on the top of the bass drone bottom joint, just below the ivory projecting mount. Breadalbane was the MacDougall home before the family moved to Aberfeldy, and dates the pipes between 1873 and 1887.

As is often the case with ebony pipes that contain brass inserts, each drone piece was cracked adjacent to the brass insert. As is also the case, none of the cracks leaked, and the pipes were being played in this condition by the owner on the isle of Skye until fairly recently with no issues. However, all cracks have been sealed and invisible whipped by Dunbar Bagpipes. The repairs are marvellous, as seen in the bottom right photo where the two left drone pieces have been repaired, while the right piece has not. You would be hard-pressed to detect the whipped pieces in the photos below without first knowing they were there. The blowpipe stock is a poly-lined blackwood replica. The engraving on the metal sleeve on the blowpipe does not match the rest of the pipes.

The tone is full (not quite Henderson full) and rich, with a fabulous, rich bass and a steadiness typical of the great old MacDougalls. Tuning positions are excellent.

This set has now been reprodcued as “The Breadalbane” offered by McGillivray Piping as part of the attractive, toneful and affordable “Victorian Line” of nineteenth-century replicas. The Breadalbane reproductions ae made by Dunbar Bagpipe Maker to the exact specifications of this set. The previous owner of this set was well known piper Allan Beaton of London/Skye, who played them for 30 years until 2012.