Donald Galloway

Thanks for responses. I think it's found a home

I have a case made by Savage and Hoy, Suffolk, England that holds two concertinas with extra room for microphones etc.It's located in Edinburgh and I'm willing to pass it to anyone who can pick it up sometime before June 1.It's a nicely made case though quite heavy. Any small well-crafted artifact would be accepted in exchange, and/or a donation to concertina.net. Beats carrying two cases to a gig and invaluable if you play two at the same time.

Curious. I was playing number 29000 just a few hours ago and I'm about 2536 miles from Frankfort.

Donald, Thanks for sharing your experience. I am curious about the sound once it was assembled. I understand the reeds arrive pretty much in tune. Was any fine tuning needed once everthing was assembled? Dick Dick: Let me preface my answer by saying that my "pitch discrimination" is not as refined as my "whisky discrimination". I have no plans to fine tune my instrument because to my ear, it sounds fine. I should also say that I've given it a once over with my small Korg electronic tuner, When calibrated to A=440 it shows a green light when the reed is in tune. For out of tune reeds you can change the pitch of A to maintain the green light. Using this method, the furthest I have to go from 440 to get a green light is 442 except for one reed: For the low C I have to go to 443. But that said, in my opinion the low C produces a very satisfying sound. So the total divergence amongst the reeds is 440-443. I'm not sure what others would say with these numbers, but for me it'll do. Donald

I thought members might be interested to know that over the course of the last two weeks I've been staying up to the wee hours putting together one of the Clover kits being marketed by Wim and Karen Wakker of the Concertina Connection, and that today I managed to get it into airtight shape and play a few tunes on it. For someone who grew up in a household that didn't own a screw driver and who was psychologically scarred by the dripping sarcasm ladled out by a series of vicious woodwork teachers, this was no small achievement. The process of putting the kit together was very enjoyable thanks to the wonderfully lucid instructions that came with the thousands of fiddly little parts in the box. The manual guides you through the construction sometimes with very precise rules and sometimes with vague generalizations that challenge you to judge when you've done it right (e.g. don't make the lever post too tight or too loose!) That is to say it manages to communicate well what has to be done without treating you like an idiot. Putting the instrument together had its dull moments. At one point while sanding the frame for what seemed like an age, I stopped to complain to my wife that parts of this project were not exactly mentally stimulating. Her response? "Now you understand why the people we know who make musical instruments smoke so much dope." The components are all well made and fit together well. For me, having large hands that I inherited from my farmer-grandfather, getting all the springs and buttons to fit on the action board was a bit of a challenge but persistence paid off. I came close to causing permanent damage on one or two occasions, but never fell over the edge. The most frustrating part was getting the damn bushings to stay inside the buttons. In the process I learned a new word - apparently bushings have to be reamed. So now I'm both a reamer and a skiver. The bellows, like the other components, seem very well made. I'm amazed I managed to glue them on without spilling the pot of glue. The fretwork is very handsome although in a moment of poor judgment a "K" was scrolled into the clover on the ends to show that this is in fact a kit rather than a professionally constructed instrument (In my case there are one or two other indicators) Wim tells me that that the K has been discontinued. Good taste prevails. I've never played an accordion reeded instrument before, and I know it means that the purists out there will ban me from their social register, but I find the sound quite pleasing. Summing up the Pros and Cons: Pros: Nicely made parts that do actually fit together; very well written manual; a good looking instrument that produces very pleasant sounds; an opportunity to commune with the concertina gods over a long period without playing one; immense self satisfaction with having participated in the construction of your own instrument. Cons: it's not an English, which as we all know is the superior instrument. Assessment: Highly Recommended! ( Thanks again Wakkers) Next year I get a sabbatical. I'm now thinking of heading out to the concertina making capitals of the world (Birmingham Alabama, Orkney, Shrewsbury, Siegen, Pretoria and other thriving locales) and offering my services as an apprentice .

Best pirate theme tune ever

I spent some time in Iqaluit a few years ago. My guess is that Mick Mallon, an Irish born northerner with a good story for every occasion might be able to help. His partner Alexina Kublu who I believe is now the language commissioner in Nunavut may also be able to help. A quick Google should get them.

Try this site Concertina Map it shows a few concertina players in your area, in fact there is one in Bellingham. regards Jake This is just what you're looking for

This concertina is now appearing on craigslist in Dallas.Check it here.

Nicely played - as always! It's a terrific tune and is available in print here

Back in 2005 there was another thread involving this very concertina; It can be found here

Wouldn't a model 5E of this vintage be an extended treble rather than a tenor treble?

There are two other instruments with similar numbers currently on ebay. - one in the UK and the other from California. They will be sold before yours. That will give you the clearest idea of the current market value of your instrument.

I remember to this day a concert given by Louis Killen in Cambridge, Mass in 1974. Other incredible musicians were around - I was a big Allan Block fan - but there was something about Louis Killen's concertina that grabbed me. He bears full responsibility for getting me hooked. Sometime a bit later I saw a TV clip of Alastair Anderson at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Rivetting. Then I started to save money to buy as many LP's on the Topic and Trailer labels that I could find. I thought Steel Skies was phenomenal.

That's a bit of an understatement...