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Identify The Concertina In The Video


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I have a Dipper "Professional" County Clare that looks like that, it has the gold tooled bellows and looks to be the same size. I don't see a model by that name in Dipper's current line, but it used to be offered in the Lark in the Morning catalog twenty years back. I also used to own a standard Clare and so can offer some contrast between them, better reeds in the "Professional" model.

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I have a Dipper "Professional" County Clare that looks like that, it has the gold tooled bellows and looks to be the same size. I don't see a model by that name in Dipper's current line, but it used to be offered in the Lark in the Morning catalog twenty years back. I also used to own a standard Clare and so can offer some contrast between them, better reeds in the "Professional" model.

I have seen better and slightly less "better" Dippers, but I have never seen any with less than stellar reeds. The differences in the instruments I would chalk up to other factors. I consider Colin's reeds the gold standard, and try to keep mine as good. You can't really make better ones.

Dana

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I can't comment from a maker's perspective but can pass on two things related to my comment above. First, several years ago Colin suggested to me that I consider ordering his Cotswold model but request it be made with "Professional Clare" reeds, saying it would combine the greater bellows capacity with his "best reeds." At the time I was consulting with him over which model to order and a few sentences earlier he'd he'd made the observation that his "best reed-work" went into the Professional Clare model.

 

I used to have a standard Clare. I liked it, but it didn't have the tone of my "Professional" model. And that brings me to my second point. Comparing them on the inside, I'd noted that standard Clare had weighted reeds for a few of the lowest pitches. I don't recall the exact number, but I think it was two or three reeds. The Professional model has no weighted reeds and I think the lowest ones are a little longer. I don't know if that makes them any better, but at least for the lowest pitches they are different. I have noticed that the unweighted reeds are more tolerant of higher bellows pressures.

 

I'm not suggesting that any of Colin's reeds are not high quality, but it seems he doesn't make them all the same. If I had to guess I'd say the difference in the reeds is in their sound rather than their performance. Regardless, as Dana suggests, I've never seen a bad Dipper.

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