fred v

When you played the tune I could not hear the high notes at all. I hope it is my computer speaker not my ears.

I try to start learning a new tune every week. That way I have a new tune up to speed every week but it takes awhile to get there. Practice every day even if just for 30 minutes. Practice scales every day. Segovia said "The serious student of the guitar will spend his first 8 hours of daily practice working on scales". That, my friend is what "the gift of music" means.

I have bought several instruments from Barleycorn and have been pleased with him. There should be no import duties shipping to the USA. Shipping to the UK is a horrible task. You might consider a 3 row Anglo. It will open you up to playing in more keys. Good luck.

The bellows should not be extended like you see in cartoons with clowns playing them. Work the bellows when playing to gibe bounce and phrasing to your music. Try opening the bellows half way and rotate your wrists so as to flex the folds of the bellows. This will loosen them up. Do this for 5 minutes before playing each day.

I have quieted a barking reed by stiffening the valve.

The program is called "Clip Grab". Sorry for the misinformation.

Another good one is "Grab It". This free program takes a youtube url and puts out an MP3 audio of the sound track. The sound is much better if plugged into Ausacity and slowed down than using the youtube slow down.

It is a salvation Army instrument and it really is wonderful to play. I've had 3 other Wheatstons but this on shines above the others. The 36 keys are all I need for ITM.

One comment on reeds. I have a model 21 from 1922 and a 1933 36 key. The '33 instrument has reeds stamped F# but tuned to G. This is for all reeds so Wheatstone took the larger/lower pitch reeds and tuned them up a half step. The result of this is that the reeds sound with less air pressure and will play louder when pushed so the dynamic range is quite amazing. I can definitely tell a difference between the two instruments.

Does weight affect playing due to the mass that has to change directions often? I play the EC and I reverse the bellows as much as an Anglo player. When I removed 24 reeds from mine the difference was noticeable. Snapping the free end back and forth was much easier and less tiring after playing non stop at a session for 2.5 hours.

I have always heard from tine dealers that the metal ended ones have a brighter sound than wood ended ones. I've owned both and I agree.

Thanks for this wonderful discussion. I have noticed that with too little spring pressure that my finger might hit against a button and make a sound not wanted (actually horrible). I too had the problem of dented fingers from mashing the buttons. The lower buttons has totally eliminated the mashing problem and my touch is very much lighter. Maybe that is what I mean by shorter stroke being faster.

I am moving this from another thread as it needs it's own thread. I would like to hear some comments about how high do the pads have to go to get a clear tone. When I made my button covers I played every note and looked at how much stroke was needed. I found that most notes had about double the needed stroke. That is a huge waste of motion for fast playing. I spent quite some time bending levers to get the action all at the same height; then made my plates to the thickness that allowed just enough stroke to sound right. My buttons stick up about .12" above the plate. It looks like Alex did similar with the Muller instruments.

I would like to hear some comments about how high do the pads have to go to get a clear tone. When I made my button covers I played every note and looked at how much stroke was needed. I found that most notes had about double the needed stroke. That is a huge waste of motion for fast playing. I spent quite some time bending levers to get the action all at the same height; then made my plates to the thickness that allowed just enough stroke to sound right. My buttons stick up about .12" above the plate. It looks like Alex did similar with the Muller instruments.

I had studied the Muller idea which Holden built for him. The big deal with the buttons being that they don't stick up as high as is normal. This makes the button, when pushed, go down flush to the end plate. I accomplished the same thing by making 1/8" thick plates that fit over the button grouping. The feel of the buttons is now amazing!! I can slide my fingers up a fifth much easier and also cross finger easier. I am just starting on the Muller journey and still use the original wrist straps and thumb/pinky rests. I'm very happy with this setup and may never go further. I have two Wheatstone EC's set up now. As you can see I also removed the buttons and reeds that I don't use for ITM which lightened the instrument noticeably.

At sessions they ask me to play an A note fro the fiddles. I like playing an A flat and watch everybody stop and look at their instrument and bow it again. LOL

Can't give you a value but they were beginner instruments and not worth a whole lot today. Here is some history: https://www.scatesconcertinas.com/pdf/ROCK CHIDLEY Concertina Maker.pdf https://www.concertinamuseum.com/SiteS4d.htm

Yes, that one is a hand full. come back to it later. Practice your scales every day to get your fingers moving.

To add to your comment about playing a not a 5th above I use my index finger on the D note and my2nd finger above it to hit the A note. Same thing on the left hand with the E and B buttons. This comes up very often with ITM and is a good trick to learn. I use wrist straps and don't change my hand position. I've gotten used to moving my fingers to wherever they are needed. Takes time to get used to it all.

It takes time to get used to the fingering and thumb straps. You might like to read this: https://www.concertinajournal.org/articles/no-thumb-straps-no-finger-rests-but-it-is-an-english-a-personal-journey/ I have found in 30 years of playing ITM only one tune that used the high c3 note so there are 12 buttons that never get used. Several more if I count the flat low notes. It's a journey and I hope you enjoy it.

I'm going to guess that it would fall off with the vibration. That magnet card stuff is so weak.

I made 2 little bars with slots across them so I could bend the levers. I adjust the height of all the buttons to make them equal height. Makes a big difference. also adjust the felt washers on the bottom pin to make the buttons all push down the same. Lastly adjust the springs to have the same weight of push.

My biggest problem is hearing players name the tune they are going to play. Most times it doesn't matter as I pick it up as soon as it starts but sometimes hearing the name makes the tune come to my head.

Hearing aids are not like glasses that give you 20/20 vision. Hearing aids better now but far from perfect. I have some new aids from America Hears (Lucid made). They come with patch cords and a program for the computer to adjust them. There is a learning curve to go through and company contact is difficult. At $1700.00 they are a good buy and I am making progress with them. Mine have 4 programs and I'm still using the "noisy" setting for noisy sessions. It does knock the background noise lower.