Electric bagpipes

An instrument titled "The Eryri Bagpipes", which apparently used a magnetic coil pickup in conjunction with a specially design steel reed, appears to have been constructed by the year 2001, by Welsh piper Paddy Whetman.

[2] In 2016, a video was uploaded to YouTube by Goat Industries, giving basic information about the instrument, closeup images, and an audio recording.

The possibility of using optical pickup technology, to allow any standard cane-reeded bagpipe to be made "electric", was raised in August 2016 by Scottish Smallpipes player Donald WG Lindsay.

This led to articles in UK & Scottish dailies,[5][6] including a short video [5] demonstrating a prototype instrument of this type.

In an optical bagpipe pickup, light is passed directly through the reed while playing, and collected by a receiver, in the form of a photodiode or phototransistor.

An optical electric bagpipe chanter being played
An optical electric bagpipe chanter being played.
The Boha - French musician Yan Cozian has had success in creating an electro-acoustic version of the Boha.
The Boha - French musician Yan Cozian has had success in creating an electro-acoustic version of the Boha.
Eryri bagpipe chanter
Smallpipe chanter with optical pickup and amplifier circuit
A chanter, from a set of Scottish Smallpipes, fitted with a home made optical pickup and amplifier circuit.
Eryri bagpipes carbon steel reed