malcolm clapp
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Posts posted by malcolm clapp
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The position of the number would indicate Wheatstone to me. Unfortunately, the number falls into the period when the sales ledgers no longer exist (or haven't yet been discovered???)
I've not seen a Jones English with such a high number. Not saying they didn't; just that I've never seen one.
One interesting(?) feature is that the valve pins seem a long way back towards the fixed end of (most of) the valves. Or are the valves just longer or further forward than usual?
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Whilst not suggesting, Halifax, that your original post isn't food for thought, I can't imagine quite how dropping a concertina might result in a cracked reed
A cracked reedpan maybe, but surely not a cracked reed.
Or am I missing something here?
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There is no easy way to capture a Soundcloud stream for future listening - it can be done but it involves capturing the live stream.
Don.Never had a problem downloading content with the (free) SoundCloud Downloader add-on under Firefox. The only drawback is that it is only available as 128kb .mp3
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The radio, John? Is that what we used to call the wireless?
And don't forget the somewhat elitist Third Programme. In our house, Dad hated it: Mum loved it! Can't recall much of the content, but I remember the
rowsdisagreements
Ah, nostalgia indeed.....
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Mr B may have been a typo. Mr H (Hemmings) is much more likely as the description is obviously of the Abingdon Morris, though un-named.
See http://atmd.org.uk/the-mayor-of-ock-street/
Also http://www.aaahs.org.uk/files/Morris.pdf
and many related pages.
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Pity you were not there last weekend :-)
Well, not exactly Sydney, but around 400 kms southwest at a folk festival in a little place called Numeralla in the Snowy Mountain region. Some nice sessions with three or four anglo players present at the "quiet" campsite, and a few others up with the noisy crowd at the top camp.
Enjoy your trip, Stephen.
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What's in a name? Did I not read somewhere that early Wheatstone anglos were described as "Anglo Duets" or something similar in the ledgers? And the Crane/Triumph was once described as an "English Duet".
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Think I'll call mine a Lachenal Palindrome on account of its number, though I'm sure there are many other examples around. First I've come across though....
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I've been working on an identical model recently, no.25152. Luckily, the ends on mine are not as badly cracked, despite a slight concave to both ends.
Quote: "...and while the inimitable model looks most similar to this, I cant seem to find anything exactly identical....Any ideas what this is per se?"
I was under the impression that the rosewood "Inimitable" model had less fretting than both yours and mine; the fretwork is more akin to that found on the ebony ended "Excelsior" model, so I'm as mystified as you regarding the model name (if any). "Inimitable with Excelsior-style fretting", or perhaps "rosewood ended Excelsior" might be suitable descriptions...or not! I'm not sure what features other than the fretwork and the finish distinguished these models apart; old Lachenal price lists seem to specify little else.
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A simple and inexpensive job from any competent repairer, and I can't see how this would compromise the historic value of this concertina in any way.
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Off topic, but if you want to give your thumbs a good workout, try removing an overly tight-fitting reed pan from a bellows frame....
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Can't see how it would work on an English though, Wolf
Unless maybe the Lachenal in one hand and the Wheatstone in the other.....
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I believe that this "modification" may have had a circus/music hall origin.
By dangling a concertina in a vertical position from the hand/wrist and producing sufficient bellows movement by shaking the instrument very quickly up and down to produce sufficient airflow for some vibrato effect playing. The shortened bellows would be ideal for this, as would the duet keyboard. I'm sure I've seen photos of clowns using this technique.
As an experiment yesterday, I fitted 2 large rubber bands to my Wheatstone 48 Crane to restrict bellows movement (no way was I going to cut the bellows up, though some might unkindly suggest that I should...) and managed to play a couple of simple slow tunes quite effectively. I also tried it without restricting the bellows movement, but didn't have sufficient control and consistently ran out of air.
(I don't think I'd want to make a career out of it, but a good party trick.... )
Could there be another one of these, consisting perhaps of the other (left hand) end and modified identically? So one in each hand? Alternatively, the other hand may have played a simple piano accompaniment, or perhaps held some other instrument that could be played one handed (a bugle? 3 holed pipe? snare drum?)
(Of course, I could be completely wrong, but few other suggestions have been forthcoming....)
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While I agree with most of what has already been said, I would add that I have found Sandylaneman to be reliable, prompt with both communication and delivery, and most helpful.
He would appear to make more than just one grade of bellows, and understands the needs of players of particular types of concertina and styles of music. The price mentioned in his eBay ad is for his standard bellows though; so be prepared to pay a little more for a better build and "extras" (extra folds, papers, gold tooling plus fitting to bellows frames), which is not at all unreasonable imho, and still seems better value than some other sources.
My recommendation would be to contact him direct if possible, or via eBay message, to discuss exactly your needs, rather than just hitting the eBay sold button and expecting to pay the base price.
(My only criticism of the man is that he can't spell Maccann, probably in common with 90% of the subscribers to this site, so I won't hold that against him!
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.... so goodness knows what key the instrument started life in.
Mike
Assuming that the handrest has not been replaced at some time, which would seem fairly unlikely, and none of the existing reeds therefore appear to be native to this instrument, then the original keys could have been anything.
My guess would be either C/G or Bb/F, being the two most commonly found configurations of 20 key Lachenals.
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The right hand rest is clearly stamped "Steel Reeds". However, the reeds in the photo appear to be brass.
Q <but the reeds don't look to be tuned to within an inch of their lives>
It doesn't take much filing to drastically change the pitch of brass reeds....
A mystery for sure....
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It has been suggested that a silent high E on the G row may be treated as a feature rather than a problem, rumoured to be especially built into some concertinas, designed to trigger when the instrument senses that crossing onto the D row for higher notes in the G scale is a technique not being sufficiently utilized.
It is sometimes known as the "light-bulb note" to those players to whom crossing the rows is a mystery yet to be mastered, especially those lacking dexterity in their R/H little finger.
Food for thought, perhaps, though just a tad tongue in cheek....
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Just remembered an earlier post concerning a 30 key version of the 2 row mentioned in the original post, number 10473 and dated as 1949.
http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=19576&hl=%2Bgeoffrey+%2Bcrabb
It would appear that my earlier assessment was incorrect, and 1949 is most likely the build date for this eBay offering. (Sold incidentally for US$435)
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I own # 18658 (with original receipt and copious correspondence), built in 1987, and apparently one of the last in which Geoffrey and Neville Crabb both had a hand in its manufacture. (Geoffrey left the business later that year, and, sadly, Neville passed away soon after.)
This seems at odds with the number on the English you once owned, John....In fact, I don't think they got up into the19xxxx numbers.
Edited to add:
It would be nice to hear from Geoffrey Crabb, who hasn't posted here for a while; I understand that he has been somewhat unwell. Without wishing to compromise his privacy, can anyone update us on his progress? I'm sure that many of us here would be interested and keen to know of his situation.
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The obvious answer is Steve Dickinson, http://www.wheatstone.co.uk/index.php
However, as you are in the US, perhaps repairer Greg Jowaisas in Kentucky can help; he may have some spares available.
Not sure if there is anyone closer to CA.....
Good luck
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Well, mine is numbered 10095, which Geoffrey Crabb dated as 1947, so the one on eBay (10434) would be a little later,
probably well into the 1950s or even the 1960s, as I understand that overall production was fairly low during this period.(Edited to reflect my later post; it looks like 1949 would be the likely build date).
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Well there's no info on the pitch, so imagine it turns out it's in Ab/Eb at a-452Hz - perhaps not such a wonderful bargain?
An Ab/Eb could be the makings of a good G/D.... (sacrilege, I hear you scream!)
The seller has added a comment correcting the button count.
I think we might see some furious last minute bidding on this one....
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I have an identical model to this one, though mine somewhat modified by the later addition of bushed metal buttons. Definitely a product of the Crabb family, made at a time when the concertina business was in fairly dire straits according to Geoffrey Crabb, so a few corners cut in the name of economy. Decent conventional concertina reeds and a riveted action, though let down a little by the painted ends and coach screws for end bolts, but a reasonable imstrument for all that, and far and away better than a Hohner, and plays better than an equivalent Lachenal imho.
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I'd be interested in a chip that prevented lost melodeons from being recovered...
Unkind... but funny
Who Made These Reedpans
in Concertina History
Posted · Edited by malcolm clapp
Hmmm. Didn't think of that.... Any sign of other holes or remains of pins in the chamber walls, Ken?