Pipe puff: ex-Shotts WarMac blackwood pipe chanter with double hallmarked plain silver sole

This is perhaps the most remarkable pipe chanter I have ever come across. As I have been told, it is one of the pipe chanters played by Shotts that were also the subject matter surrounding Shott's controversial fallout with the McAllisters brothers. I have been told (and I am quoting here) that back then Shotts P/M R.Mathieson was not satisfied with the chanters and that offended the McAllisters brothers, so they recalled all the chanters that were loaned to Shotts. Hence, R.Mathieson wrote the tune "Farewell to Camraw" ("Warmac" backwards!), which is a bit disrespectful to the McAllister brothers.

The chanter in my possession, along with the rest of the batch used by Shotts, carries a double hallmark on the silver sole - one on top of the sole and one below - which is very unusual. Every chanter in the same batch also carries a unique number on the bottom of the sole. It is not known what the number represents. The very chanter which I acquired has a number 2 inscribed onto the bottom side of the sole - as I was told this normally stands for the Pipe sergent's chanter.

I was very taken with the chanter the first time I heard it played to me. It is very compatible with most makes of reeds. The notes are very true and balanced regardless of the pitch of the chanter (the chanter pitches at 468Hz to 480Hz depending on reeds and external conditions) and the chanter sounds very bright and full. It is very forgiving with many reeds - very good with Ezee, G1, MG and Warnock reeds. It plays and sounds like very piper's dream. The chanter is particularly good with Brian Lamond's reeds, but then his reeds are good with many chanters!

The external profile and shape of the chanter is excellent too - a straight body in the top hand which I prefer. The holes spacing is almost identical to a Naill blackwood chanter which I have, so it feels great in the fingers too.