Peter Smith

I have a larger Crane and enjoy playing hymns on that. It works OK directly from the music but sometimes the base can overpower the tune. My Crane (67 button) goes down to the E flat 1.5 octaves below middle C, so can pick up all the lower base lines. Alternatively the low base notes can be raised an octave which also works satisfactorily. Hope you find a good instrument - whether Crane or Hayden. Regards Peter

This was my first Crane concertina which I purchased a number of years ago. It came from Chris Algar and Dave Elliott did some work on it a few years ago. He pointed out the stamp on the reed bed which says Crabb & Son ???????? London. Dave Elliott thought it was likely made by Crabb though the button layout is Butterworth. The concertina has riveted arms which appear to be made from aluminium. (A couple have also been replaced with Wheatstone & Lachenal arms!). So the concertina has also been refurbished in the past, maybe significantly. It makes me wonder if Crabb carried out the refurbishment & stamped the reed bed to signify this. Maybe the ends have been re-made. Interestingly, the concertina is held together by wood screws & not bolts. There is also no serial number stamped anywhere on the concertina. Any thoughts or suggestions or if anyone has a concertina with a similar fretwork pattern, I would be very interested to know. Regards Peter

Just sent a PM. Will phone later if I don't hear from you. Peter

I too would be interested in any miniature or semi-miniature duets or Anglos that you might be parting with. Waiting with anticipation. regards Peter

Thanks for everyone's comments. I appreciate we live in the world of capitalism where people are keen to make a quick profit. Perhaps I am a bit idealistic in hoping people would want to preserve the concertina heritage we have. I am not a MacCann player so did not want to purchase the concertina. My main issue with the sale I mentioned above was that there appears to be no 'added value' between the purchase & sale (no re-valving, re-padding, etc) - just pure profit on a rare concertina. But maybe that's life!! The concertina appears to have been sold now. Happy Christmas!!

There is what looks like a 62 button tenor or base MacCann concertina for sale on the UK EBay site for £1760. This same concertina was sold at auction on 12th December this year for £440 + commission (usually around 30%). It would appear that nothing has been done to it apart from maybe a polish. This appears to be pure profiteering with no real interest in concertinas (though I could be wrong) and annoys me a lot. It happens from time to time with concertinas I have seen at auction but I guess there is nothing we can do about it - apart from winning the item at auction! Peter

I would agree with Wolf. I started on the Anglo & am now learning the Duet. Its a very different sound and suits music different to the Anglo. Easy tunes on the Anglo or not easy on the Duet & vice versa (for me at anyrate!!). Barleycorn have a Crane Duet - now going for £475 - which could be a way to try out a Duet system. Regards Peter

I was looking through some old papers and came across the details of this Crabb Victor Duet' (No 14060). I unsuccessfully bid for it in 2014 on eBay (as the highest bidder but one!). I am still interested in it an as unusual and unique duet. Does anyone know of its whereabouts and whether it might be for sale? Thanks Peter

The concertina was retuned a couple of months before I bought it by Nigel Sture. He seemed to recall that the reed frames were aluminium. Peter

I’ve not opened it up yet to check, so don’t know. Peter

The 67 button is 9 1/4 inches across the flats - so quite a bit bigger. Still feels like a concertina even thought its big - & its not too heavy either. Peter

Thanks for your comments. I agree with the bias towards flats and would have expected the F#2 to be there. Regarding the change to the 67 button, I love the lower notes - great sound. My 35 button has the Lachnal layout, so it’s taking a bit of adjusting to the more angular Crabb layout but I’m getting there. Really pleased with this 67 button.

The range of the 67 button concertina is E-2 to G2. See attached Excel file. For pictures, see the end of the post entitled '48 button Wheatstone Crane for sale'. Regards Peter 67 Button Crane layout (No. 18238).xlsx

Will do in the next week. Currently on holiday!!

Much to my surprise, a good 67 button Crabb Crane concertina with ebonised ends turned up out of the blue. So I am now the proud owner of this concertina. Many thanks to all those who have put up posts and made suggestions. Peter