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Geoff I have a Lachenal Edeophone, 6 fold, ebony raised ends, 48 treble. SN 55293 It's my main session instrument. Joe

You may try to abandon pinkey rests and put your instrument on your knee, while sitting. Some keep straps very tight, but not stick their appendages far in them (good overall life practice), or, like me, keep them very loose, and flexible. It's not your straps, it's you. You tense and your shoulders are probably high up to your ears, and you try too hard to hold it with your pinkies. Those pinkey rests will not help you. Later, when you develop technique, you may experiment with them, and hold instrument in the air, but unless you are performing onstage and just have to show off your tail suite, there is no reason for it. But if you instist, your thumbs are stressed and tense. Relax them, relax your wrists, arms, flex them alot. And keep those shoulders down. You're not alone. Some think EC is designed by God and need no improvement, some (like me) think it's been simply a practical joke.

Thanks for the site. It works great. It also has a pdf print capability. In a couple of minutes I now have "Ah, Marie" in GD & E.

'Mark Evans' [ Most chairs in the pub fit me very well. I wonder, are the dimensions perfectly suited to my Humpty-Dumpty body shape or are the libations involved moderating my perceptions ?] When the session first started, there were dining chairs, w and w/o arms. Very awkward. Now we have a dozen or more stools, hard on the back sitting for 2 or more hours, but everyone prefers them, even a lot of the customers. They free up a lot of room for the players, and the customers can crowd more at a table. Good for business. Libations is a good relaxer, it 'oils' to the knuckles and numbs the seat. 2 pints is about right for me.

'JimLucas' [ Dunno. Why not briefly borrow a foot rest at the next session and see if it works for you? My own guess is that the effect may depend on the height of your seat. I bought one as a gift for my string son, he didn't like it and gave it back. Now I'll get it out of the box and give it a shot.

At sessions I've noticed that some guitar and madolin players use a foot rest to raise one leg. If you play sitting, with the concertina resting on your right knee, would raising that knee 2-4 inches help? Giving more room for the left arm to swing, easier on the elbow, closer the eyes and ears? Has anyone tried it and have a preference?

Happy Fourth of July! From a stump speech by yet to announce presidential candidate Fred Thompson. "My friends we have entered a new era. We are going to be tested in many ways, possibly under attack and for a long time. It's time to take stock and be honest with ourselves. We're going to have to do a lot of things better. Here's what we need to do and here's why. I know that, now that you're being called upon, you will do whatever is necessary for the sake of our country and for future generations. You always have." Thanks to our Founding Fathers, giving us a Constitution, that enabled us grow and meet challenges to our liberty, and the liberty of those who depend on us. Stay safe in the coming year. Especially disturbing is that '3rd' SUV just blown up in the UK, where there are so many concertina players. The topic title was taken from last year's greetings thread which turned a little sour. I hope this one doesn't.

Not necessary. I've had instruments with gauze (I don't consider it to be "baffling") which appeared to be original. Since the area around the buttons is a solid, roughly rectangular piece, a similar piece is cut from the gauze. I.e., instead of a separate hole for each button, on each end there's one hole surrounding the entire array of buttons. From the outside, you can't see a difference, but the one-hole method is lots easier. It's a solid area on my Aeola but not on my Edeo. It has frets between the holes. It would be a lot easier to do, but then it would not be equal to the original and not be as effective dust 'criter' shield.

Mine arrived yesterday. A good sized piece for £3 which is ample to do my Edeophone. He also very kindly included written instructions on how to fit it. I did a quick check to see if he is a member of this forum but he isnt. When ive tackled it i`ll let you know. David. To me it appears my Edeophone had fine white baffles when made. One baffle was missing, and I tried to make one. Problem I had is making the individual holes for each button. I got some very simular fabric used in quilting. I sent a picture of the original baffle to Gaskins and it maybe on his web site in his article on baffles. I believe the primary reason (Edeos)is to keep out dust and 'criters'. It also looks cool. The fabric is too light weight to affect the sound. On many 20 button Lachenals that I've seen, the baffles are red colored leather , and a rectangle is cut out to accomodate the buttons. This tells me that it dust was not their reason for the baffle, but to 'soften' the sound. Does the instructions you receive go into cutting 24 equally spaced holes ? Joe

this same question was on mudcat a few years ago. the answer was easiest to hardest something like this bodhran autoharp hammered dulcimer whistle melodeon concertina fiddle pipes How about guitar, mandolin, banjo...? I never tried a guitar, but other than the work out keeping up, a few cords gives a good beat to a session. Play outside the circle first!

Yes. During the holidays we always do 'In the Bleak Midwinter'. And the Baritone melody part from one of his marches, 2nd Suite as I remember. Been quite a while.

'Didn't your recent subway bombings scare you.' 'Well, you did something about the V!'s and IRA. Why not do something about the Islam fascists? If you don't care for your life, at least support others, including Blair, to take on that bunch of morons . They are not morons, they are countries, they are killers and they are smart. '