Andante to take the Vale off drums at Scottish Championships

Robert Wiseman Dairies-Vale of Atholl is a band that is never afraid to try something new and the Scottish Pipe Band Championships on May 24 at Dumbarton, Scotland, will be another change for the band as they debut a new “prototype” of bass and tenor drums from Andante Percussion of Northern Ireland. The new instruments go with the band’s already updated snare drums.

“This has been a long development process going back more than 24 months,” said Paul Turner, the band’s Leading-Drummer. “Utilizing the expertise, experience and knowledge from within my own drum corps and that of the Andante manufacturing/design team, we have been able to address issues such as improving the quality and definition of each pitch as well as the clarity of each drum within the traditional pipe band arena.”

Turner acknowledged that he and the band’s mid-section leader, Iain Sinclair, had a direct hand in the development of the drums.

A perennial contender at RSPBA championships over the last 20 years, Robert Wiseman Dairies-Vale of Atholl finished eighth in the 2007 World Pipe Band Championship.

The band started its 2008 season with a second to the newly formed Fife Constabulary at Dunbar, Scotland, on May 10.