midi concertina

[2B3D]

Does anyone have any experience using midi english concertinas. How do they compare to traditional acoustic concertinas. How durable are the electronics. What types of sound samplar/generators have been used successfully. How easy is it to switch the range of the instrument while playing.

Is it possible to arrange a trial period with someone. Does anbody have one for sale

[chris]

Hi

look at S Wave. Dean Onyons (the maker) sometimes posts on these forums. Bill Whaley plays one

chris

[David S]

Roy Whiteley at Accordion Magic does a great job of conversion. His website is a bit out of date, but it will give you an idea of what he can offer. I have an anglo MIDI and the electronics and installation are bombproof. Also the volume (bellows pressure) sensor is very effective. He may be able to put you in touch with someone with an English conversion as I know that he has done several.

 

On the samples side, that is dependent on what you can get and utilise; top quality samples are not cheap and no-one has been able to point me towards Jeffries or Wheatstone concertina sample set, although it would seem that Michael Eskin (on this forum) has made his own.

 

However, my idea of a MIDI conversion is not to sound like a concertina but to be able to utilise your keyboard skills (and mine are less bad on a concertina than anything else) to make the sound of other instruments....strings, organs, woodwind are all useful, but the quality depends entirely on the synth that you use. I have a small MU50 which is quite limited ( but OK within its limitations) compared with the larger studio machines that have many more voices and variations.

 

The other use of course is for silent practice; I can play away on headphones without alerting anyone to the fact that I am playing rather than working!

 

David