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Richard L. Patkós
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A major turning point came when I discovered the Uilleann Pipes. These were the most amazing kind of pipes. I had never studied Irish pipe making, but I tried to transport my existing knowledge into a new dimension. As an engineering technician, I didn’t find it hard to proportion the instruments and that was already an excellent start. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to hold in my hands the works of some of the greatest pipe makers in the world--the old masters as well as some up-and-coming young talents. I was able to reproduce a lot of the qualities and tricks I found in these instruments. My biggest breakthrough in Irish pipe making came when I met Andreas Rogge at a reed making workshop in Germany. A great and really helpful person, he saw my instruments and told me everything I needed to know to develop my product. He especially helped me in learning to make reeds. In my instruments, I would like to commemorate the work of the three makers whose work I look up to the most. My concert pitch pipes are based on Leo Rowsome and the Taylor brothers. My flat pipes are based on Coyne. Please check out my new website.
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It was around the spring of 2000 when I first came across pipes in a táncház--a traditional Hungarian folk dance event with live music. I was immediately captivated by their beautiful mystique. I was sixteen years old when I began learning to make them, apprenticed to a master pipe maker (and a great musician, too). I started with Central-European instruments, spending the first three years of my piping career with Hungarian, Croatian and other kinds of Balkan pipes. I was able to learn all about the different materials, methods, crafting of the reeds--all indispensable to pipe making.
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