Dipper

[Theo]

I know what gets my money, and it is powered by a cup of tea or a pint and a sandwich and lots of air to feed the reeds.

Dana

 

And after you have paid off the loan the concertina might even worth more than you paid for, unlike the SUV which is probably only worth a quarter of its purchase price.

 

Its a strange world

[ceemonster]

i'm with ivan, on both a) the analysis of relative real-term PP-factored us versus uk incomes (and also factoring in the thus-unfactored subsidization that goes on in the EU for health care, etc) ; and conceding that it is mindboggling how much dough people in the u.s. seem to have have for suvs, home entertainment systems, etc.....since i don't have a TV or movie-viewing apparatus and use a portable plug-in boombox to play cds on, i guess my instruments are my home entertainment system.

[m3838]

i'm with ivan, on both a) the analysis of relative real-term PP-factored us versus uk incomes (and also factoring in the thus-unfactored subsidization that goes on in the EU for health care, etc) ; and conceding that it is mindboggling how much dough people in the u.s. seem to have have for suvs, home entertainment systems, etc.....since i don't have a TV or movie-viewing apparatus and use a portable plug-in boombox to play cds on, i guess my instruments are my home entertainment system.

 

Is it really possible to get a loan from a Bank (see, I even spelled bank with a capital to buy a musical instrument? It never crossed my mind. So that Castagnari Benny is affordable? So you just walk in and apply?

I guess I better keep this job then.

[spindizzy]

[s it really possible to get a loan from a Bank (see, I even spelled bank with a capital to buy a musical instrument? It never crossed my mind. So that Castagnari Benny is affordable? So you just walk in and apply?

I guess I better keep this job then.

 

Banks love to lend money! (that's where all the profits lie) after all they can repossess your house if you don't pay up ....

[JimLucas]

On the other hand, the amount of people, whether in the US or the UK, but especially the former, who seem to be able to rustle up £25,000 just now when it is to buy the latest SUV never ceases to amaze me.

Few people actually rustle up the money for their SUV's or any vehicle for that matter except on a five year payment plan with the Auto loan industry which is quite pleased to get another person in debt to them. Getting a bank loan to buy a concertina somehow doesn't feel as justifiable as a new SUV (after all here you need to drive to go just about anywhere) and the kazillion gallons of gasoline that naturally go with the thing.

Is it really possible to get a loan from a Bank (see, I even spelled bank with a capital to buy a musical instrument? It never crossed my mind.

I'm not sure that all banks will do it. I think most would take some convincing to loan money for an item -- e.g., a concertina -- that they don't "understand". But maybe, as long as they're convinced of your ability to pay back the loan, regardless of the actual value of the instrument. I do know one person -- not in the US -- who has twice obtained bank loans to purchase exceptional concertinas. (Not as "investments", either. He has no intention of reselling either.)

 

Banks love to lend money! (that's where all the profits lie) after all they can repossess your house if you don't pay up ....

As has recently been noted in the news -- because even Wall Street seems to have noticed, -- that business philosophy works only as long as the repossessed house continues to have at least as much resale value as the remaining balance of the loan.

[asdormire]

You know, I probably could call my CU and take out a personal loan for an instrument, likewise, I could have done the same back when I lived in the Thumb from the local bank, but that was 20+ years ago. (Actually, that bank still exists, unlike some) Whether you could from one of the big consolidated banks, I don't know, but I imagine it would depend on your credit worthiness as most likely it would be considered an unsecured loan, at a higher rate of interest. How is your relationship with your bank?

 

Alan

[DavidFR]

You know, I probably could call my CU and take out a personal loan for an instrument, likewise, I could have done the same back when I lived in the Thumb from the local bank, but that was 20+ years ago. (Actually, that bank still exists, unlike some) Whether you could from one of the big consolidated banks, I don't know, but I imagine it would depend on your credit worthiness as most likely it would be considered an unsecured loan, at a higher rate of interest. How is your relationship with your bank?

 

Alan

There are plenty of lending options for this sort of thing; what you probably can't get is a collateral-secured loan, because the bank would have no idea of how or where to sell the concertina if they had to repossess it! You could get an unsecured personal loan, or a home equity loan or line if you own a home. Home equity rates are still pretty good, though I'd suggest a local bank with more conservative lending criteria - they tend to be more stable.

 

Of course if you can buy a concertina without taking out a loan, so much the better! Why not just put yourself in for a Dipper now and save instead of borrowing - by the time it's ready, you should be able to pay for it!

 

-David

[ben]

Why not just put yourself in for a Dipper now and save instead of borrowing - by the time it's ready, you should be able to pay for it!

 

-David

 

David, I took your advice. I have just mailed a letter to Colin ordering my 40 button Anglo. I will post the pictures in another three years time. I will be selling my 1956 Wheatstone Anglo Aeola soon - to fund my Dipper purchase (plus save some extra money for the Dipper purchase). I will have to pay Colin more than $7000. It is the cost of sending one of my kids to a Canadian university for a year.

 

By the way, what would you choose for the sides of a Dipper concertina...a metal/Chrome side or a wooden side?

Edited August 20, 2007 by Ben Otto

[DavidFR]

Why not just put yourself in for a Dipper now and save instead of borrowing - by the time it's ready, you should be able to pay for it!

 

-David

 

David, I took your advice. I have just mailed a letter to Colin ordering my 40 button Anglo. I will post the pictures in another three years time. I will be selling my 1956 Wheatstone Anglo Aeola soon - to fund my Dipper purchase (plus save some extra money for the Dipper purchase). I will have to pay Colin more than $7000. It is the cost of sending one of my kids to a Canadian university for a year.

 

By the way, what would you choose for the sides of a Dipper concertina...a metal/Chrome side or a wooden side?

I've never had the opportunity to play a Dipper, so I can't rightly say. However, on pure principal - I would choose metal ends for a G/D or similar low-pitched instrument, and wooden ends for a C/G or high-pitched instrument. I think the metal ends help lower-pitched instruments be heard a little better, and wooden ends help moderate those really high notes so they aren't quite as piercing.

 

Just my opinion though; I'm sure that Dipper reeds are really excellent and that he can set them to whatever tone (brightness) you prefer.

 

-David

[Chris Timson]

However, on pure principal - I would choose metal ends for a G/D or similar low-pitched instrument, and wooden ends for a C/G or high-pitched instrument. I think the metal ends help lower-pitched instruments be heard a little better, and wooden ends help moderate those really high notes so they aren't quite as piercing.

 

Just my opinion though; I'm sure that Dipper reeds are really excellent and that he can set them to whatever tone (brightness) you prefer.

An interesting thought. I can bear out the last comment from experience, though. Tell Colin what you want and he'll build it. FWIW I would go for wood on aesthetic grounds. Colin is a wiz with veneers and makes concertinas that look as well as sound wonderful.

 

Chris

[ben]

Thanks David and Chris (and others C.netters) I wrote another letter to Colin with the request for wooden sides (ends). I also asked for eight fold bellows for the hexagonal 40 button anglo concertina. I play alot of South African Boer music which requires more air. As a concertina novice I am not ready to ask for layout changes where one turns notes around such as C#D#. I appreciate the input and hopefully Colin and Rosalie will build me the concertina of my dreams. Thanks.

[JimLucas]

I appreciate the input and hopefully Colin and Rosalie will build me the concertina of my dreams.

More likely, better than anything you've ever dreamed of.

[ceemonster]

well, it's all subjective....but i MYSELF would, and do, go for metal on aesthetic grounds. the whole black-and-silver thing is so, so, so, goth, so dickens, so joan aiken, so neil gaiman, so "from hell," so very, very "sweeney todd"!!

Edited August 21, 2007 by ceemonster

[PeterT]

However, on pure principal - I would choose metal ends for a G/D or similar low-pitched instrument, and wooden ends for a C/G or high-pitched instrument. I think the metal ends help lower-pitched instruments be heard a little better, and wooden ends help moderate those really high notes so they aren't quite as piercing.

 

Just my opinion though; I'm sure that Dipper reeds are really excellent and that he can set them to whatever tone (brightness) you prefer.

An interesting thought. I can bear out the last comment from experience, though. Tell Colin what you want and he'll build it. FWIW I would go for wood on aesthetic grounds. Colin is a wiz with veneers and makes concertinas that look as well as sound wonderful.

 

Chris

My Dipper, made in 1999.

Amboyna veneer.

 

Peter.