This set of Grainger and Campbell silver and ivories are hallmarked as having been made in 1977 and are in pristine condition.

This firm took over the Duncan  MacRae shop in Glasgow in 1946, and made pipes until 1989. Both Donald MacLeod and John MacFadyen were involved with the firm in the 1960s and 1970s and their influence on the instruments resulted in a well respected bagpipe being made for many years.

The sound is quite full, and might best be described as being similar to modern Naill pipes, though the bass in this set is particularly full.

This set had extra attention paid to it when the last owner sent them to John Kidd, an American refurbisher and student of the tonal properties of columns. John had a well-earned reputation for improving the tone of pipes by flaring stock bottoms, tuing pins and adjusting bores so that they matched one another perfectly within the bagpipe. The previous owner reports: “Once I put some playing time on them, I had John Kidd match the tenor drones, and had him do his famous flaring of the stocks and tapering of the joints. The tone really locked in after these modifications.”

The finish on the pipes was superb when I received them and has not been touched. There is some dark staining on a portion of two of the lower projecting mounts. The original silver sole had been installed onto a Kron Medallist blackwood solo chanter. The previous owner found the blowpipe too long and had John Kidd provide a cast silver replacement. The original silver and ivory mouthpiece and Grainger chanter are provided with the pipes. This is really a beautiful silver and ivory set, and the tonal alterations have upgraded its sound to “exceptional.”

Invoices documenting Mr. Kidd’s work are provided. Sad to report that John Kidd passed away in October this year.