George Grainger and Neil Campbell founded the business in 1946. Their bagpipes and chanters were very highly respected and enjoyed great popularity in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. The business closed in 1989.
The style of the bagpipe changed dramatically over the years. They ranged from an almost “Hardie” look into something much more distinctive with chunky blocks and very narrow tuning pins. The sound was pretty good in the early 70’s. It’s not unusual to find later examples with evidence of “green” wood.
It’s hard for me to understand Grainger bagpipes. The lower-end Grainger bagpipes seemed to lack imagination and any “art” whatsoever. Everything was square, straight, and clunky. I mean, you could hurt someone with any single piece. The tenor bottoms were very thick and the tuning pins were very thin. The bass mid-section small-bore was small and the bushings on all three drone tops were the same size. They also used a combing tool that left 6 teeth standing with very fat, flat beads. Yet, I’ve seen some full ivory and silver & ivory sets that had a completely different look and sound. Hard to fathom.
