Myrtle's cook
-
Posts
234 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Myrtle's cook
-
-
That's interesting, I hadn't realised the 'Peerless' branding extended to Anglos. Does this mean that there are also Excelsior branded Lachenals our there and even Nonpariel models???
-
Given that it was in both mildly distressed state and the reeds in particular were not shown, this does indeed seem a high price (or gamble).
I too have been in the market for one of these and this is, I think, the third I have seen in the past 18 months on public offer. Two appeared on Ebay last year, the better one of which was restored and offered here (and on Ebay) some weeks ago (they had the same serial number). The third would be this one.
I wonder if their modern relative frequency of appearance has to do with the fact that they were always specialist (and very expensive) instruments which may not have seen quite the level of action of TTs and trebles? Do modern day owners find that they only use these boxes for particular pieces/events, preferring TTs/trebles for everyday use?
(incidently this has been a fascinating thread and as ever, very appreciative to the knowledgeable contributors)
-
You might want to post the question over on Mudcat http://mudcat.org/ which seems to be quite a good place to get answers to this sort of question - especially when the question is sensitively phrased in the way in which you have done.
Good luck
-
Going back to Eric's original subject:
'I am just starting to work up Lord Franklins lament and was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some suggestions about how to work up this filligreed fingering method'
I too am a fan of Steve Turner's arrangements (although I think some of their intracies may well always be beyond me), there is quite a nice 'half-way' house arrangement (i.e. some nice intricacies in with melody and harmony) of Lord Franklin in Roger Watson's 'Handbook for English Concertina'. I have found it a good basis from which to consider other arrangements and avoid that potential muddiness that over reliance on chords can bring. The book is in copyright, so I have not scanned/posted the relveant dots, but I see that there are second hand versions on Amazon. The arrangment for 'Adieu sweet Nancy' in the book is also a pleasant one (and easy to learn).
Good luck!
-
Hi Bob
You might want to have a look at http://www.concertinamuseum.com/CM00010e.htm in the listing for individual instruments there is a tab that describes the baffles and has a photo of each one. It does not, unfortunately, describe their thickness but gives a good idea in terms of grain width etc If there is a trend then Wheatstone in particular seem to have gone for fine grained pine (certainly in terms of grain width that we would think of for guitar sound boards).
Were you considering a retro-fitting of baffles?
-
Ah! Thank you Greg. Appreciated.
-
I see that the description for for this instrument in the digitised Wheatstone ledgers in the Horniman includes the term 'S.V.'. I think this has been explained previously on this forum (but I could not find it) - can anyone provide enlightenment?
http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD01/PAGES/D1P1880S.HTM
A very tempting instrument...
-
Hey, good work and result Soltanov!
As Mike says, what a great feeling to have fixed this. I am sure it helps in the bonding process with an instrument (after the inital feeling of apprehension when taking screw driver in hand...!)
Hope it will now give many hours of happy playing
-
A number of Liverpool marching concertina bands include Anglos alongside the more usual Maccans. It may be worth searching youtube to see what strategies these players adopt. Two names worth searching in this respect are:
- Bootle Concertina Band
- Colonel Saunderson Band
(sorry for not looking for these links myself - am presently posting using a phone that struggles with youtube)
I would expect these will bear out many of the suggestions above - and it's always reassuring to actually see what other people are doing.
Good luck!
-
Eddy - many thanks.
Jim - good point (particularly as folk clubs, sessions and festivals are not without the temptation of beer)!
Think I'll still be treating myself to one of these for summer use - easier to justify than a new concertina...
-
Eddy - this is really helpful, thankyou - I have been looking for something just like this.
Can I check that's a treble EC you've got packed in there?
-
I think my choice was along the lines of what Steve Mansfield describes above. My brain seems hard wired against the semi-intuitive approach of the Anglo, but very comfortable with something that directly relates to written music. It was sealed when I went to buy my first concertina and was allowed to 'play' (note the inverted commas - i didn't have a clue what I was doing!) through something like 20 instruments (both EC and Anglo). What sealed it was the sound from the Lachenal Excellsior that I went on to buy - didn't find anything else in either system whose sound I liked as much. Perhaps if I had found an Anglo with that sort of sound the outcome might have been different and I would have persevered against my instinct.
-
These were the specific silicone corner gaurds I was referring to in my post above, to protect my not so young forehead from the sharp corners of a cooker hood. I friend of mine uses the same thing in his restaurant - between the wooden table and the sheet of glass that forms an easy wipe surface on the table top. He finds they are occassionally prone to tearing which might have some bearing on their use of cases.
-
I have one of these Hobgoblin cases and the corner protectors are some form of plastic, adequate, but I am sure could be bettered. Some timeago I got some more robust corner protectors for a larger box I am planning to build to hold two concertinas - these were significantly more robust and impact absorbing being designed for stage PA gear.
Here is a link to some on Ebay, just as an example, they seem to come in all sorts of sizes. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PA-Speaker-Corner-Protectors-C6-Corner-1-x-1-6-Pieces-/261289491490?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Speaker_Parts&hash=item3cd6113c22#ht_1654wt_1069
Coincidently I have some of the clear silicone corner gaurds too - used in a kitchen project. They are quite soft so might not wear too well; they do however do an excellent job in preventing me gashing my forehead on the corners of a metal cooker hood!
-
I have come across a wooden ended Lachenal New Model Maccan with these 'monitor' slots (a smaller ?46 key model). They looked to have been factory made or professionally retro-cut. It had passed through several Liverpool marching bands so may always have been used as a band instrument. My recollection is that it was a pretty loud instrument and these slots didn't make a noticable difference in terms of directing sound up to the player (although I didn't have a unslotted reference instrument to compare it to).
-
Like these too. I can see that for some people's learning styles the colours will be very helpful.
-
Perhaps one's perceptions of Ebay are also framed by what one is looking out for?
Around a year ago at least two Aeola baritone trebles (or were they treble baritones) appeared on Ebay at the same time. I notice there are two Morse tenors on at the moment within the UK. Perhaps they are like the proverbial English buses, wait for ages then two (or more!) turn up at once.
Its seems with Ebay that when casual window shopping turns into temptation, that's when the fun and/or danger start. ...will my partner notice another black concertina as long as I don't have both of them out at the same time... ...'it was way, way below the price I would normally have expected to pay...'. Although, as I noticed on a recent Mudcat guitar related thread, 'I just hope that if I predecease my wife, she doesn't sell by guitars [replace with 'concertinas'] for what I claimed to have paid for them!'
-
Mark - I like the look of the handles on your cases (and the cases themselves!); the comfort aspect of this component should be an important consideration in the design process if any degree of transit is anticipated.
-
Sorry - ICT - Information communications technology - so computers, servers, lap tops and other techy gubbins
-
In terms of fabric, a possible word of caution?
In the dim distant past I worked as a curator at a large museum where the conservation department regularly undertook tests on moden fabric to ascertain how they would 'off-gas' in the confines of a storage case or show case. Their starting point was that many C19th fabrics used to line display cases and storage draws actually emitted damaging gases causing silver to blacken, steels to blue etc. In some cases these gases would combine with moisture to form acid/alkalines that attacked objects more aggressively. The gases usually resulted from the dying process. Some fabrics off gassed quickly (almost like drying out) and were fairly inert after a while; others seemed more prone to emit gases in certain conditions - hot, damp etc; some as the host fabric's structure degenerated.
All rather alarming on first consideration! That said my own Lachenal Excellsior does not seem to have been adversely affected by the purple velvet lining of its case in which it has lived for the best part of a century and a similar case does not seem to have hurt my Maccan Edeophone with metal ends.
I imagine modern case makers such as Calton must have wrestled with this problem and reached a safe conclusion?
-
I have found the dense foam used to make block cushions for ICT equipment can easily be cut to make blocks. They have the virtue of being dense enough to absorb shocks whilst firm enough to hold the instrument securely. I would also expect them to have been tested to ensure they do not off-gas in a way that affects delicate metalic components of either PCs or concertinas. Some seem to be derivatives of the more dense forms of plastazote extensively used in museums for packing delicate items (and available online - although Geoff Wooff's suggestion, above, would seem far more cost effective for sheet forms). They will take an adhesive if you wish to add a fabric covering.
-
Hi Gaspar and welcome!
I too play EC - including a[nother!] Lachenal Excellsior which like yours has been well played through its lifetime. I think you have a good concertina with a lovely tone that with a little work would be a wonderful instrument. As an alternative to recapping the keys as Alex, above, suggests, you might want to check out
http://www.concertina-spares.com/spareslist.htm for replacement keys. He also sells the material for bushing the keys and other goodies and will ship internationally.
All the best - and enjoy your music
-
Two suggestions to add, both rather smaller scale than Whitby and Sidmouth:
Saltburn Folk Festival http://www.cuttywrenfolkclub.talktalk.net/SaltburnFF/ 8-10 August on the North East Coast (a small and perfectly formed festival IMHO)
Liverpool Sea Shanty Sessions (in fact the full range of maritime song) http://www.shanty.org.uk/baltic/ , Blatic Fleet Pub, first Saturday of the month. Usually Anglos, ECs and a Duet to be heard. Liverpool is also a great city and base for exploring the NW and N Wales.
-
Sorry to continue the drift, they are indeed eye catching Wolf. I think I have seen from Lachenal pricelists and the photo in Les Branchett's tutor that Excelsior tenor-trebles do exist. There's temptation if one should appear!
Lachenal Peerless
in Concertina History
Posted
Wolf - quite right! Posting after a long shift with tired eyes and brain - not a good idea!