robert stewart
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Posts posted by robert stewart
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Here's a question for the wood experts: is "thuya" or thuja, as in the Lachenal listing, the same as Lignum Vitae?
I worked on tuning a set of uilleann pipes made from Lignum Vitae some years ago...a very hard aromatic wood that cracked easily
as it was curing...but was good thereafter.
thank you, RJ
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Hmmm. A number of Music Hall/Variety or possibly Arthur Askey style verses might be cautiously composed on the theme:
"I once dated a concertina but she wouldn't let me squeeze her...
Robert
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This may be an obvious thought that you have considered already. Do you have a ceiling fan or other kind of fan running when you play and notice the vibrato/tremulo? That frequently causes a tremulo effect for concertinas. Which is not there, of course, when any fans are off.
best wishes, Robert
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Zoom has caused many concerns about hacking, spying, infiltration, etc. I recently used Go To Meeting for a group class,
and that successfully broadcast a lady singing live, which everyone said was good quality.
Good thing that a concertina cannot be hacked, only a computer
good luck! Robert
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Should this short thread be amalgamated with the substantial thread on dating Lachenal's? That seems to be where it belongs.
Perhaps a moderator could do this?
best wishes, Robert
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Thank you Dowright! You also dated the year of my Edeophone English, a couple of months ago. I appreciate the help and expertise.
Robert
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mea culpa, mistaking 2 for 6 in a serial number!. What year or approx year might an Edeophone duet with number 2880 have been made?
Robert. (current confirming his birthday date in case he got that wrong )
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Many thanks for answering. Curious indeed: the number stamped on the metal scrollwork shows as 6880, and it appears again as 6880
inside the instrument. I wonder if this could be 688, in fact? I could not see a 4 anywhere.
I just sent it off to Greg Jowaisas for some repair and restoration, so I cannot take any close up pics. In the attached picture
you can just see the Number at the top of the scrollwork. Maybe some refined tech could sharpen it up...but I do not have the means to do this.
But thank you again for the information and advice...very helpful...and mystifying. Robert
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Still hoping that Dowright can help with his expertise. Third try lucky? I recently bought a large metal ended Lachenal
Edeophone Maccann duet system, with 9-fold bellows, 61 keys, but really 59 notes, as there is a duck quack and a whistle, so essential back
in the day for variety entertainers.
The serial number is 6880. While it is being restored, I am wondering what date it might have
been made?
best wishes, Robert
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On 3/28/2020 at 10:03 AM, robert stewart said:
I recently bought a 61 key Edeophone with metal ends, presumably a Duet. waiting for it to arrive next week.
Would the serial number 2880 be correct for this?
Many thanks, Robert
Lachenal Edeophone, Maccann Duet, 61 keys, metal ends set in wooden frame with ebony veneers. number 2880 confirmed.
What year might this be?
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I recently bought a 61 key Edeophone with metal ends, presumably a Duet. waiting for it to arrive next week.
Would the serial number 2880 be correct for this?
Many thanks, Robert
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Hmm....as a Scottish musician, I might surmise that he was an English comedian?
But no...he was indeed English, as discussed on this forum (died 1953, came from Yorkshire) but he was also a skilled concertina player. So the next challenge
is to discover how to play bagpipes that look like a mockery of a concertina?
Robert
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Good to know that I am not a crazy paranoid musician...at least, I think that I'm not...perhaps.
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Is this a scam? It has appeared on Ebay (USA) with the typical "only selling via Buy it Now* text.
Also...the description and pics look familiar, as they seem to appear from time to time?
Or am I just jaded and suspicious ?
Robert
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It might be helpful to post some pictures. Then the experts here can give you more information.
RJ
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16 hours ago, Moll Peatly said:
It could be worse:
(I figured a good way to make myself welcome on a concertina forum is to slag off bagpipe players...)
So I would guess from your name that you Play early English dance music, usually at a Ford?
Great quote! Thank you.
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As I posted the original question, with a link to "Humidipaks" (which I did not invent, and do not promote, though I am trying them out with my instruments), I would like to add a couple of further thoughts. Firstly, as I come from Scotland and lived for years in England (for shame), I can confirm that the climate is just as damp as it probably was in the heyday of concertina making. So at least 50% humidity would be normal for much of the year, though less indoors with heating. As heating in the 19th and early 20th was mainly by coal fires and stoves (dry) or gas (very moist), the concertina must be tolerant instrument. Here in West Virginia there are quite staggering daily variations in humidity, until summer when it is extremely high, or the dead of winter which is deadly dry.
The 40-45% up/down action of these strange goopy breathy gel packs keeps the humidity from dropping low enough in the case to cause damage to a musical instrument. It helps, in other words, when they are inside a case with the lid shut, to keep a workable minimum for protection. As soon as the concertina is out and standing or playing, the instrument is breathing the ambient humidity or lack of it. The worst thing would probably be to have a concertina, in a case for a period of time, where the humidity was locked in and could not reduce. Rust, mould, rot. But if we practice every day.....
best wishes, RJ
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Does anyone have experience using humidification gel packs for keeping a concertina stable? They are usually used
for other wooden instruments (which also have, of course, metal parts). Typical example here:
https://www.daddario.com/products/accessories/humidification/automatic-humidipak/
What is interesting with these is that they are supposedly to keep a stable humidity of 40-45% inside a case. If humidity is high
they draw it in. If low, they emit some humidity. Here in the northern panhandle of West Virginia humidity rises high, then suddenly drops low,
often within a very short time. Depends on....everything.
Robert
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Thank you Geoff for sharing your story. I was thinking of the theory that the left brain works the right side, and the right brain the left side, therefore the nerves, fingers, etc. There are quite a few items on this subject on the web that show up in a search. To be honest I have no idea if the theory is correct, but it is widely used in various ways. Whatever it was, and however it worked, I am glad to hear that the EC helped you, just as it helped me. I much prefer playing the concertina to doing rehabilitation exercises!
best wishes, RJ
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Thinking of the concertina as a therapeutic assist. About 20 years ago I absorbed some mercury that had crept into an outdoor hot tub in a heavy rainstorm.
The result was blinding headaches, loss of mobility, and so forth. As I began to recover, I found that reading street signs was erratic...they would read (to me)
nothing like what they actually said. There were other bizarre symptoms....but you get the idea.
However, I renewed my love for the English Concertina, which works with right and left hands in rapid alternation, and therefore stimulates left and right brain.
After a couple of months of daily practice (not having played for some years), most road signs read correctly for me, my speech improved, and my concertina playing really benefited.
Hooray for Sir Charles and Louis!
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Just out of interest, does anyone know who really has that Lachenal "stretch" tenor-treble, with the Wheatstone straps?
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I sent an Ebay message to the (supposed) seller of this item and of the uilleann pipes. The instruments do not appear in his/her listings when you go direct to them,
only as the scam items. Maybe the seller can have the fake items taken down.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/WHEATSTONE-LACHENAL-ENGLISH-CONCERTINA/312868472811?hash=item48d86a07eb:g:T9IAAOSwYjRd4p8r
Is this a scam? An interesting tenor-treble, with a stretch shape. the seller seems to be accepting bids, but when you look at the full details, says "only accepting Buy It Now".
The same seller has a set of uilleann pipes for sale...and surprise! the details are almost identical, with the same "only accepting BIN"
even though the auction seems to be accepting bids (which would cancel out Buy It Now).
Or am I paranoid?
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3 hours ago, Dowright said:
Robert
No 42951 WAS MADE CIRCA 1904. MY GUESS IS THAT IT HAS 56 KEYS, BASED ON YOUR USE OF "EXTENDED TREBLE." PLEASE COFIRM.
Thank you so much for the information! Yes, it has 56 keys. So 115 years (approx) old, and still playing.
I can post some pics if anyone wants to to see the instrument. Just had the action overhauled and everything tuned by Concertina Connection which made a tremendous difference to the response and, interestingly, to both volume and tone quality. Should be good for another 100 years plus...still playing after I have departed.
best wishes, Robert
Lachenal "Presentation" English concertina
in Buy & Sell
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There is surely a story here..."E Lachenal" and her warehouse...so she was a member of the family, and presumably it was the Lachenal warehouse? Then there is Rt (presumably Robert?) Carter of "E Division"...is that military or police? (on a dark and stormy night, international concertina thieves climb the roof of the Lachenal warehouse, then rappel down to kick through a high window. They are seeking high end concertinas to bury in a time capsule, and then wait for the prices to rise. But they reckoned without trusty Robert Carter, a concertina lover, and unrequited admirer of Ms Lachenal.