Only thirty five buttons, was it worth making?

Very few keys on the left hand side.

Pure guesswork on my part (I'm an anglo player), but that would mean not many options chordwise, right? I'd be quite interested to know what the range of the instrument is, but I don't want to bother the seller, cos I've got no intention of buying it.

It's certainly rather limited in range, but actually a perfectly standard layout. Keyboard diagrams for instruments with 35, 42, 48 or 55 keys are illustrated in Crane's Patent English Combination Concertina Tutor, where their ranges can be compared (so no need to bother the seller! ).

It looks to me like it has stained plywood ends, so probably more like 1930s in date?

Absolutely.

Thanks for that -- very interesting link. So -- not fully chromatic on both ends, then. Would I be correct in saying that you have to go up to 55 keys before you're fully chromatic on both ends? (As I said, I'm an Anglo player ).

I hesitate to say this, but of all the layouts for duets I've looked at, the Crane seems to make the most intuitive sense.

Absolutely not.

Crane system is great! And Englsh system is great too. And Anglo is great. All concertina layouts are ingenious.
But small duets are of lesser quality, as this one indicates too.
I think that it's range is better than standard English, and it can be easier to play a Duet in English concertina style, and why not? This will make it fully chromatic throughout it's range. The quality though is an issue. It doesn't look like a good one, to stick to, develop skills, as if you upgrade - you'll get much bigger one, and where's the gain, so why bother?
It was my initial idea, to get small Crane and use it like an English. But the one I got for $500 was so bad, it put me off. And I just couldn't find small Crane of higher quality, only big ones.

Absolutely!

I would have thought that for simple accompaniment (song or other instrument ) it would be great.
Easy to learn a few chords and not too hard to learn
Absolutely!

Robin

I'd have thought that (like the English - from which it derives) it is a highly logical system, whilst maybe the Jeffries duet (like the Anglo - from which it derives) is more intuitive... ?

What is intuitive? Maybe it depends on the style (and the scales) you want to play, or on the system you know (like jeffries duet could be more "intuitive" for anglo players but meybe less intuitive for english 48b players)...

I saw a 33 button Crane duet last year! made by Lachenal. serial no 4453.

I've never actually handled a Crane, a Maccann or an English concertina - just anglos and a Bandoneon. However, purely from perusing layout diagrams, the Crane seems to me to be both the most logical AND the most intuitive non-diatonic layout. (Nothing is quite as intuitive as a diatonic free-reeder - sez I )

Intuitive, of course, depends on where you come from - and my very first musical instrument was the mandolin. On the Crane, I see the same idea of the scale progressing along one row until it reaches the end and then skipping to the start of the next row, like the scales on a mandolin going up one string and then skipping to the start of the next string. When you run out of fingers on one string/button row, you move on to the next.

If the Maccann was developed for English players, and the Jeffries duet for Anglo players - was the Crane possibly developed as a "reception area" for refugees from the fretted-string fraternity?

At any rate, I'd like to try a Crane some time

Cheers,
John

Was it worth making? Absolutely.

My first concertina was a 35 key Crane. For song accompanyment, given my vocal range, it's fine. In fact, many of my song accompanyments still fit into the 35 key layout. It was only for dance tunes that it proved too restricting, mostly because of the lack of an 'A' above the stave, so I eventually traded up to a 48 key, and have recently made it to 55. But for someone who would like to try out the Crane, this would be very worth while.

Note that ALL sizes of Cranes go down at least to middle 'C' in the right hand, unlike other types of duet.

And yes, having compared it to English, Anglo and McCann duet, I certainly find the Crane the most logical, and easiest to play - for me. Your experience may differ.

Andrew
Crane Drivin' Music

Sold for £400.

I was the under-bidder (and possibly only one of 2 bidders).

I'm currently looking for a Crane, but thought £400 was enough for a small one - even by Crabb (was I right?).
I'd pay more for a 48 or bigger, of course.

Hm! that's just over 500 Euros!

If my overdraught had been that much smaller than it is, I think I'd have gone for it. Ever since I discovered that the Salvation Army concertina that I heard as a child must have been a Crane, I've been on the lookout for one.

The small size and range wouldn't have bothered me that much - I'm only a folkie, and probably too old to ever learn to exploit a duet in all keys.

Cheers,
John

I was looking over the photos, you can clearly see where an additional note could have been added to the bass side, I would have added a C# to allow for a full octave of D on the low end.

I have a 48K, but if I didn't, I'm sure I would have bid on it.

I think miniature Maccanns with much fewer buttons have been referred to on this forum from time to time.

I think the 42-button Crane can be a useful starter instrument. 35 button would just be annoyingly limiting.

The general problem with 42/35-key Crane and 39-key Maccann is that if they aren't in nicely playable condition and you need to pay to have them restored, then it wouldn't cost much less than restoring a 46/48 key; and their value is such that you probably wouldn't get your money back on reselling them, unless you got it for peanuts in the first place.