oldchief
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Posts posted by oldchief
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The glue pot will work on US 125vac with a step-up transformer, probably available on Amazon.
Today many people are wiring diy shops in the US to 125-230 vac to run power tools more efficiently.
Jim/Oldchief
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Heres an example of the Lakeman style on the Crane.
I like it and was a little surprised to hear an old County favorite sung in the UK.
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😁To answer my own question...
https://www.directtextbook.com/isbn/9781953208040
Available in several places, mine is on order.
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Unfortunately, the Red Cow website shows out of stock (already).
Any other vendors I wonder?
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I blame Walt Disney to some extent for the popular sailor/concertina connection.
I know I may have been affected (infected?😁) to a small extent by the leading man sort of playing one in one of the Jules Vern remakes Disney did in the '50s.
I think the word 'shanty' has come to apply to most sea music, much as the term 'classic' now applies to most automobiles more than a few years old. The language seems to morph and I suppose it always has.
The instrument (any flavor, duet, anglo or english) seems to suit the sea music genre, it depends on the player not the instrument to interpret it.
Its all good.
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My Jefferies anglo was my companion aboard several ships I worked on for many years.
I haven't flown commercially a lot since retirement in 2007 but prior to that had crew changes pretty much worldwide. There was never any problem traveling with any concertina.
The closest thing to any excitement was arrival at the New Orleans airport from overseas and a TSA agent opening the concertina case and loudly proclaiming: "Wow!. Thats a Jeffries concertina!".
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Maybe these links will help... (I like the first version in A)
https://thesession.org/tunes/13158
and...
Have fun. Its great to see you're enjoying the Morse.
Jim
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Alex, pictures of your end use of the LV would be interesting.
My limited and non-concertina experience with Lignum Vitae has been that it is a difficult wood to use. My samples were sections of shaft bearing material from large trawlers, very hard on tooling.
oldchief/Jim Richardson
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This young lady seems to have overcome the 20 button 'limitations'.
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The C/G Morse is sold and donation has been made to the site. Thanks.
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Does this 20B appear to be an authentic C. Jeffries 20 button concertina?
I understand in the past some sellers have enhanced value of their concertinas by applying the Jeffries stamping. The font of the stamping seems to be consistent with pictures of other pre- Praed St. Jeffries.
The fretwork seems a little coarse but the bellows embossing looks good.
What do you think?
I guess the price is a tad optimistic. 🤑
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144547819665?hash=item21a7b8b091:g:w9kAAOSwtzdhTjYU
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The Ceili is a Jeffries layout. Sorry I neglected to include that information.
It also comes with a Morse-supplied hard case and the original papers.
Jim
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Build date of the concertina is April, 2012, and its barely played in, it came from a friend's estate a year or so ago. Its everything a Morse should be. The reason I'm moving it on is that I am more attracted to vintage boxes(And I may be more of a collector than a serious player).
I would trade this concertina for a Maccann duet concertina. An upscale (not a tutor) 65 key Wheatstone or Lachenal would be ideal. I wouldn't mind if it was in old pitch.
Shipping and insurance costs will be the buyer's responsibility.
I'd prefer contact by PM to exchange email or phone numbers.
Since I'm a bit of a Luddite I have no idea how to post a sound file.
Oldchief/ Jim Richardson
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Heres a link to one discussion here...
General consensus seems to be they weren't all that popular.
Stan Hugill has written they were not seen and he was there.
I'll have to admit to carrying my Jefferies anglo on the bulker I sailed on for years, many times around the world taking surplus US surplus grain to an assortment of third world countries.
I don't think I was the only one to do this.
Walt Disney may have contributed to the sea-going concertina popularity.
I would chase down the Dan Worrall book if I were you.
Have fun.
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I have a two cassette set of Viva Voce tapes on Coleman's recordings from the 20s. Unfortunately there are no sleeve notes. Has anyone got one they could photocopy for me? I have been on Alan Ng's Irish Tune info site but the listing is from a CD set and the tunes are not in the same order and there seem to be more on the CDs. Any information welcome
Thanks
Mike
Good morning, Michael-
I have a copy of the notes you are looking for. They are by Harry Bradshaw.
They are in a 5x7 inch format and run to nearly a hundred pages.
I have no way to scan or to copy them.
If you do, I'd be willing to send them to you to copy and return.
I guess the downside of the plan is I am located in the US, so there would be some time lag and some expense but I'm willing if you are.
My email is jdouglasrichardson@yahoo.com
Regards
Jim Richardson
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Took my Ceili to the local slow session (Charlotte Tavern, Rochester, NY) last night in order to get some group playing experience under my belt prior to the NECW. I'd been practicing The Swalllowtail alone in my room for hours, and I had it closed to nailed cold even at dancing pace.
But as soon as we began playing it at the session, the fingering flew out of my head. I just got lost while hearing the other instruments, and could only manage brief passages of a piece I'd drilled for a week and a half. Same with 'Banish Misfortune,' another tune I know pretty well. I guess I learned something about isolated practice vs. the real world. It sounds completely different in a group setting, and will have to spend much more time playing with others to beat this.
Learn to live with it :-) Try to play as much as you can with other people, it's more enjoyable as well :-)LHMark, I can totally relate to that, and of course Snorre is on the money with his advice.
I have played for many years and with the exception of a few lessons with David Levine in the early 1990's haven't had a chance to play concertina with others.
It is limiting to say the least.
I understand there is a lot ITM in your area so at least you will have the chance to seek other players there.
Until I retired in mid 2007 I carried my box as company and sometimes solace around the world on a large bulk grain carrier (a freighter in other words). It did give me the chance to play some solo performances to captive audiences in a few exotic and sometimes slightly (erm, ah..) funky locations.
I did have an AB from Borneo ask where the batteries went in the Jeffries once.
One option I have tried to exercise is using a recorder to play along with and if necessary slow down tunes for practice.
I'll expect to see you at NECW, I'll be the old guy with the white hair. :-)
Jim
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I'm wondering, will anyone from here playing mainly irish music on anglo be there? It seems to be mainly a 'english' concertina event, with some anglo teachers. I know Edel Fox will be around, so I'm really tempted, hehehe...
Well, I'll be there, anglo in hand, and my EC as well.
I received confirmation from the Button Box some time ago and have motel reservations, so I just waiting for April.
I'm looking forward to it.
Cheers
Jim
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I haven't been on C-net for awhile, but I just got this email from my dear friend Carol Compton who works at CDSS:
"For those who had any reason to know Rich Morse, builder of concertinas, owner of The Button Box - he had been recently diagnosed with quite advanced cancer and died last night - at home. Another tough loss for the morris community."
I am surprised to see nothing here, and I don't have regular access to internet these days, but I wanted to come straight to this fine community and share my sadness at the loss of a wonderful man.
Sad news indeed.
I first met Rich at one of the early NESI, either the first or the second, when building and marketing concertinas was little more than a gleam in his eye.
I can't claim to have know Rich well but he will surely be missed.
Jim
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I have a Lachenal baritone in F/C. Actually, I've been told off on here for calling it that, because it's not strictly a baritone as there is no corresponding treble version an octave higher. But it's of baritone size and construction, with some huge reeds, and sounds quite different from my G/D treble although it's only a tone lower in pitch.
As Chris says, they're great for song accompaniment. It does demand a slightly different playing style, I find I have to play a bit more "oom-pah" than I normally do, to get those big low reeds kick-started.
I too have an F/C "baritone", but made by Wheatstone. It was previously owned by Steve Harrison. This also has some large reeds which sound very different from a Wheatstone G/D - much more mellow and rounded which give the impression of more than just the one tone difference in pitch.
Chas
I have to wonder how common the F/C tuning was.
Anyone have any thoughts on that?
My F/C Jeffries came to me from Lark in the Morning in August 1988. I came across the sales slip last summer just in time to be reminded that it indeed had been 20 years. A small celebration seemed to be in order.
The instrument doesn't require any special handling when playing, all the LH reeds respond very well, which is what I'd expect of Mr. Jeffries, I guess.
Jim
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Jody
To be brutally honest, the picture is quite cluttered and unappealing. But at least there's no nudity, so that's a plus.
-jim
Actually, the ...er... snowperson may be a bit ......... underdressed?
Jim
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*puts on glasses*
I was wondering the other day....
Why do you play music? Is it to please others? or to prove something to yourself? is it just a way to spend time? A technical excercise? For the social aspects? or something else?
And how dose that affect what and how you learn?
Well, to echo Chris Timson, yes.
But there's more for me as well.
When I unlimbered the Jeffries in a waterfront house of somewhat dubious (but not quite ill..) repute in Nantong a few years ago one of the techs with me sighed and said "ahh, Chieffie, therapy". Reflecting back, he was right.
That's one of the reasons I probably won't ever have a new concertina, I really enjoy the connection to previous players and the old boxes give me some of that.
Some of the tunes give a connection as well:
"Soldiers of the Queen" can evoke troopers on the tide bound for Table Bay.
"Tipperay" in a London pub after the Armistice.
Some may call a illness.
There are worse ways to use your time.
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We were hit pretty hard with the ice storm here, lost power on Thursday and just got it back last night. So, four days without power, for us; we're lucky -- a lot of the area still has no power.
Fortunately, we were able to go to relatives' and get warmed up. I stored my concertina and various other instruments and stuff -- parakeets, etc., with them. Slept at home in the cold, though, just layered on more blankets and kept the winter boots on at times!
We've got tree limbs all over the place, a broken window on a shed, a bit of other damage. Phone line was snapped in two, but that's been fixed. Cable TV line snapped, but we no longer subscribe anyway...
The night of the storm was pretty strange. I thought it was an earthquake, didn't know the rain outside was actually ice and that I was hearing trees falling. Trees and branches fell the entire night. Though all power was out, I managed to text message with my daughter who was about 10 miles away -- things were the same there.
As I sat and played my concertina in the dark with a candle one night, after hurrying to keep my pet rabbit fed and his cage cleaned up, I realized that it wasn't just for fun or romance or meditation that people in pre-electric days played by candlelight. It's because they had to hurry up and do everything else while the sun was still up!
Some grocery stores, etc., have operated by generator. I went to CVS and had to use my flashlight to find what I needed on the shelf. The gas lines were very long at the one or two open local stations, since people needed gas for generators, I guess. Most stations were closed -- like everything else. So, I drove about 20 miles to a station my daughter told me was open and didn't have lines. If nothing else, when stuff like this happens, I want to remain able to GET OUTTA HERE!!! With my concertina, though....
The situation in southern Maine was the same, I guess, as electrical service was off from Thursday night to Monday at 11:00 AM.
Thanks to a small generator we had heat and basic power for hot plate and microwave cooking. The last time I saw an extended outage like this was in 1998 when the area effected was much larger and my power was off for eleven days in sub-zero (F.) weather. The generator really earned its keep then.
The one time I went out for fuel the few stations open all had long lines so I elected to fuel the generator from various other machinery in the garage. That way the fuel stays fresh as well.
The fun part was there was lots of time to play. I'm trying to get up to speed with the 'Vital Spark' theme (thanks for the tune, Stuart) on EC, having some fun working on the C part with the drone effect.
Now we have the snow to look forward to.
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The box came to me from David Levine (Hello, David) in the early '90s when he was living in New Hampshire and I was taking a few lesions from him and drinking excellent tea in his kitchen.
I hope that's a typo............................
Haha, good one! David, next time I come down for tea, I'll bring my whip and some leather!
Typo edited and still salt encrusted ears red - or at least somewhat pink.
Thanks for the info and pictures, Peter, I guess I mis-read the ledger, or at least misunderstood. The strap scheme is clear now as well as the end-plate configuration.
David, I was surprised to hear of your move, I guess that's what happens when you loose contact with people. The Linota is alive and well, may get some maintenance in the not-too-distant future. The questions came to me during a semi-annual end-plate polishing when I decided to do some online research on the serial number. Your label is still on the action board. I expect to hang onto the box for a while longer, I retired a while ago and have had more playing time.
Thanks for the answers, all.
Jim
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Hi folks, I am new to this board and in the process of buying a concertina.
As I can't get involved in any technical discussion or ask real questions until I get an instrument... I will ask a lame personal question...
How long have most of you have been playing and why did you start playing in the first place?
Why do you keep playing?
Just passing the time until I can play along with you.
Alden
Alden, as you probably will find out it can be a compulsion. Not a bad one, though.
I have been playing since the late 1960s, I think my first exposure to the instrument was through the Disney movies in the '50s, maybe Kirk Douglas in '20,000 Leagues'. Unlike many of the other board members the concertina is my only instrument (Well I may admit under torture to owning a few old button boxes).
I have carried my old C.Jeffries FC around the world many times over and found it a great comfort through the years.
my playing sort of evolved from a plastic ended East German Anglo to a Bastari to a Lachenal to a series of english made anglos which now include the Jeffries and a Wheatstone Linota. In addition I also have accumulated two English pattern instruments for variety.
I keep playing for two of the reasons already mentioned: 'Because I must' and '...mad as a hatter'.
Good luck with the concertina!
Jim Richardson (oldchief)
Advice for second concertina
in General Concertina Discussion
Posted
I'd talk to Bob Tedrow at Homewood, his stock of instruments seems be pretty active and he maintains a mailing list.
Since you are only three hours away, it may be worth a visit.
Good luck in your search.