robertovich

As per a previous comment by me, I don't think the air button in the palm bar is a big deal. It works quite well on the Beaumont when gotten used to. The only problem - as brought up by Don Taylor - might come if one were to want to reconfigure the bar in some way or shape. Also of interest is that Dave Barnert reports that his Dickinson Wheatstone has the air button in the bar. Sounds fair enough; so Hawkins and Snope can rest assured that their button-in-bar solution was AOK!

Good points, Don, although I have become used to the in-bar air button on the Beaumont and like it. I took the bar off 2 or 3 times and had no trouble with the air button being in there, but as you say, not so good if you want to customize the bar to your preference. Glad you brought it up.

Agree, 1/8" are too small and my mistake. I meant 1/4" for sure. Thanks for remarking on the error.

Yes, indeed. My mistake. I like my 1/4" buttons. (Side note: after purchasing the Beaumont about 5 years ago, I found i had great finger slipping trouble with the--even moderately-- domed buttons, so I asked the Button Boxs to flatten them--with soft edges--and Judy Hawkins did a very nice job. I love my flat top, 1/4 delrins! It is possible I was applying to much pressure to the domed buttons which may have contributed to the slipping. In any event, all is well now with the flat tops.)

Thanks for the correction. My mistake. I really like the !/4" diameters. 1/8"--YIKES!

Yes, my mistake. !/4" to be sure. Any narrower and they hurt, my fingers at least!

Yes, indeed did mean 1/4". Thanks for the heads up.

I would also like to express my interest in a "successor to the Beaumont" discussion. I have owned a Beaumont Hayden for about 5 years and considered myself--rightly or wrongly--an "advanced intermediate" player (on a good day) or midlin' intermediate on a so-so day! Back when the Beaumont was being developed, I was studying intensely on how to improve on the standard 46, and working with some others like Mike Knudsen (RIP), and Jim Albea, plus a few more. We went over dozens of button board layouts--given the reed type, and box dimensions, etc. So, to Lukasc M. and Ed J, and others interested, I I would put in my two cents worth. Essentially, this amounts to the following which I have concluded would make an excellent box (first row begins with B flat): 1) Hex and 7" across the flats like the Beaumont. 2) 55-57 buttons (including linkages if necessary. 3) This come to (ideally), 26 on LHS with the Ab (3rd. row up), D# (2nd. row up) and C# (4th row up. On RHS the Ab 3rd. row up, the E (5th. row up). The lonely C# below the first row (RHS) is a friendly option which makes it 57 total. 4) Palm bar to be perindicular to the "lap flat") and parallel to the button rows. I have experimented with both slant and parallel bars--I rigged a moveable/adjustable bar on my Stagi to do this before getting the Beaumont. Conclusion: Once used to one or the other, not any significant difference--the hand adjusts. For me, the middle and index fingers alternated a little better between and 1 note and 4 note with the slant bar, and the short pinky finger reaches are significantly better with the parallel bar. Take your pick. 5) delrin buttons at 1/8" diameter with slightly radiused edges and flat tops. Delrin is great but a bit slippery for me if tops are domed. 6) 7 leather bellows, and leather palm strap with thumb cutout on bar. That's it. Comments welcome. :::

I would also like to express my interest in a "successor to the Beaumont" discussion. I have owned a Beaumont Hayden for about 5 years and considered myself--rightly or wrongly--an "advanced intermediate" player (on a good day) or midlin' intermediate on a so-so day! Back when the Beaumont was being developed, I was studying intensely on how to improve on the standard 46, and working with some others like Mike Knudsen (RIP), and Jim Albea, plus a few more. We went over dozens of button board layouts--given the reed type, and box dimensions, etc. So, to Lukasc M. and Ed J, and others interested, I I would put in my two cents worth. Essentially, this amounts to the following which I have concluded would make an excellent box (first row begins with B flat): 1) Hex and 7" across the flats like the Beaumont. 2) 55-57 buttons (including linkages if necessary. 3) This come to (ideally), 26 on LHS with the Ab (3rd. row up), D# (2nd. row up) and C# (4th row up. On RHS the Ab 3rd. row up, the E (5th. row up). The lonely C# below the first row (RHS) is a friendly option which makes it 57 total. 4) Palm bar to be perindicular to the "lap flat") and parallel to the button rows. I have experimented with both slant and parallel bars--I rigged a moveable/adjustable bar on my Stagi to do this before getting the Beaumont. Conclusion: Once used to one or the other, not any significant difference--the hand adjusts. For me, the middle and index fingers alternated a little better between and 1 note and 4 note with the slant bar, and the short pinky finger reaches are significantly better with the parallel bar. Take your pick. 5) delrin buttons at 1/8" diameter with slightly radiused edges and flat tops. Delrin is great but a bit slippery for me if tops are domed. 6) 7 leather bellows, and leather palm strap with thumb cutout on bar. That's it. Comments welcome. ::: Edward Jay's to-be Beaumont successor discussion - Instrument Construction & Repair - Concertina.net Discussion Forums.html Edward Jay's to-be Beaumont successor discussion - Instrument Construction & Repair - Concertina.net Discussion Forums.html

So sorry to learn that Mike Knudsen passed on. We first met in Sunderland at the Button Box in 2008 or 2009 I believe, during one of the Northeast Concertina Workshops (NCW). We became friends and corresponded by e-mail on many occasions. Mike and a few others including myself, helped (we hoped!) Doug Creighton and Judy Hawkins develop the admirable Morse Beaumont Hayden duet. We studied on it rather intensely especially with regard to what we perceived as the probable advantages of palm bars parallel to button rows. This was not looked on favorably by the inventor, Brian Hayden, who preferred button rows slightly slanted to the bars. We also plugged for 1/8" diameter buttons. Both these features, in the opinion of Mike, myself and a few others including Jim Bayliss and Jim Albea, were benefically incorporated into the instrument much to the credit of Doug and Judy. It's a very nice 'tina indeed. Mike truly was multi talented, an innovator, and much else as evidenced by his musical compositions and engineering skills. He was also a very nice person and always wanted to be helpful. It's a big loss that he is gone. Thanks to David Barnert for bringing Mike's sad demise to our attention. I hadn't heard from Mike for quite a while and feared the PD may have got him, which, sadly it had. I and many others will miss you Mike...a good man.

You can perhaps rent a Stagi Hayden from the Buttonbox. I did that, then bought one which I played for about 3 years. It worked OK for me. Since then, bought a Morse (Buttonbox) Beaumont and have become quite attached to it, so I recommend it. Two issues stand out on the Stagis and Beaumonts which you should consider, namely the position of the palm bar relative to the button rows, and the diameter of the buttons. Stagi palm bars are at a small angle to the rows, while the Beaumont bar is parallel to the rows. I prefer the latter but feel that both approaches work when one gets used to them.... Re. the button diameters, the Stagi's are c. 5/16" and the Beaumont's are 1/4". Both work OK and I consider the 1/4" to be the minimum for comfort. Many of the other brands of'tinas out there use c. 3/16" buttons (ouch!). My Beaumont came with somewhat domed button tops and since this caused my fingers to slip under some conditions (like dry, cool, hands), I had them flatten the tops a bit and find this much preferable. Hope these tips are helpful.