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High-quality tonewood for bagpipes and folk instruments
ProSono offers:
- high-quality tonewood for bagpipes (Highland bagpipes, Uilleann pipes, the German dudelsack, Asturian gaitas and more)
- tonewood sets and blanks for other folk instruments, from the French bombarde to the Tárogató.
We are meticulous in our selection, seasoning, cutting and shipping of musical-grade hardwood. This is essential for making high-quality instruments, with minimal waste.
Below, read more about the best woods for bagpipes and other traditional woodwind instruments.
We also offer sets of hardwood blanks for drum sticks, in leadwood and black chacate.
Hardwood species
- African leadwood
- Black chacate (subject to limited supply)
- Mopane
- Red or pink ivory
“What I received from ProSono was the best wood I ever saw. All the pieces were indeed musical quality. I have never had a 100% yield before.”
~ Ron Peeler, Peeler Fifes
Products
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TONEWOOD FOR BAGPIPES AND OTHER FOLK INSTRUMENTS: DRY PARTS WE ENDEAVOUR TO KEEP IN STOCK (Dimensions in mm) |
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|---|---|---|
| Tonewood for Highland bagpipes (HBPs) | Sets of leadwood and mopane; additional chanters; turners’ stocks and base stocks | 14 blanks of 11 different sizes / totalling 6.755 dm3 1 x 54 x 54 x 305 2 x 51 x 51 x 225 1 x 43 x 43 x 385 1 x 47 x 47 x 310 1 x 47 x 47 x 195 2 x 47 x 47 x 160 1 x 47 x 47 x 125 1 x 47 x 47 x 115 1 x 40 x 40 x 310 2 x 40 x 40 x 245 1 x 40 x 40 x 220 |
| Tonewood for Uilleann pipes (Irish pipes) | Sets of mopane | 5 blanks, section 30 x 30 mm / totalling 0.640 dm3 1 x 30 x 30 x 325 1 x 30 x 30 x 175 1 x 30 x 30 x 136 1 x 30 x 30 x 75 |
| Tonewood for English pipes | Sets of mopane |
8 blanks, |
| Tonewood for gaitas (Spanish pipes) | Sets of mopane | 12 blanks of various sections / totalling 4.355 dm3 1 x 65 x 65 x 115 1 x 51 x 51 x 360 2 x 40 x 40 x 320 2 x 40 x 40 x 230 1 x 40 x 40 x 190 1 x 40 x 40 x 175 1 x 36 x 36 x 140 1 x 36 x 36 x 120 1 x 36 x 36 x 110 1 x 40 x 40 x 90 |
| Tonewood for bombarde (French pipe) |
Sets of mopane | 5 blanks of various sections / totalling 0.974 dm3 1 x 80 x 80 x 50 1 x 30 x 30 x 300 1 x 30 x 30 x 280 1 x 20 x 20 x 180 1 x 20 x 20 x 150 |
| Hardwood for drum sticks | Blanks of African leadwood and black chacate | 2 x 28 x 28 x 490 |
The best woods for bagpipes
Bagpipes depend on the use of flawless larger parts of hardwood.
For instance, these are required for turning the critical chanters, base and turner stocks – also called the drones – of bagpipes.
For bagpipes and other woodwind instruments, the wood must also be low in porosity. More porous wood, like ebony, isn’t naturally resistant to human saliva (which is acidic) and may crack where exposed to it.
When selecting the best hardwood species for bagpipes, we consider their sound quality, aesthetic appeal, stability and workability.
The use of African blackwood has been a prevailing standard for bagpipes – but this species is now listed as endangered and is in very short supply. We harvest African blackwood only in strict accordance with current regulations and CITES principles.
Both mopane and leadwood are increasingly popular (and more sustainable) choices of tonewood for bagpipes and other woodwind instruments.
