Jeffries Duets

[stuart estell]

This may well be a daft question, but my current wrestling with the Jeffries duet system has got me wondering (especially with the recent discussions regarding commissioning of "specials") - is anyone aware of any of our current craftsmen having made any of these instruments?

 

(edited because I seem to always leave my posts half-finished... )

Edited February 15, 2005 by stuart estell

[JimLucas]

This may well be a daft question, but my current wrestling with the Jeffries duet system has got me wondering (especially with the recent discussions regarding commissioning of "specials") - is anyone aware of any of our current craftsmen having made any of these instruments?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not that I've heard of. Nor Cranes, for that matter. I'm trying to remember if I've heard of any contemporary Maccanns, or if the only new duets from current makers are the Haydens.

 

But even if the makers were willing, it seems unlikely that anyone would have paid to have a new Jeffries duet made when the demand for Jeffries originals was so low that some were supposedly being converted to anglos... unless they felt that a new maker's work was significantly superior to Jeffries'.

[JimLucas]

...is anyone aware of any of our current craftsmen having made any [Jeffries duets]?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not that I've heard of. Nor Cranes, for that matter. I'm trying to remember if I've heard of any contemporary Maccanns, or if the only new duets from current makers are the Haydens.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Time to eat my words.

 

I just had a nice chat with Colin Dipper, mainly about some repair work, but I thought to ask him about the Cranes, and he said he has made a couple of them, and also Maccanns. I foolishly neglected to ask him about Jeffries duets, but since he volunteered about the Maccanns, I'll guess that he would also have mentioned the Jeffries if he had made any. I don't know about Steve Dickinson. I wouldn't be surprised if he has made some Maccanns and maybe even Cranes, but if he has made any Jeffries-system duets I would be surprised.

 

The only other makers that I'm aware of even considering making duets are so far involved only with the Hayden: Bob Tedrow and The Button Box. Yes?

[Stephen Chambers]

Not so many years ago you could count the number of Jeffries duet players on the fingers of one hand, and there were far more instruments around than could be sold, so I would only buy ones that were in playable condition and hope to find a buyer (at a relatively low price). Unsurprising then, but sad, that some of them have been "mined" for their reeds over the years.

 

The only non-Jeffries example that I know of was Jim Harvey's (the former ICA Secretary, not "our" Jim Harvey) Wheatstone Aeola, which I think he had made specially, having started out with a 4-row Jeffries anglo that he got converted to a duet at Jeffries'.

 

Of course there is an issue of the viability of making new duets, considering that they tend to have a larger range than other concertinas, making them more expensive to manufacture, but secondhand a large duet (with twice as many reeds) probably fetches less than half the price of a secondhand Anglo of similar quality. Whilst secondhand Anglo prices mean that a new one can be cheaper (something that I forcast twenty-odd years ago), it would make little sense to order a new duet when excellent secondhand ones are freely available at very reasonable prices.

[inventor]

I know of only 1 Jeffries Duet that was not made by (Charlie) Jeffries or his sons (Jeffries Bros). This instrument was at "Hobgoblin" and was described to me over the telephone by the late Nigel Chippendale over 20 years ago. It was a Wheatstone Aeola (probably around 1920s or 30s); with 4 rows of notes on the left hand side and unusually 5 rows on the right hand side. It was pitched in Bb; the extra row on the right hand side continued the scale upwards but only in the key of Bb rather than continue in an ad hoc manner towards the right on the 4 rows. I have this written down somewhere but not to hand after 20 years. By the time I had saved up enough to buy it Hobgoblin had sold it; I don't know if anyone knows where this instrument is now.

I know of no Jeffries System Duets that have been made by any recent makers.

One Maccann Duet has been made by Dipper, who has also made Crane Duets. A number of Hayden Duets have also been made in his workshop (I have seen 5) by Robin Scard; these are really excellent instruments! So far as I know Steve Dickenson has only made Hayden Duets, a good number of 46 button duets and several of various larger sizes. John Connor has made several Crane Duets I have seen and heared one, and at least 2 Hayden duets which I have also seen. I would suggest that he is the man to go to if you wanted a new Jeffries System Duet.

Other Hayden duets have been made in recent years by Bastari, and Stagi in Italy; Marcus in Wales; Nicoli of Moscow; and Tedrow in USA.

[stuart estell]

I know of only 1 Jeffries Duet that was not made by (Charlie) Jeffries or his sons (Jeffries Bros)... It was a Wheatstone Aeola (probably around 1920s or 30s); with 4 rows of notes on the left hand side and unusually 5 rows on the right hand side.  It was pitched in Bb; the extra row on the right hand side continued the scale upwards but only in the key of Bb rather than continue in an ad hoc manner towards the right on the 4 rows... I don't know if anyone knows where this instrument is now.

 

That sounds like an amazing machine - one would have to hope that it's leading a full and happy life and being played somewhere...

Edited February 16, 2005 by stuart estell