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I've had this hankering for a while now for a baritone anglo for song accompaniment. The trouble is, I'm a bit worried by the general lack of instruments and popularity - I don't know anybody who plays one, but I do know people who play tenor english, if not baritone. I'm also concerned about limited chording and the potential lack of air.

I currently play C/G anglo (Wakker Phoenix) so I'm thinking stay with a familiar instrument format. On the other hand, given the potential problems with a baritone anglo, maybe I should just buckle down and learn the english system and get a tenor or baritone english.

 

Any advice?

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I'm in exactly the same position for exactly the same reasons. Right now my solution is to learn baritone English, which I am slowly struggling with. I'm nowhere near accompanying myself on a song -- just getting through a C scale is accomplishment enough for this week!

 

I also heard a rumor that one concertina maker *might* consider making baritone anglos if enough people asked about them. Email me offlist and I'll tell you which one!

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There don't seem to be a great number of older Baritone Anglo instruments about. John Kirkpatrick plays one (Wheatstone), Ian Munro (I think a Lachenal). There must be others.

 

I have played Ian's instrument; lovely tone, good action. Not a fast instrument, but then it would probably not have been designed for tune-playing. Would be excellent for song accompaniment.

 

Chris Timpson will surely post a reply about his Baritone Dipper. I'm sure that other manufacturers would consider making an instrument, but I guess that there will be a price premium compared with a "standard" instrument.

 

Regards,

Peter.

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I love the idea of a baritone anglo. I've seen one or two and they are a lot of fun. I would imagine good for accompaniment (I have no experience with that though). I occasionally pester Frank Edgley about it :-)

I had the opportunity to play a baritone anglo a few weeks ago when a friend brought one to a session. Wonderfull deep throaty sound. Its pre-restoration, so not all buttons were working smoothly and I couldn't truely assess its air handling. Also not for sale, unfortunately.

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We're tinkering with a baritone C/G, and built a prototype which was at last year's NESI. Basically our standard box with larger/lower reeds. Sounded nice but had decidedly slow lower response. We've since added another section of reedpan to make folded chambers for the lowest reeds which really picked up the response. We're haven't decided whether to go into production with it or to make it a one-off type order as it really is just a standard with modifications. At some point we'll be coming out with a larger format for more powerful tenors and baritones - so might wait for that.

 

OTOH, the easiest thing for you would be to get a G/D box. They're quite common and have a range similar to the English baritones.

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There is a Geuns-Wakker baritone C/G anglo available also. I have one I bought used from Bob Tedrow, who am I sure inspected it with the interest makers reserve for each other's work! I opened it up for Doug C. at the Button Box also. The lowest reeds on the left are mounted at an angle on an extension of the reed pan. It is nicely made and plays very well; "nutwood" ends and green bellows. I haven't used it as much as I expected, in my case because it really calls for different playing style and approach. Just doing things the same way as C/G "treble" (term?) doesn't sound right. But I pick it up frequently and it is coming along. I do not have a G/D and wonder how that might fill the same need (but I'm not spending any more money right now!)

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Chris Timpson will surely post a reply about his Baritone Dipper.

Yep.

 

My Dipper C/G baritone can be seen here. This is a wonderful instrument that I had made for song accompaniment (I am a G/D player for intrumental music). I haven't been using it so much recently since my stroke, because that affected my left side and I used the left hand of the concertina a lot - that's where the real depth and richness of sound lies. However as the dexterity gradually returns it will start to be seen in public again soon, I promise!

 

I once encountered a Dipper G/D that was an octave below the normal range - Colin called it a bass anglo. That was truly wonderful too, but for different reasons. I do hanker after one of those too, though not enough to order one from Colin. In this case it would be just lust and not real need that would lie behind it. However, if one of the newer makers were to offer one, I might end up raiding the pension fund once more. There is something really entrancing to me about the sound of low concertinas. It's one of the reasons I prefer G/D to C/G for instrumental work.

 

My partner Anne has two baritone Englishes, a Wheatstone brass-reeded sonic beauty for song accompaniment and a Morse which she uses in sessions and for the Morris. Low concertinas are where it's at, man. Far out!

 

Chris

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I have a Lachenal Baritone Anglo and I know of two others in the vicinity. One is played by a member of the Winster Morris Dancers and the other was in Chris Algar's stock last time I visited.

 

I've had mine for 30 years and used it occasionally for morris, songs and in a concertina ensemble. I've re-padded and valved it and retuned it (including replacing a reed) but it could do with some work on the bellows as a number of corners are cracked. The sound is good but the lower notes are slower to sound but as others have said, you just adopt a different playing technique.

 

I saw the instrument advertised in a shop window in Bounds Green, North London in 1974 for 10 pounds. When I went to see it, the owner was at great pains to say that it wasn't a toy but when he found I could play, he sold it me for 9 pounds. Those were the days.

 

 

I also have a very old single action baritone english with brass reeds. Wonderful sound. I've only used it for song accompaniment and then not for some time.

 

 

I saw John Kirkpatrick a couple of weeks ago playing what he called a bass anglo. I think in C/G, 2 octaves below normal. I guess we might call this a contra-bass. It was big beast in an elongated hex shape. It's a real physical effort to play but John in inimitable style played Liberty Bell on it.

 

Howard Mitchell

Derby, UK

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I saw John Kirkpatrick a couple of weeks ago playing what he called a bass anglo. I think in C/G, 2 octaves below normal. I guess we might call this a contra-bass. It was big beast in an elongated hex shape. It's a real physical effort to play but John in inimitable style played Liberty Bell on it.

 

Yes, this number always gets a laugh; maybe because one or two of the notes are so slow sounding. John did "An Evening of Squeezing" at Cecil Sharp House back in 1986; he played "Shepherds Hey" in turn, on all of his instruments. To hear it played on a normal C/G, followed by Baritone :D and Bass :unsure: :D C/G was amazing.

 

Peter.

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There is a Geuns-Wakker baritone C/G anglo available also. I have one I bought used from Bob Tedrow, who am I sure inspected it with the interest makers reserve for each other's work! I opened it up for Doug C. at the Button Box also. The lowest reeds on the left are mounted at an angle on an extension of the reed pan. It is nicely made and plays very well; "nutwood" ends and green bellows. I haven't used it as much as I expected, in my case because it really calls for different playing style and approach. Just doing things the same way as C/G "treble" (term?) doesn't sound right. But I pick it up frequently and it is coming along. I do not have a G/D and wonder how that might fill the same need (but I'm not spending any more money right now!)

I did contact Wim Wakker last December. At that time he said:

"At this moment we do not have any baritone anglos in production. The problem is that the limited number of orders for this type of instrument results in very high reed prices."

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'OTOH, the easiest thing for you would be to get a G/D box. They're quite common and have a range similar to the English baritones.'

 

Only in theory - The lowest note on both is G an octave and a half below middle C, but the G/D anglo is missing G#, A, B flat, C#, and D# between there and the G above, while the English has the lot, and if you're lucky, the english baritone will have the low G# button tuned to the F natural below - there is an A flat on the other end. On ours, a 36 button single action monster Wheatstone, I had that changed to F# by Colin, in theory for ceilidh band work in G, but never really used it, and then had it changed back for Concertina Band work!

 

I find the G/D Anglo a bit un-penetrative (is that a real word?) for Morris - it merges with the melodeons too much - and normally use a C/G but the G/D is ideal for sessions and dance band stuff.

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Being a low Bass singer (take that any way you want) I sing a lot of songs in C and could do with an Anglo an octave below normal, which I would term a Baritone.

My wife's Baritone extended treble English (treble with extra notes downwards) has the same lowest note as my G/D anglo, but it has all the notes down, whereas the Anglo doen't.

 

Robin Madge

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'OTOH, the easiest thing for you would be to get a G/D box. They're quite common and have a range similar to the English baritones.'
Only in theory - The lowest note on both is G an octave and a half below middle C, but the G/D anglo is missing G#, A, B flat, C#, and D# between there and the G above, while the English has the lot
That's why I said "range similar" though I realize that it is an incompete range (as I pointed out earlier - I think on the Anglo vs. Duet topic? and you have expanded here).

 

It may all come down to what one intends to use the box for. Maybe NOT being fully chromatic is okay in some cases. Personally, one of the biggest factors which kept me from continuing with anglo was that it didn't have the low 2nd whole tone.

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Still merrily learning on my C/G Stagi, but am anticipating when I can upgrade. Must have only a mild case of concertina addiction as I can't imagine wanting (or being able) to own 4,5, 6 or more concertinas as some of the other members do. However, I have thought out far enough that I would love to own two. One a good quality C/G anglo and the other a C/G Baritone Anglo for easier vocal accompaniment. So, Mr. Morse and others, please add me to the list of those who expressed an interest in your building the baritones and making them readily available for sale. I'm likely a few years from purchasing, but maybe by then there'll be more options to chose from.

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