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Big Maccann Aeola


Pete Dunk

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Oddly enough I am discussing whether another 67 can be made (forced?) to meet my needs as this comes up. They go down to bottom G and the Stanley arrangements that I use more and more need a bottom F, irritatingly.

 

I have added it to my watch list...

 

I continue to agonize over my cumbersome size vs acceptable range problem.

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Actually my cumbersome size is responding nicely to a diet. I meant the cumbersome size of the bigger duet concertinas that I might consider had a good range. Thought I'd better get in first...

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Because I don't know what to do about it, for numerous reasons. Nothing clever....

On the other hand, the best tool is not the "best", but the one we are familiar with.

It's just it looks so attractive, despite that cylindrical shape, that I'm so much not in favor.

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Actually you are in favour, you know it really. You need to hoard your money and buy a Maccan. From extensive exposure to your views and ideals I conclude that you must end up there, you might as well just bite the bullet and get on with it.

 

Don't fight it; just accept it.

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Actually you are in favour, you know it really. You need to hoard your money and buy a Maccan. From extensive exposure to your views and ideals I conclude that you must end up there, you might as well just bite the bullet and get on with it.

 

Don't fight it; just accept it.

 

How come $2500 concertina is expencive, but a $2500 Indian car is cheap?

Something is screwy here.

When they offer double reed, octave tuned MacCann, I'll get it in the fly. What's wrong with these people?

And who are "these"?

And where are "they"?

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How come $2500 concertina is expencive, but a $2500 Indian car is cheap?

Something is screwy here.

Maybe your maths? dontknow.gif

 

That's a £2,300.00 concertina at the Buy it now price, which is more like $4,500.00 than $2,500.00.

 

And would you want to drive as cheap a car as the Tata Nano anywhere, or even at all? :unsure:

 

Whilst, as far as I know, only the Zulus use the concertina as a means of transport...

 

When they offer double reed, octave tuned MacCann, I'll get it in the fly.

I've seen a triple-reeded one, but it was so big and cumbersome that it was considered unplayable, so Tommy Williams removed the reeds for spares... :(

 

What's wrong with these people?

And who are "these"?

And where are "they"?

Indeed so! ponder2.gif

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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The standard reply to that over here is 'Yeah, Right.' (spoken very deadpan)

 

 

 

Editted to add why the devil should I reward you for encouraging me spend more money I can't spare on bloody concertinas?

Edited by Dirge
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  • 2 months later...

OK , well I now have my new concertina after a wait; a fellow Cnetter was visiting Australia at the same time as me so it came from Wiltshire, England to Solihull in the Midlands, then to Napier, NZ via Sydney Australia. The hand over was done in charming Hyde Park in central Sydney; we sat in an al fresco type restaurant, drank beer and fiddled a bit. No one told us to desist/stop upsetting the customers so we got braver and had lunch and a thoroughly good time.

 

The hand straps were impossible; long and stretchy; I borrowed the waiters corkscrew to punch some more holes and we could almost play it, then it was fun.

 

So, what did I get? In the end, no real surprises; it has standard brass reed shoes and ends, so manages to be noticeably heavier than my 'all dural' 71, despite being the next size down (67 key) but its smaller cross-section makes it much easier to drive, on balance, although I do find that I seem to end up playing towards the outer extension of the bellows at the moment. It's got a really nice mellow tone, better than my 71 (is that a brass instead of dural effect again, I wonder?), and the reeds seem more consistent at low volume. It has the original bellows, untouched I think, and a well polished 'ancient but looked after' patina that my 71 hasn't, having had a fair amount of restoration work to get it back into service. It's a thoroughly nice instrument, as I was expecting.

 

The action, while not actually slow was a bit sticky at first; I wouldn't have guaranteed you a brisk staccato effect, but that is already running off. I noticed three things; firstly, one of the hand rails seems to have been cockeyed from new and in nearly 90 years no one has put that right. Secondly the bushing boards are held in with rivets or tacks, not screws as I've seen before, and finally the air button lets hardly any air out. It's so slow to dump air it's not true. That is a pain and will be investigated.

 

So thank you so much, David A; you're a star; it was really heroic to carry that half way round the world for me and I am extremely grateful. A new set of straps to be made and I'm in business. I'm very pleased with it.

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