This Gavin MacDougall set was made in the first decade of the 1900s. They are ebony, with ivory projecting mounts and nickel ferrules

The tone is rich and very steady — really a classic Gavin MacDougall look and tonal quality.

The tuning chambers are fitted with brass slides — a well known MacDougall trait. The bass mid-joint and one tenor top have at some time in the past cracked over top of the brass slides, which is a fairly common occurrence with brass slides. They were sealed many years ago and have not budged since. The projecting mount on the bass mid-joint has a moderate-sized chip.

When I acquired these pipes they were without a bass stock and a blowpipe. A new ebony bass stock has been made with a matching nickel ferrule. A new blackwood blowstick lined with polypenco has also been made and an old ivory projecting mount was turned down to match the other projecting mounts. I’m pretty sure the ivory projecting mounts were put on a lathe and skimmed at some point to return the ivory to their original whiteness.

This is a superb set of MacDougall pipes at an affordable price.