Dear Gerry:
The Parlor Sticks arrived last night and they are exactly what I needed. They are simple, good–looking and appear quite durable. The sound is beautiful and the volume is just right. They tuned up easily and quickly and I began playing them within a minute or two.
Though I am a Great Highland piper, I also play indoors with an Irish Dance company, a Celtic group and a folk music circle and bought the Parlor Sticks specifically for these activities. I was really pleased to hear that the volume is just a wee tick louder than my 2-drone Kintail parlors or my 2-drone Walsh shuttles thus making them perfect for what I do. As soon as you finish developing your new reed, please reserve one for me as I look forward to adding even more versatility to my Parlor Sticks.
(On a private note from me to you: As I mentioned, I tried out many times but never purchased, Gibson’s mini-pipes whose sound is somewhat comparable to ‘Parlor Sticks’. I found Gibson mini’s to be quite beautiful but overly fussy to tune and killer expensive due to custom-lathed wood. Also, although mini-wood pipes are lovely, they are much too delicate and fragile for Florida’s horrible extremes of weather, dodgy dressing rooms, and clumsy dancers! The point is that I am glad I waited and got Parlor Sticks instead because they are tough, good-looking, easy to tune, and sound GREAT. I suspect that as soon as the crowd sees them, I will have a few orders for you.)
Keep up the good work, have a fun summer, and best to Ms. Laura,
With kind regards, I am
Robin
