Jeff Stallard

My only concern with an Albion is that it's not 48-button. I wouldn't be able to play one of my favorites - "Meditation" - on it because there are a few notes that go waaaaay up there.

I'm thinking of doing the exact same thing. I guess my situation isn't as uncommon as I thought.

Now this is creepy. The only guy who agrees with me has the same name as me. Well here's to you brother! You have an excellent name, and and excellent opinion!

Very interesting. Congratulations on your achievement! The video is nice because it shows the "isomorphism" in action. Up till now, I was fairly clueless what that meant in physical terms.

Re-education eh? That's good. I understand what you all are saying about everything needing tweaking, but that's just one part of this equation. If maintenance was my only issue, I wouldn't be selling it. It's not like I'm giving up the concertina; I'm just giving up VINTAGE concertinas. Hmm...I guess in this case, the Vintage classification describes the vast majority of concertinas though. Oh well, I can live with it.

Back in May, I bought an 1880 Lachenal EC. Prior to buying that, I lived by a rule: do not buy vintage instruments. Well I broke that rule, and now I'm wishing I hadn't. No, the Lachenal isn't a lemon or anything. I've enjoyed it a lot, but as any vintage instrument will, it needed some work. Reed 13 was popping, and some pivot posts were popping out of the action pan, due to the dry winter I assume. I fixed both easily enough, but it just reminded me why I made the rule in the first place. I just want to play the music and not have to worry about taking care of the instrument. But the biggest reason I've decided to sell it is that, after a year of being a concertinist, I've come to the conclusion that I prefer the sound of accordian reeded concertinas. Yes, I know that's grounds for having my thumbs ripped out, but that's the way it is. I'll be putting together a description soon, with pictures of everything, and I'll naturally give the wonderful people here the first chance at it. I mainly posted this because I thought you'd all get a kick out of it, particlarly RELCOLLECT. I'll probably buy a Jackie with part of the money, just so I have something that doesn't suck like my Stagi (great tone, but LOUSY workmanship).

The concertina makes another appearance in "The Gay Divorcee," a Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers movie from 1934. Without giving away the plot, Astaire's character hires this Italian "gigolo" to woo Rogers' character. When he arrives to begin the wooing, he has with him various wooing accessories, and dangling from one hand is an anglo concertina. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I believe there's even a tiny shot of him playing it. Here's a quote from the movie, taken from the scene described above. Egbert Fitzgerald: Your life, Mr. Tonetti, must be full of excitement. Tonetti: Full of excitement, and full of danger. Egbert Fitzgerald: Oh, yes, of course... from the husbands. Tonetti: No, from the ladies. Egbert Fitzgerald: Oh, how interesting! Tonetti: But, Tonetti, he know what to do. Yes, sometimes, the lady and I have the conversation... somtimes, I play the concertina... sometimes, I play the solitaire... but, mostly, I practice my singing. At home, my wife, she do not like me to sing. Egbert Fitzgerald: Unquestionably a woman of great perspicacity. Tonetti: Oh, si, si, signor, you bet!

I tried this approach, and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the suggestion!

Raised all over the country, but I've been living in Ohio for the past 12 years. By the way, why are British folk sometimes referred to as limeys? Does it have anything to do with your naval history?

Can't you just see a Monty Python skit about this? Packs of wild concertinists roaming the streets, terrorizing the public. Kind of like the nun gang bit they did.

If you like the sound, then it's the perfect instrument for you. In many ways, I prefer my Stagi ("crappy" italian job) over my Lachenal (expensive antique).

Hey, that's pretty cool sounding! What key is it in? I want to figure that one out. It makes me think of a lone musician, sitting out on a dock, or a fog-covered hilltop, introspectively rolling off a tune.

Hmm...very interesting suggestions. Looks like I have a decision to make. Thanks for the help.

I wish I had a picture of this, but I'm stuck describing it. You have the button attached to the arm attached to the pad. The pivot point of the arm is a metal post. My metal posts have a tongue on the bottom which is pressed into a groove. Well one of my posts has come out of its groove. I tried wrapping a little tape around it to tighten the fit, but no dice. It came out again after 30 seconds. How have you folks fixed stuff like this?

B - Middle finger D# - Index finger F# - Ring finger Does anyone else do it differently? I wonder why the chord chart doesn't include that one...

Preach on brother, preach on!! In the spirit of fairness though, what you might also try is to support the left end of the instrument on your left knee. It doesn't help as much as a strap, but it's another way of freeing up your fingers. How did you attach your strap? Loop the strap around the screws, or d-rings?

It's nice to see two new English players! Pretty soon we'll be taking over here, and then we'll put those anglo players in their place! (joking of course). It took me several weeks to really feel comfortable with the layout. One of the English rules is to not stick your thumbs in the straps past the first knuckle, but you might try experimenting with the position of the thumbs. That can make a world of difference. When I used the first knuckle rule, I couldn't keep a good "weld" with the instrument, but now I stick them in further, and it makes things so much easier. Oh, and let me stress the importance of getting your ring finger involved. For months, I neglected to use the ring finger on my left hand, and now that I'm doing some more complicated stuff, where I NEED three fingers on the left, I'm having to struggle more. So when you play those F#s on the left side, get that ring finger into the action. Once you're used to that, the other ring-finger notes will fall into place.

Here's what I came up with. I think this was the first time most people in my class have ever seen a concertina.

Wow, that sucks. I can't remember why I emailed you, so I guess it wasn't that important. Don't feel obligated to respond.

I might have to plan a trip to Mass. in the spring and stop at the Buttonbox while I'm up there.

Yes, I'm definitely staying with the EC system. I just found the Suttner EC by the way, but $4,300 Euros is a teensy weensy, itty bitty bit outside of my price range.

I'm starting to think I favor the sound of accordian reeded concertinas, so I was just looking around the Web to see what was available, should I ever decide to sell me Lachenal (concertina reeds). It looks like the choices are kind of slim: either the Morse Albion or the Geuns-Wakker. Oh and Stagi of course, but I'm thinking something comparable to my Lachenal. Anyone I'm missing?

I'd prefer an English concertina. Format doesn't matter. Clever angles, interesting or artistic highlights, and fancy papers/woodwork are my main concern. Nice backgrounds would be okay, but are secondary. Thanks for the help!

I'm taking an Adobe Illustrator class, and we're supposed to come up with a base drawing, upon which we'll apply the techniques we learn along the way. I want to trace a picture of a concertina, so I'm looking for nice shots. I have a few that are okay, but I'm hoping some of you can direct me to, or send me, really nice concertina shots. I'll post the final image here in five weeks.

There's supposedly a tradition among bodhran players where you rub Guiness into the head of a new drum. Maybe cat urine in a concertina will become a tradition, and you, my friend, will have been it's founder.