John Center
The picture to the left is of John Center at age 57 taken in 1888
The bagpipes here were made by John Center in Edinburgh between 1869 and 1908. He and son James then moved to Australia where they continued to make bagpipes. Center's shop in Edinburgh was taken over by James Robertson.
Center bagpipes are very respected. The sound off the bass is generally deep and broad, creating a very nice "umbrella" of sound. His workmanship is consistently excellent, although he was not a slave to any one particular pattern. Having said that, his wood mount bagpipes seemed to follow a uniform pattern.
If you find a Center bagpipe, it's likely made of very dark cocuswood or ebony and it will likely have pleasing features and good attention to detail. I was very fortunate over the past several months to encounter multiple original sets with chanters and other acutrements intact. It provided an excellent opportunity to fully document Center's outstanding work.
