The SCOTS project is the first large-scale project of its kind for Scotland. Online from January 2008, it aims to build a large electronic collection of both written and spoken texts for the languages of Scotland. This is a resource which is urgently needed if we are to address the gap which presently exists in our knowledge of Scotland's languages. This is a web-based archive charting the rich linguistic diversity of the Scots tongue  allowing members of the public to trace the origins and meanings of thousands of words.

Comprising novels, recordings of informal conversations, university lectures, and even Scottish Parliament documents, the online map archive consists of more than one thousand written and spoken texts.
It marks the first such electronic archive specifically dedicated to the languages of Scotland. Dating from 1945 to the present day, users will be able to locate the origins of words and their areas of usage.
Recordings of varieties of Scots such as Doric and urban Glasgow and Edinburgh dialects are also part of the website.

Recent years have brought significant changes to the political situation in Scotland. This new political situation has been accompanied by a resurgence of interest in the languages and culture of Scotland. On 1 July 1999, for example, in a historic address, the late Donald Dewar offered a 'handsel' to the Queen at the opening of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. A 'handsel' is a gift intended to bring good luck to something new or to a new beginning. He was thus marking this special occasion in a traditional Scottish manner.
Scotland has a distinctive and colourful language heritage. The present-day linguistic situation in Scotland is complex, with speakers of Scottish English, Scots, Gaelic and numerous community languages making up Scottish society. However, surprisingly little reliable information is available on a variety of language issues such as the survival of Scots, the distinguishing characteristics of Scottish English, or the use of non-indigenous languages such as Chinese and Urdu. This lack of information presents significant problems for those working in education and elsewhere.

A New Era in Language Studies
Advances in computer technology have now made it possible to store and analyse very large quantities of information in a way which would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. As a result, in recent years much research in the Humanities has focused on the building of large text archives. Such resources offer exciting opportunities to study language on a broad scale and with an accuracy which would otherwise be impossible.

A Scottish Perspective
At present there is no other electronic archive specifically dedicated to the languages of Scotland. Our resource provides valuable material not only for language researchers, but also for those working in education, government, the creative arts, media and tourism, who have a more general interest in Scottish culture and identity. It would provide important data about English as used in Scotland, and also Scots, in its many varieties, Gaelic, and the principal community languages.

It is against this background that plans for the SCOTS project were developed: work is now well underway.
Initially, the focus is primarily on the collection of Scottish English and Scots texts, but it is also planned to include Gaelic and material from non-indigenous community languages such as Punjabi, Urdu and Chinese. Thus the Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech aims to give a full and accurate picture of the complex linguistic situation which exists in Scotland today.

Once texts have been collected, they are gathered together to form a large electronic archive, which is then continually added to. SCOTS is a publicly available resource on the Internet.
It is envisaged that SCOTS will allow those interested in Scotland's linguistic diversity, and in Scottish culture and identity, to investigate the languages of Scotland in new ways. It will also preserve information on these languages for future generations.
http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk

Buying a bodhran

Foot Stompin' Forum discussion thread: http://www.footstompin.com/forum?threadid=45393
Makers mentioned included:
Belgarth (Orkney): http://www.belgarth.com/index.html
Brendan White: http://www.folkrevolution.co.uk
Seamus O'Kane: http://www.tradcentre.com/seamus

Dick Clarke  "Violins Etc" - instrument sales & repairs

Dick Clarke has been buying, selling and repairing violins and other instruments since 1979 when he opened his original store, ‘Play It Again Sam’, in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge.
A musician himself, well-known on the Scottish music scene, Dick has composed and performed for theatre, film and TV and understands the difficulties faced by working musicians in sourcing a good, honest instrument at reasonable cost.
The aim of Violins Etc. is to provide, from our Highland Workshop, a source of such instruments, with full after-sales and repair service, to musicians and students of all disciplines.
If you live anywhere near enough or plan to visit Caithness, you would be welcome to drop in, by arrangement, to try out a few instruments and have a chat. If you make it this far you’ll certainly get a cup of tea and a scone as well. Occasional demonstration workshops will be offered in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness, according to interest.
Contact E-mail:  Info@ViolinsEtc.Biz
Write to:
Dick Clarke, 10 Mayfield Road
Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. KW14 8HT
Telephone: (01847) 894 201
Mobile: 07776 491 721 
Check out Dick's website at http://www.violinsetc.biz

Fred Morrison’s Reelpipes

In recent years, there has been something of a Reelpipe revolution. Many Highland pipers have already discovered the benefits of adding Reelpipes to their instrumental repertoire. In the key of A(440) and with a softer, somewhat sweeter tone than the Highland pipes, Reelpipes can be played to great effect with other instruments. For Highland pipers, the transition is quite straight-forward; the fingering is the same and the bellows action is relatively simple to master. Mouth-blown sets are also available.
Fred Morrison is a household name in the world of piping, known for his prowess on the Great Highland Bagpipe but also for his highly successful career performing on stages across the globe on the Reelpipes, or Border pipes as they are also known.
Using this experience, which spans 20 years, he has now developed, along with renowned Highland pipe makers, McCallum Bagpipes, the new Fred Morrison Reelpipes. Fred says in an interview for Piping World  “They (Reelpipes) still have the crack and rattle of the chanter of the Highland pipes but we still have the sweetness (of sound) of the small pipes. For me they become the ideal for sessions with other instruments or recordings."
There is not a long time to wait from ordering to delivery as is often the case when buying a set of border pipes - they are available almost "off the shelf".
The Reelpipe"FAQs" listed below comes from the Fred Morrison’s Carnan website:
Fred Morrison’s Reelpipes have a characteristically resonant, expressive sound.
Fred Morrison and the staff at McCallum Bagpipes work extremely closely together to ensure that each and every set of Reelpipes meets their exacting standards.
The standard of the bellows is paramount to the quality of tone produced by the pipes. Made from the highest quality leather, with plush leather covered cushion pads sewn on the front and back, the Reelpipe bellows are 100% airtight and extremely comfortable to play.
The chanter is crafted from African Blackwood and is perfectly tuned to concert pitch. The sound is clear with an excellent dynamic, allowing the piper full expression when playing.
The drones are also made of African blackwood. Steady and melodious, the harmonics they produce work extremely well with the chanter.
The drone reeds are made by Pipe Dreams – makers of Ezeedrone Reeds. The reeds have been developed specifically for the drones of Fred Morrison’s Reelpipes and provide a harmonious drone sound, whilst remaining completely steady.  Each set is fitted with a drone switch as standard – a great asset to any player, both professional and beginner.
For the learner, the drones can simply be switched off, allowing the player to concentrate on learning to use the bellows with the chanter only.
For the more accomplished player, the drone switch can be used to great effect when performing to, for example, bring the drones in with another instrument.
The chanter reeds are made by Steve Megarity, who is known the world piping scene over for his Highland pipe reeds. The Reelpipe reeds were developed simultaneously with the chanter, with the result that the chanter and reeds are perfectly matched.
Each set of pipes is ornately finished with engraved nickel silver, in a choice of designs, and imitation ivory mounts. Sterling silver is also available (price on request).
In addition to the Reelpipes - Fred and McCallum Bagpipes are now producing smallpipes.  The prices range from £590 - £990, depending on engraving, inclusion of drone switch etc.
Contact: Phone: +44 (0)1870 603228
Mobile: +44 (0) 7766 835675
Email: morrison.fred@btinternet.com  : website: http://www.fredmorrisonpipes.com
Fred Morrison CDs: Sound of the Sun  Up South

Garvie Session Pipes

Nigel Richard  has been established in Scotland as one of the leading makers of Border pipes and Scottish smallpipes since the late 1980's. In 1998 he moved to new workshop premises in Edinburgh and continued business under the name of Garvie Bagpipes.
For many years Nigel had been thinking about how to make a low volume low pressure Highland bagpipe that could be used with other instruments by pipers who didn't wish to go the smallpipe/border pipe route involving mastering the bellows technique. His idea was to design and construct mouth-blown pipes for the Highland piper who wants to play in sessions, ceilidhs or folk groups with other instruments, but which would also be a great solo instrument in its own right. He wanted the new instrument to retain the characteristic vibrant tone created by the  Highland Bagpipe chanter but to be quiet enough to play indoors, alongside fiddles, flutes, mandolins, accordions etc, without overpowering them. It was also important to Nigel that the instrument could be played at the pitch of the written music and that continuous playing for an hour or more would not be a problem. The interesting and exciting results of his hard work, dedication and determination are the Garvie Session Pipes.
To get the right sound for his Garvie Session Pipes, Nigel realised that a cane reed would be necessary, but the thinner cane blades of a lower volume/pressure chanter reed would be liable to deteriorate at a more rapid rate than the more robust Highland pipe chanter reed. It was clear that this would make it impractical to produce a set of pipes with this sort of reed because it would have to be replaced far too often. To solve this thorny problem, he set about a finding a way to  protect the reed from  excess moisture. Having checked out existing systems and water-trap designs, the humidity control system devised for the Session pipes is one which is swiftly removable and replaceable without having to unzip the bag, also the material of the bag itself requires no seasoning thereby avoiding clogging up the system. Nigel's system incorporates some ideas already around such as the desiccant canister, but uses them in a different way.
When the new pipes are described to pipers, they are inclined to think they must be similar to half-size / reel pipes or three-quarter size pipes. The differenc, however, lies in the volume, the pressure, the internal profiles, the standard pitch, the available notes (the session pipe chanter is chromatic by cross fingering), and the humidity control system.
After nine months of testing, Nigel is delighted with how the new instrument is going. And while there is still plenty to learn  about these new pipes, and some fine tuning particularly regarding the best maintenance procedure for different climates, he feels that the sound itself has exceeded expectation in its timbre and potential for expressive playing. He says, " Further research and development can only enhance what we believe is already an excellent musical instrument."
For further information e.mail: garviebagpipes@zetnet.co.uk
website: http://www.borderpipes.co.uk
You can write to:
Nigel Richard
Garvie Bagpipes
152 Albert Street
Edinburgh
EH7 5LT
United Kingdom

Levens

"Dick Levens makes fantastic electric mandolins, mandolas, banjos and does repairs too. Worth a look for some really interesting instrument design." 3 chorder
The Old Schoolhouse, Garth, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, KW17 2TJ, tel: 01856 831592, Email info@dicklevens.co.uk http://www.dicklevens.co.uk/

Mike Vanden Guitars and Mandolins

Contact Information:
The Old School, Strontian, Acharacle, Argyll, PH36 4JA, Scotland
Telephone / Fax +44(0)1967 402114  website: http://http://www.vanden.co.uk

Moon Guitars

Moon Guitars, Mandolins
Tel: 0044(0)141 632 9526
Fax: 0044(0)141 632 4928
E-mail:
moon@moonguitars.co.uk
Mail: MoonGuitars Ltd
974 Pollokshaws Road
Glasgow G41 2HA
Scotland

Thomas Buchanan

Thomas Buchanan has been designing and building stringed instruments in the Highlands for almost twenty years. He has worked with many fine luthiers and produced harps, guitars, hurdy gurdys, and mandolins for musicians all over the U.K and beyond.
Thomas Buchanan, 1 Manse Place, Inverness IV1 1JY, tel +44 (0)1463 221886 http://www.folkmandolin.co.uk/

Fiddle, Cello, Viola

Neil Baird
19, Hyndland St
Glasgow
G11 5QEM
(0141) 3388181
"I'd recommend Neil Baird. I was very happy with the work he carried out on my fiddle. I believe that he also carries out repairs on cellos and violas as well as making fiddles." JR

Guitar, Fretwork etc

Guitar, fret repair etc
Tom Murray, Perth, Tel 01738-638928.
"I heartily recommend his work, he just did a lovely job on my banjo; refret and new mammoth ivory nut. First class. He also did a very nice refret on Luke's mandolin. Good to know he's there." g-banjo
Moon Guitars, 974 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow G41 2HA, Tel 0044(0)141 632 9526, moon@moonguitars.co.uk, http://www.moonguitars.co.uk/
 Marshall Dow, Aberdeen Telephone: 01224 588580., ..... many Aberdeen folkies know of him. Refretted me bouzouki last week....like a new instrument!!! Tattiemannie.

Starfish Designs Celtic Harps
Unit 1, Old Ferry Rd
North Ballachulish
Fort William. PH33 6SA
Scotland, UK
http://www.starfishdesigns.co.uk

Starfish - Handmade instruments custom built for the individual.

Camac Harps
La Richerais - BP 15 - 44850 Mouzeil - France
http://www.camac-harps.com

Carmac - Sole manufacturer of concert harps in France

Pilgrim Harps,
Stansted House,
Tilburstow Hill Road,
South Godstone,
Surrey, RH9 8NA
UK
http://www.pilgrimharps.co.uk

Pilgrim Harps - for harpists of all ages, genre and abilities