About Ronnie Hein
Ronnie hails from Sungai Siput a small town in Malaysia, not a place usually associated with Scottish culture or music but he was bitten by the Scottish Bagpipe music bug when he heard the sound of a bagpipe at a very young age. At the ripe age of 13, his quest began with no instructors or tutors around he turned to the Internet. You Tube became his teacher and he spend every free time he had between school to learn everything he could about bagpipes and he didnt stop there as he was not satisfied so he started using facebook, found anyone who had even the slightest information about the Scottish bagpipes. He emailed, private message and called to pick their brains. With the piping community being generous and always willing to help, Ronnie got all the help and information he required. Help came from all over the globe from Scotland, Australia and the USA to name a few.
Being good with his hands, Ronnie began making hand stitched sheepskin and cowhide Pipe bags. Using guidance from master bag makers from Scotland, he began refining his technique by making mistakes learning from them and finally mastering the skill of pipebag making. 2017 Ronnie spent a few months in Scotland. He interned at G1 Reeds and spent the time learning from the master reed makers at G1 Reeds who were kind and generous with helping him grow and refine his piping skills. He also competed at the Worlds with Kirkcaldy & District Pipe Band during his stay there. He is forever grateful to the amazing people at G1 Reeds and Kirkcaldy & District Pipe Band.
Coming home with new skills, he jumped right into reed making and spent the next two years finding the sound he was looking for and in 2019 he was finally happy with the reed quality and sound he was achieving. Ronnie put his reeds to the test and won the SEA pipes and drums solo competition 2019 that was held in Singapore. In that same year, Ronnie got the chance to compete again at the World Pipe Band Championships with Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band from Malaysia who emerged grade 4B champions. It also gave him a chance to test his reeds in Scottish climate. Results were good with reed stability and sound harmonics achieved was what Ronnie was shooting for. Finally Ronnie was confident enough to make Ronnie Reeds available for purchase. As he was about to setup shop, the unforeseeable happened. “The Covid Outbreak”.
Before the Covid outbreak Ronnie started to dabble in Bagpipe making. He purchased a lathe and got to work, so when the world shut down due to Covid Ronnie was hard at work. Fortunately his workshop was located in his Family Furniture factory, so Ronnie had access to all the wood working machinery he required. He took the next two years turning wood, refining his bagpipe making skill and trying to find his own unique Bagpipe sound. At the end of the lockdown he had a few bagpipes ready to go one made of Ebony wood others with African Blackwood. His Ebony Bagpipe was the first to be grabbed up followed by a RH04 custom with imitation horn mounts. Feedback has been positive ever since.
His bagpipes are already being purchased and used by local pipers who used Ronnie RH04 pipes and competed at the 2022 Kuala Lumpur Highland Games with 2 of them placing in the top five and Ronnie grabbing Second place in 2/4 & 6/8 solo competition. Ronnie has become one of the major players in promoting Bagpipe music and making it accessible to new generation of pipers. Ronnie hand crafts all Reeds, Pipe Bags and Bagpipes himself.