Jump to content

maki

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    273

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by maki

    English Or Anglo? Other Questions...

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for that bit Mikefule. Since money is definitely the determining factor for me, I think the Rochelle may be a great choice because ConcertinaConnection does offer it's full-value trade in. My idea is that I could be learning the Rochelle while saving up for a better instrument, instead of starting concertina months or years from now because I couldn't afford a higher model at first.

    That's a route many people take and the full value trade in is on the very well

    thought of Morse line of concertinas.

    English Or Anglo? Other Questions...

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by maki

    Bob Tedrow offers a tweaked Rochelle.

    It was the one that I almost bought.

     

    http://hmi.homewood.net/rochelle2/

     

    "The Rochelle Anglo Concertina is a great little piece of gear. There are a few small modifications that I feel make it even better.

    Enlarge pilot holes in endplates

    lubricate retaining screws

    enlarge air vent, install larger pad

    Cut and install thicker hand straps"

     

    You will certainly be able to get some of your money

    back if you start on a Rochelle and decide to upgrade later.

    English Or Anglo? Other Questions...

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks maki. The best I can afford in the near future is the Rochelle. My biggest concern is, does it sound like a toy or a real instrument?

    I don't own one so I can't say exactly.

    A year and a half ago when I started researching it seemed that they were good enough to buy.

    I was very close to purchasing one when an offer too good to refuse came my way.

    You can some times find a used one at a good price, but not often and

    not for long. They tend to be in demand at those prices.

    What I've read is that they sound like accordions which is typical of any

    hybrid concertina. They are somewhat larger than most with a fit and

    finish you would expect from a budget instrument.

    The most serious criticism seems to be stiff bellows.

    I think that the question you need to ask yourself is how long you will

    be happy with a budget instrument, seeing as how you are not a musical n00b.

    And BTW, you can rent a Rochelle from The Button Box. Not cheap but you

    can get a test drive. So to speak

    Same goes for thr EC Jackie.

    http://www.buttonbox.com/

    English Or Anglo? Other Questions...

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Hello and welcome.

    Great advice has already been given.

    Since you are in Kentucky by all means get up Greg and get your hands

    on both types. You can certainly play ITM on either EC or Anglo.

    I recommend anglo, but it may suit you better to go EC with your piano

    background. We are blessed to have both types in our house, but I can't get

    over the funky ergonomics of the EC. And I wish I could, Irish is my primary genre

    but there is plenty of chromatic music that I find attractive.

    Anyways, once you decide which system works for you buy the best you can afford.

    Handmade Precision Hengel Concertina Clock-Half Scale

    in Buy & Sell

    Posted

    Jody, I saw one of these clocks this summer at the Great Lakes Folk Festival in the concertina display that Jerry Minar had set up. It is not made out of a concertina, but the design is based on the Hengel concertina, which Jerry makes. The clock was very attractive.

    I spent a fair bit a time talking with Jerry and his wife, who are from Minnesota. He is an accomplished chemitzer player, and took over the Hengel factory years ago. I even played a couple of tunes with him on one of his chemitzers and me on my Tedrow. He makes nice instruments.

    Alan

    Well now, that is very cool.

    I was afraid that some decent instruments were being hacked up.

    Pretty things.

    Theme Of The Month, Oct 2014: First Tunes

    in Tune of the Month

    Posted

    Here's one of the first real tunes I learned on concertina: the Morris tune Constant Billy.

     

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/68325595/ConstantBillyTOTM1.MP3

     

    Years ago, I was primarily a guitar player in a dance band, but puttered around with the concertina - a truly horrible 20 button Italian Anglo with ends from one instrument, bellows from another (I fitted them together with duct tape, I believe). At some point, I bought Bertram Levy's "Anglo Concertina Demystified" and the first tune I learned was Constant Billy.

     

    Which was a good thing, because very soon thereafter, my wife came home from Morris dance practice and told me their musician had quit and I was the new one - for a gig in 3 days. Thankfully, Constant Billy was one of their dances, so I had a bit of a head start in my frantic learning.

     

    I played it with that group for many years, and then with my current group for the last 8.

     

    Here's what the dance looks like.

     

    I never seem to play it the same way twice, so I recorded a few different versions.

     

    The story behind the last one: one day at practice I got bored and started noodling while the dancers were arguing about something, and started playing Constant Billy in a minor key. The foreman jumped up and said "I like that, I have the perfect dance for it."

     

    We've been doing the dance - Minor Billy - ever since.

     

    Constant Billy has been ... well, a constant of my Morris dance career.

    Great story.

     

    Question; What's the coolest thing about Morris dancing?

    Answer; Bowler hats!!!

     

    You were Steam Punk before Steam Punk was hip.

    Tune Of The Month, June 2014: Emma's Waltz

    in Tune of the Month

    Posted

     

    Belated first post to TOTM!

     

    After practicing the tune for 2 months and deleting countless takes, I finally had to settle on a track. I really love some of the different versions of this tune. My so-called harmony has more to do with where my fingers were consistently willing to land at any given moment than anything else. Played on a Morse Geordie.

     

    https://soundcloud.c...rco/emmas-waltz

     

    Nicely done. Love how you made it your own. Well worth the wait.

    rss

    Very nice indeed.

    Theme Of The Month, Oct 2014: First Tunes

    in Tune of the Month

    Posted

    You folks already covered my "first tune", Josephines Dopvals.

    The first time I heard it was when the local Irish session was

    breaking up and one of the players started in to it over the canned pub music.

    He was playing a Wheatstone Edeophone and the session leader who

    was talking to a few of us kept stopping, putting his hands up to

    quite us, and closong his eyes. He would repeat, "Lovley, just Lovely".

    It really was.

    Not long after I lucked into my anglo.

    I play Josephines every time I pick up the concertina,trying to match

    the sweetness of that first time.

    Theme Of The Month, June, 2014: Let's Polka!

    in Tune of the Month

    Posted

     

    Here an attempt at that very well worn Irish polka, Britches Full of Stitches.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_qfrD1WseA&feature=youtu.be

     

    Nice. There's something endlessly infectious about Irish polkas. And thanks for remembering that TOTM/ Theme of the Month postings don't end when the month is over!

    Irish polkas are fun!

     

    Thank you Jim.

     

    Wolf, its those moments fine moments that make the slogging practice worth while.

    And, hopefully, to have them more frequently.Thanks for noticing.

×
×
  • Create New...