Aldon Sanders

Well because of this thread I've now got 3 more ebooks: McTeague, and two Charles DeLint books. I am now $14 poorer but looking forward to reading them. (I'm on chapter 4 of McTeague). Thanks for all of the references folks! Aldon

It's not available in the USA either. Unfortunate indeed.

Wow! Totally enjoyed that. Thanks for posting it.

I got things sorted out. The rubberband is a good trick that works. Also I used the small screwdriver from my Victorinox Hercules and the screws twisted right out. I still want to replace them with higher quality screws at some point. The spring for the sticking button had been knocked away from the lever and was torquing the button at a funny angle. Pushing the spring back toward its lever fixed the problem. Thanks for the help! Aldon

Hello, I found that the large and small Phillips srewdrivers on my Swiss Army Victorinox Hercules model fit the screwheads of my Elise and Jackie perfectly. (In fact better than any of the other screwdrivers I've tried.) The small Phillips is a precise fit for the two small screws holding the reed pan to the action and the large Phillips grabs and holds the outer screwheads that hold the ends to the bellows like it was specially made for them. Just thought I'd share this information here in this old thread to bump it and because I had a horrible time finding this thread through C.nets search function and believe there's good advice in it others might benefit from. Aldon

Thank you for the tips Don! I'll give it a shot tomorrow. Aldon

Hello, One of the buttons on my new Elise is sticking. I took the end off of the concertina and located the 2 screws that hold the reed pan and action together. To my surprise both screwheads were stripped - just round divots where the screwdriver slots should be. Is there any way to get them out without causing harm to the instrument or is this a job for a professional? Also what type of screws do you recommend I use as replacements? I really don't want to have to send the concertina across the country to get it fixed (purchased from Liberty Bellows in Pennsylvania). Thank you for any help! Aldon

Mr. Wakker did offer a trade-up discount for this particular instrument, which I accepted (2 days ago!). I thought the offer was very fair and appreciate that my odd situation was taken into account. I should have a new Busker in about 2 months from now. Again, my situation had some very specific circumstances and Mr. Wakker would have been in the right to not accept it as a trade-in, but he did and that reflects well on both him and his company!

I tend to think of the repeated notes as 'drones' (like bagpipes) and accent (push or pull harder) on the melodic, moving notes. Maybe that will help.

Thank you David. I used the thank you button on your reply but wanted to say it with words here. I went ahead and put in an order and a $200 downpayment with Concertina Connection for the Busker. They put me on the list. The lead time is six weeks so I should have it by my birthday in June! I'll post my thoughts on it after I've had some time playing it.

I'm seriously considering buying a Busker to be my travel/take anywhere instrument because my 64 button Wheatstone TT (with amboyna ends!) is so dear to me and also irreplaceable. It is only played at home & church. I've found I actually like the sound of CC's hybrid instruments. I've played (and have) the 30 button EC and an Elise. I guess I just need some positive re-enforcement to take the final plunge! I'd like to hear from anyone who's played or owns the Busker model EC from Concertina Connection. Please tell me what you like or don't like about the Busker and if you think it's durable enough to be a go-anywhere instrument. Thank you! Aldon

That's really nice. It seems as if the tune were custom-made for the duet! How much adapting did you have to do to make the arrangement work on the Elise duet? Is this straight off of the dots? I love listening to the videos you post. Thank you!

Very cool. I've been looking at harmoniums online and would like to have one some day. I still need to learn more about which brands are the better made instruments. The pictures of the shirtless builders reminds me of growing up in Hawaii. My mom had two rules for the dinner table (in order to keep her kids civilized): 1) No eating at the dinner table without a shirt, and 2) No singing while eating! The photo of the tabla maker working while talking on his cell phone is an interesting juxtaposition of age-old skills and modern life. Thanks for posting this!

Sweet. Lovely chords.

Wow! That grooves hard! Loved it.

Welcome Gregory! Of course you already know that this site is populated by beginners, amateurs and pros, and is a fountain of knowledge! I played a Stagi English concertina for qute a few years before I came across my 64 button Wheatstone and never looked back. The Stagi served me well! Once you can play music on a Stagi, any of the finer instruments you play will be an absolute breeze! My advice to my students (guitar, ukulele & flute - not concertina, though it applies) was that you never get better by not playing. Seems like you're already on the right path. Looking forward to your future threads! Aldon

I emailed CC last night and had this response waiting in my inbox this morning: ________________ Hi Aldon, Back in 2002 we produced a few experimental models before settling on the current layout. You have a very early model... Regards, William Concertina Connection Inc. Wakker Concertinas ____________ Mystery solved. I'm glad it's not a fake. In a couple years it will be a 'rare early vintage classic'! Thanks to all for your input.

I've seen these before, for auction online, and always wondered if they were played like the harmonium - with the keyboard across the lap (like Olivia is playing), or with the keyboard upright like accordion and melodeon. Any scholars here have an explanation?

No there are A flat buttons where you'd expect them to be and a G sharps in their expected location. This happens in the middle & high octaves - not the low octave. Aldon

C.net won't let me upload the lefthand side, but it's different too.

I'll try to post some pictures. The button layout is different. Here's the righthand side:

So everything I saw on the web said the range goes from G below middle C to the c 2 octaves above middle C. I bought a used Jackie thinking that range would be fine for what I am playing. The used Jackie arrived today & needs the middle Bb reeds tweaked which I'll do tonight or tomorrow. The thing that puzzles me is that even though I have 30 buttons the range is smaller than what all the charts on the web show. It only goes from G below middle C to the A above the staff. I also noticed that there are both Ab & G# keys in the 2 higher octaves. Did the design change at some point? Can anyone shed light on why the note layout is different on mine? Thank you, Aldon Sanders

(FYI) The link didn't work.

Just found and am reviving this oldish thread to say thank you to Peter Dunk for doing this! I'm going to download the pdfs (couldn't get abc to work on my phone) and give them a go. Good stuff here!

Wow, that was fun! I love the dramatic pauses! Your playing is inspiring. Aldon