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What Low Budget Vintage Tenor-Treble Concertina Models Were Made?


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Are any of the relatively less costly vintage instruments available in a 56 key tenor-treble?

 

I am getting mixed reports on what tenor-treble models I should be searching for on a limited budget.

 

Did Wheatstone or Lachenal make a simple rosewood ended, bone buttoned, steel reed in a TT compass for example?

 

Please give me some suggestions so I can focus on some specific models.

 

This could cause some debate (valid discussion but not here please) but I am not interested in instruments with accordion reeds. I also much prefer a vintage Lachenal or Wheatstone as they will keep their value which is very important to me as this instrument wil have to be sold when I have the extra to trade up.

 

Right now, I have a treble tthat is very basic with bone buttons, rosewood ends, steel reeds and could easily get by with a similar TT while I save up. Please advise.

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Have you read carefully through the various makers Price Lists that are available on www.concertina.com ?

 

Generally speaking whilst the makers may have advertised the lower quality instruments in Tenor Treble layout (I'm not sure) and it might happen that a 'special' may have been made and one or two might surface onto the market today, I would suggest that these would be rare beasts because during the classic period those who wanted a bigger range than the Treble were the more experienced players who would have wanted the best quality instruments if they could afford one at all.

 

So, most of the Tennor Trebles that I have seen are Aeolas and Edeophones... in fact I cannot recall seeing any other models in TT... but having said that I have lived in concertina deserts since leaving london in 1976, so perhaps I am not the best judge.

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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The nearest I've seen to a cheap old tenor or tenor treble is a 1950s Crabb 48 key tenor that I renovated and sold last year. I sold that for £1600. It looked nice, with raised ebony ends, but despite my best efforts it was not particularly responsive so I dont think it was worth any more. Later it was traded in to a retailer and re-sold for several £100 more. 48 key tenor concertinas are very scarce, so they attract a premium price. A friend of mine, a pro player, has a lovely Wheatstone 48 key tenor and he has been searching for many years for a second instrument as a backup. Despite regular contacts with retailers in the UK he has failed to find one and has had to get a TT instead. So I think your search for a tenor will be fruitless unless you get very lucky indeed.

I belive there are a very small number of cheaper tenor trebles, but they are also very scarce, I've never seen one in 12 years in the business. Most cheaper 56 key ECs are extended in the upper range.

All you can do is to register your interest with as many dealers as possible and while you wait keep saving for a TT Aeola.

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So, most of the Tennor Trebles that I have seen are Aeolas and Edeophones... in fact I cannot recall seeing any other models in TT... but having said that I have lived in concertina deserts since leaving london in 1976, so perhaps I am not the best judge.

 

Agreed.

 

I have seen one other, a Lachenal New Model tenor treble with ebony ends.

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A few years back I refurbished a Wheatstone Model 11 tenor/treble from the late 1920s. http://www.concertina.com/pricelists/wheatstone-english/Wh-Pricelist-Eng-c1929.pdf

Ebony, raised ends, metal buttons, hexagon. A nice instrument but not approaching best Aeola quality.

 

Hamish Bayne Holmwoods are T/T with traditional type reeds and construction. They are sturdy and tend to be heavy but once on your knee that is not a huge factor. They can be loud and are generally responsive. IMHO not in the Aeola or Edeo league but when you can find one their prices are $1000-$2000 less.

 

I think I remember a Lachenal rosewood T/T coming out of Australia a few year back. $2500-$3000 range if memory serves. That may have been one of the two of this sort that I have seen during 10 years of eBay watching.

 

Michael Pierceall who is a cnet member recently purchased an uncommon New Model T/T. http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=17593

 

Again, all the above seem to be in the $2500-$4000 range. Keep saving your money. It pays to keep an eye (and ear) out but unless you are extremely lucky that seems to be the lowest going rate to play this game.

 

One last thought: While it is indeed nice to have the extra lower 8 notes on a T/T (remember half are accidental sharps and flats) how often do they really get used and are absolutely necessary? A REALLY nice vintage treble can be had for $2000-$2500 that one would never outgrow and would help advance your playing while you are waiting for your "dream" concertina to appear.

 

Greg

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I can also recommend "soldering" a low F (which gets you the fundamental of the subdominant chord when playing in Cmaj, or of the dominant chord for Bb maj, or the root for Fmaj of course, very nice options for playing in the lovely keys of Dmin and Gmin, or G Mixolydian... and it can be easily done by yourself or a competent prof person - and your treble is sounding in a significantly lower range...

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Chris Algar recently offered me a nice EE tenor Aeola from his private collection - it was the earliest I have ever come across ( 32xxx !? ). It was restored by David Robertson... The price represents it's rarity...

 

John, I have advised you before, first to practice a lot, meet other players and play other instruments - and then eventually decide, what the perfect instrument might be!!

 

If it turns out that the concertina is your instrument, you should be prepared to take your time and save up for a really good one.

 

Chris sometimes has less expensive TTs - probably one or two per year. Sometimes he puts them on ebay.

 

But in the end: you get, what you pay for!!

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John, I have advised you before, first to practice a lot, meet other players and play other instruments - and then eventually decide, what the perfect instrument might be!!

 

If it turns out that the concertina is your instrument, you should be prepared to take your time and save up for a really good one.

...

But in the end: you get, what you pay for!!

 

Time to repeat this adage, I think:

 

In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice,

But not in practice!

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John

 

If you really want a lower range than a treble EC but cannot afford a TT then maybe you should reconsider a duet?

 

There is a very nice looking 48 button metal-ended Crabb Crane duet that has just been refurbished by the Button Box and is currently available on eBay and attracting no bids...

 

Don

 

(I am not the seller).

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Yes... I agree... practice, practice, practice...

 

Thanks Robert for the good advice. I'll be patient. I'm playing two or three hours a day wearing out my chepo unrestored bone button. I can't wait until I get the restored 48K RE Lachenal from you... A big upgrade at a great price!!! Thanks. First big performance in less than two weeks! Wish me well.

 

I do need those lower notes... It's my bass background I guess. I just finished memorizing and fully transcribing a song by Danny Chapman. It frustrates me that I can't play the low notes like it is written as Danny uses a TT. I'm rearranging it for 48K treble but it's just not the same. Here's the YouTube link:

 

https: m.youtube.com/watch?v=b1VW2HEZzbs

 

If anyone wants the MIDI file or sheet music for it, PM me and I'll email it to you. You can help me with the rearrangement for treble if you wish.

 

Thanks,

John

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I'm with you, OP. The lower notes are great, and one wants 'em, yes, indeedy-weedy. The other posters have said it---the whole point of the TT was, it was a premium, top-of-the-line instrument when made at all (but for rare exceptions), and priced accordingly. Sheesh, couple years ago The Music Room had a metal-ended Lachenal simple Tenor 48 that they weren't calling a New Model, but must have been a NM since it had raised ends. It sat there for a year or more before disappearing, presumably sold. The thing looked beat-up, had not had a cosmetic restoration, presumably had hook-and-lever action, and they had priced at about $7K US, up there in the 4,000s UK Sterling. Presumably hook action, no clue what kind of work it had had, but for $7K on an EC, if the cosmetics do not look well-spiffed, it does not inspire confidence. A half-year (or so?) ago, Chris Algar listed an Aeola TT on the 'bay he said had not had a cosmetic spiffing. I think the listing said it had been tuned, but that he had plenty of 'em and was letting tat one go with no further spiffing at a reasonable price. Not certain but I think in dollars it came out to $4300-something. Maybe it was $4600-something. It didn't sell that I saw, perhaps he still has it, probl well worth it. An Aeola or Edeo TT is an investment, the kind you save up and make when you know what you want, and you also have to either purchase it from someone whose vetting assurances you can bank on 100 percent, or you need to budget to have it evaluated and vetted by someone you can bank on. The substitution through decades and centuries of repairs and whatnot, of most or many of the original reeds with of a lower quality than that Aeola or Edeo you thought you were getting is just the least of the disappointing surprises no one but that bankable vetter is going to be able to help you avoid.

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