In the early 1990s a multidisciplinary team composed of Alberto Arias, Miguel Dopico and José ÁngelHevia patented the first electronic bagpipe in history.
Hevia’s CD “No Man’s Land” was released in 1998 and more than two million copies were sold worldwide. Since then the electronic bagpipe has established itself as a versatile tool in the new musical discourse of European bagpipe playing.
The new model MBS-300 reproduces all the traditional bagpipe-playing parameters in a hyper-realistic way. With MBS-300 we play a real bagpipe bellows with real blow and pressure control of the actual bellows, directly affecting the sound response.
MBS-300’s sensors respond to glissando and vibrato, and you can play it using any traditional bagpipe technique. Fingering is fully programmable by the user and there are no range limitations (1, 2, 3 or more octaves can be programmed).
Using the keypad, located in a handy position, you can control over forty parameters:
Selectable air pressure for playing drones, first and second octaves separately.
Pressure control, which allows the detuning of the note according to the pressure applied to the bellows or the choice of simply playing with stabilised tuning.
Drone sound elimination.
Tone transport.
Select your desired fingering and personalise it.
Non-blow mode.
Etc.
The MBS-300 can also use wireless through an (optional) bluetooth device, which gives an incredible sense of security and independence when on stage.
The MBS-300 is compatible with all sound modules on the market, but it is in combination with HEVIA’s own sound collection (which comes free with each MBS-300 unit sold) where the best and most surprising results can be achieved.
Among others, it can sound like Asturian, Galician or Scottish bagpipes, a 16″ or 20″ musette, uilleann pipes, diatonic accordion, flute, whistle, fiddle, binioù-bombard duet, pipeband, etc. In addition to the combination of these elements simultaneously in different instrumental groups (Irish folk ensemble, Scottish folk ensemble, etc.).
Model MBS-250 has just hit the market as a more economic version of the Hevia Electronic Bagpipes.
It is aimed at users who simply want to connect and play, without spending too much time on the endless customization possibilities of the MBS-300. Simply
connect the USB cable to the computer or the sound module and play. Expressiveness, glissandos, vibratos are exactly the same as those of the MBS-300.
The MBS-250 also has considerable editing options:
Elimination of the drone sound.
Fingering selection and personalisation.
Bellows pressure control.
Non-blow mode.
Etc.
Hevia Electronic Bagpipes 