World champion piper Robert Watt from the small town of Maghera in Ireland has achieved many of the highest awards for solo piping and pipe band playing. Some of Robert’s achievements for solo piping competitions and performances include the prestigious Highland Society of London’s Silver Medal for Piobaireachd, seven times winner of the MacCrimmon Trophy at the world’s greatest Celtic Festival in Lorient Brittany, several ‘All Ireland’ titles and many others throughout the USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Asia. Robert has also played for a number of years as part of the world famous Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band at the highest level in band competition.
His diversity and talent represents Celtic music from the ancient Piobairechd to the modern day. As well as the Great Highland Bagpipe, Robert also plays a range of Irish whistles and the bellows blown Lowland and Border Pipes. When not on the road performing and teaching he enjoys living in Austria on ‘The Green Hill’s of Tyrol,’ where he finds much inspiration for many of his compositions.
I have played Balance Tone drone reeds for many years now. They produce a deep and resonant drone sound that enhances the chanter clarity and projection. This is especially noticeable on the ‘low G’ which for me is crucial to project crisp and clear embellishments and compliment my technique. Bruce has worked continuously over the years to improve his already excellent reeds by making small modifications and proving the enhancement on a sound analysing program. The latest reeds are truly exceptional! They are easy to set up, air efficient, completely steady and easy to tune and give me an overall bagpipe sound that I am very happy with.
Having used the Bottle Trap for many years with great results, I recently tried the new Moisture Tube. Due to it’s lightness and size it feels like there is nothing inside the bag at all. It has also increased my playing time by a good 30 minutes before any sign of moisture on the reeds. Together with the Moisture Control System the performance is outstanding. I have played for over two hours and at the end still had completely dry and steady drones using this combination.
– Robert Watt
Very cool