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shipcmo

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Posts posted by shipcmo

    concertinas in the movies

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    I feel sure the "Wayback machine" has a version of this thread, so forgive me of bringing it up again.

    What brought this up is that in getting rid of my boxes, I came upon my "silent" concertina.

    Many years ago I got a casting call from a producer who was putting on "Carnival".

    The show opens with an actor, alone on stage, playing the theme song "Love makes the World Go 'Round" on a concertina.

    The producer said he had tried an accordion in the pit, but it didn't sound right.

    So I did an audition, and got the position.

    Now, the next thing was to provide the actor with a concertina.

    So I took an old 20-button Anglo and gutted it.

    Then, during rehersals I had a spotlight trained on my hands so the actor could copy the moves.

    Mostly, they just pump away!

     

    Bob Hope in the Paleface

    Bing Crosby in High Society

    Desi Arnez in Forever Darling

    Stan Laurel in The Big Noise

    ? in The Milagro Beanfield War

    Alf Edwards in Moby Dick?

     

    Cheers,

    Maintenance?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    OK, back to the subject.

    I recommend the rougeless polishing cloth, #70-404, for the metal ends.

    http://www.eloxite.net/eloxitesiteindex/EL...kdescr70_6.html

     

    However I have also used a "Shino" POLISHING CLOTH.

    http://www.votawtool.com/zcom.asp?pg=produ...cific=jnjqenose

     

    For leather according to some, you cannot beat "English Shoe Cream"

    http://www.mrboots.com/general_store/index...temmel-bsc.html

    But you have to be careful not to get any on the bellows papers.

     

    For unfinished wood I have tried:

    http://www.orangeglo.com/c-woodcare.html

     

    Windex is reasonably gentle for lacquered surfaces.

     

    Cheers,

    Geo

    Whats In A Number?

    in Concertina History

    Posted

    I noticed that Ed Stander stated that his Dipper Shantyman had a "serial number" of 182, is roughly circa 2003.

    John Townley's Shantyman is circa 1989 with a number of 290, and mine (which was started first) was circa 1991 has a number of 215. Do we have any others out there? Does anyone have any idea of Colin's numbering system?

    Cheers,

    Geo

    Fs: Dipper Ambonya Anglo Shantyman In C/g

    in Buy & Sell

    Posted

    Regarding the "Shantyman".

    From the review in the Autumn 1989 issue of C&S magazine by John Townley:

     

    “This long-awaited Anglo (the first was ordered by George Salley in the summer of ’84) has finally arrived. I have played one (my own) and seen two others almost completed, and they are truly wonders of the free reed world.

    The intent of this model is to create a concertina that is made primarily for vocal accompaniment; lower-pitched and a bit quieter, with less upper partials, so as not to overwhelm the voice of the singer. Mine is pitched in F/C, a low baritone instrument ideal for second tenors whose highest comfortable note is an F. The other two I saw were in F/C and G/D. From a sheerly musical point of view, the instrument is a dream; inside are leather baffles (not unlike those in a pump organ) that give it a richer, warmer sound, double-emphasizing the qualities that are unique about Dipper reeds to begin with. The edges of single notes seem to turn over on themselves, giving an interior, hollow sound Reminiscent of a shawn or shenai. The reed response is twice as fast as my older G/D Dipper and the bass reeds don’t vary in pitch nearly so much with varied pressure, a real problem for most low-pitched instruments. This has the effect of vastly increasing the dynamic range as well; it suits as a solo or an accompanying instrument. Musically, it is the best-sounding concertina I have ever heard, bar none.

    But it doesn’t stop there, Colin and Rosalie have outdone themselves in the artiface of the body itself. Brass plates on each end feature nautical engravings; on mine, the C.S.S. Alabama leaving Cherbourg on one end, and the CSN crossed cannons and fouled anchor on the other. Brass engraving is brand new to the Dippers, but they have done a smashing job; on the other two I saw various river and canal boat themes. The body is made out of West Indian cocobolo wood and my air button is a bone scrimshawed lever in the form of a mermaid’s arm. Gold tooling decorates the polished blue goatskin bellows, and mermaids frolic about fouled anchors on the bellows [papers with square-riggers ploughing the distant sea in the background. Another significant first for the Dippers is the carved fretwork which is done in relief, more like the decorative work in an English choir pew than an ordinary concertina end.”

     

    There is more, regarding the price back then, which I will mercifully delete.

    Original Issues Concertina & Squeezebox

    in Buy & Sell

    Posted · Edited by shipcmo

    Concertina & Squeezebox Magazine on CD

    Volume Number 1, Number 1 thru Issue Number 32

    All 1,437 pages!

    In Adobe PDF format

     

    $20.00 US, postpaid in the Continental USA.

    Canada: $20.00, postpaid (US funds)

    Foreign: $22.00, postpaid (US funds)

    Personal PayPal account only accepted, no credit cards via PayPal

     

    George Salley

    274 White Pine Lane

    Hartfield VA, 23071

    USA

     

    address change

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