danersen
-
Posts
238 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by danersen
-
-
Thanks for the tip Dan,
I will contact Bob Tedrow, if I do not find something a little closer to home. It would be nice to visit a prospective purchase if at all possible.
Geoff
Are there no non-stop flights from Paris to Birmingham?
Rather ironic that he's located so close to "Birmingham."
-
Geoff,
Bob Tedrow has (unless recently sold) a beautiful 81-b ebony wooden-ends Wheatstone Maccann in exceptional condition. Aeola, as I recall.
Lovely instrument which I have played and found delightful in every way except the Maccann layout.
Just couldn't Dirgify my head around it.
Dan
-
Wim Wakker is your man – and he lives in Washington state.
info@concertinaconnection.com
-
Just received this note from the seller via eBay messages
I have decided to take the concertina off the auction block. Your earlier messages got me questioning a few circumstances regarding the item. Before I put the concertina up for auction I want to be 100% sure that the person I received it from acquired it in a legitimate way. I wasn't completely aware of the value of the item myself and I don't think he was either. I want to thank you for bringing this to light for me, I am a fair and honest person and something in my gut is telling me that I am doing the right thing by unlisting it.
-
Reply from seller via eBay messages follows:
I work in the film and television industry and so does the person that gave it to me. I did a little research of my own after receiving your first message, and I did find that it was indeed sold to be a prop of a movie production. Although it was never screen used I guess it's generating a bit of buzz.
I sent the following to the seller via eBay messages in hopes of receiving more/clarifying information.Hello,
Thank you for your reply and the information provided. As you might imagine, the community of concertina players is very small and there is quite a bit of interest surrounding this concertina as its particular size and the prominence of its builder make it a very recognizable instrument. The history among those who previously owned this specific concertina is quite clear from the original owner, whom you noted, up to its sale by a dealer to a movie production company. That is where the history ends until your eBay auction posting which has generated an interest in its travels from the movie production company to you. Hence, my inquiry to you. Additionally, because there are seldom receipts or documentation related to private transactions, caution when purchasing such a recognizable instrument is always in order. It could be very helpful to your prospects for a sale to have the greatest possible reassurance that, if purchased, the legitimacy of its ownership will not at some later time come into question because of previously unknown events or circumstances. Any more information in this regard that you may have and are able to provide will be most helpful.
Be Well.
-
I sent the following to the seller via eBay messages in hopes of receiving more/clarifying information.
Hello,
Thank you for your reply and the information provided. As you might imagine, the community of concertina players is very small and there is quite a bit of interest surrounding this concertina as its particular size and the prominence of its builder make it a very recognizable instrument. The history among those who previously owned this specific concertina is quite clear from the original owner, whom you noted, up to its sale by a dealer to a movie production company. That is where the history ends until your eBay auction posting which has generated an interest in its travels from the movie production company to you. Hence, my inquiry to you. Additionally, because there are seldom receipts or documentation related to private transactions, caution when purchasing such a recognizable instrument is always in order. It could be very helpful to your prospects for a sale to have the greatest possible reassurance that, if purchased, the legitimacy of its ownership will not at some later time come into question because of previously unknown events or circumstances. Any more information in this regard that you may have and are able to provide will be most helpful.
Be Well.
-
Info from seller
Dear danersen,
The concertina was given to me as a gift. I contacted the manufacturer to get some information on the instrument. I was told that it was manufactured in August 1985 for a woman named Gladys Thorpe who is now deceased.
- kanan5
To: kanan5
Subject: Other: danersen sent a message about Wheatstone 43 Key Piccolo English Concertina W/6 Fold Bellows #290846566383
Sent Date: Jan-17-13
Dear kanan5,
Hello,
With your stating that you are not knowledgable about concertinas, I am curious how/why you acquired this concertina.
Do you know the ownership history of this concertina?
Always best to know how a seller came to own something for which there is no return option.
Thanks.
-
Perhaps, this correspondence via ebay messages might be of interest or potential help to anyone who is attempting to resolve this.
Dear danersen,
yes of course
for more pictures respond here: gernaro.79 @ hotmail.com
Thanks, Paul.
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:17:54 -0700:
Details about the item: danersen sent a message about English Concertina Crabb Treble Twin Reeded Red 41 Keys #200876262671
Dear gernaro79,
Hello,
Might you have photos of the inside?
I'd like a look at the condition of the reed pans and reeds on both sides of each soundboard.
Might I be able to pay you a visit to play it?
Thanks.
-
anyway....did that pretty maple wakker hayden sell, or was it withdrawn? saw the post edit, but no "Sold" tag...
It sold.
Original post was edited as follows:
Posted 10 December 2012 - 09:18 AM
Now, happily in its new home! 30th Dec 2012
Boarding the plane toward its new home today, 24th Dec.
Best wishes to all for a cheerful and meaningful holiday season!
Dan
This post has been edited by danersen: 30 December 2012 - 06:01 PM
-
RE: but the beauty of instant transposition of any line/chord/phrase on CBA is too captivating.
...and efficient ...and elegant
RE: I guess it could become a cliche in one's playing to rely on it too much,
...I wonder if the Jazz Guitar Masters regard it as cliche
RE: but in moderation such instant symmetry is amazing to someone (me in this case) who never really had an experience with it.
...and also to those of us who do - even beyond moderation.
RE: I wonder if it would be an easy conversion from english to The Wheatstone "Double" by just rearranging the reeds inside?
...not likely, but I'll leave it to those who are much more informed and experienced to explain the matter of reed chambers, sizes, air flow, reed pan hole positions and corresponding lever locations
RE: the drawbacks of a cba-type layout for unisonoric concertina or bando, where the thumb is not in play,
...only if you use your thumb in playing the CBA system. Many - especially the old school masters - don't use their thumb, and in fact, instruct against it.
RE: there is a school of thought that for these type of instruments, bisonoric (provided it is a complete bisonoric furnishing at least one push and at least one draw of all notes) actually offers a player more facility.
...with respect, this is utterly irrational in comparison to a fully isomorphic layout
RE: this view would see the bisonoric bando as better equipped than the unisonoric for chording as well as melody, and i agree--as to the bilateral concertina instruments.
...huh?
RE: i'm just not sure the difference is great enough to really matter---the unisonoric bando virtuosos do just fine, and the bisonoric players, at least the argentine tangueros, are in effect playing "unisonoric" anyhow, by playing largely on the draw and working the heck out of the air button
...in practice, the difference is huge as you don't have to rely on "working the heck our of the air button" as you phrase it (pun intended). That is, the point, after all.
-
RE: Chromatiphone system (which is actually Hugo Stark's system developed for unisonoric bandonion), you ask ...
"why is it not the ideal duet configuration?"
It is!
... unless, of course, one is already accustomed to and comfortable with something else and doesn't need or wish to change.
RE: CBA
There are numerous obstacles with the application of the CBA system to the concertina mostly related to size - width, really - and scope, but we've been continuing to work on it, and may have a viable/playable instrument competed this year.
RE: Hayden system (which is originally Wicki's system)
It approximates the Stark and CBA systems but, as typically applied, it is not really the same when playing truly polyphonic music in the accidental or "black" keys. However, ths possibly could be overcome given sufficient room to accommodate enough "extension" of the scope, though it would likely result in a less than compact instrument.
RE: Wheatstone Double
A very close association, but in practical application, it is "vertical" and the others are "horizontal" in orientation.
-
Back to the original topic:
Of the last 13 eBay listings:
8 ended with no bids
5 had bids and sold
Total combined bids on the 5 that sold = 8
Challenging times, indeed, it seems.
-
In reply to above ...
I tried to rotate the photos with no success when I uploaded them.
They are oriented horizontally on my computer, but for some reason, they persist in displaying in the vertical orientation.
This instrument is the Hayden style with the slanted/angled keyboard.
-
Now, happily in its new home! 30th Dec 2012
Boarding the plane toward its new home today, 24th Dec.
Best wishes to all for a cheerful and meaningful holiday season!
Dan
-
Listing ended with no bids.
-
Hehe
in Buy & Sell
Couldn't resist...
Hello,
Please advise the serial number for referencing in the Horniman ledgers and the specific information that you have indicating that this is a one-off instrument.
Might you be able to add photos of the reeds and pans to your listing?
Kind regards.
-
Thanks, David,
I know nothing of Anglo concertina layouts; however, I do wonder if the untampered bisonoric button and reeds might offer a clue as to the concertina's original construction.
Is there an Anglo layout with the notation described at this relative button location?
Dan
1352026609[/url]' post='141108']Dan,This button 'A' on the chart is 'G' on the push 'A' on the pull. It is the only button not unidirectional, and appears not to have been tampered with and has no rust on either reed. Hope this answers the question. As a matter of interest I also play the "B" Griff -- the 'B's and 'C's are everything one could ever want in an accordion, although so as not to scare the session away I take a three row melodeon (made by Hyde, Australia.)
All the best
David
-
I own the original Morse Geordie Tenor which I acquired in July, 2010. It's a superb instrument. I bought it to have a more robust instrument for a klezmer project with a local colleague. The action is very quick, and the sound is as close to a traditional concertina as you're likely to find, but more robust if you want it to be. It's versatile and responds to how it is played. My reference for the sound is my Cavagnolo CBA as well as my concertinas with traditional reeds. There is absolutely nothing about this instrument that could even remotely be considered a compromise. Everything about it is first-rate. I played mine regularly for about a year without issue when contributing to Norma's project. I do not play mine regularly now, and I expect to part with it, given that I'm now devoting the bulk of my concertina time to my C-2 Stark duet. I hope is is helpful. Dan
-
David,
I'm wondering if your right hand notation chart is fully accurate as labeled.
The A in the far left (thumbward) button of the lowest row of the right hand would characteristically be a G in the usual Jeffries duet convention given the rest of your notation chart.
it appears to me that this may represent an effort to re-work an Anglo (G/D, perhaps) into a G-core duet; however the presence of only one C# in the right hand is curious to me if started as a G/D Anglo. Knowing nothing about Anglos, this may be just right.
As a duet, the scope of the notation seems a bit limited to me; however, there is a lot of music that can be played with the notes available if one stays close to home and sticks to the knitting, so to speak.
And, that said, this could be a interesting small(er) duet for convenience and less polyphonic material.
The tuning is a matter of the player's intended use as has been noted by others.
My own experience is consistent with Marien's description.
I have experience with the usual duet systems (Jeffries, Maccann, Crane, and Hayden) and I believe that I own the only Stark-layout concertina in existence having commissioned the Wakker C-2.
FWIW, I own two Jeffries duets and a Wakker Hayden system. I sold my Maccanns and Crane almost immediately after my C-2 arrived.
I also play the English system and CBA c-griff.
I will also suggest that the "head" part has not been nearly so difficult as the "hand" part for me as the "reaching and stretching" to various button locations has been anything but easy for me.
In some cases/keys/minor melodic sequences the transit has been tantamount to daunting for my small hands and short fingers.
I'd really love to know about that A button.
Be Well,
Dan
PS: If anyone is interested ... I am seriously contemplating the "release and departure" of two ECs:
1861 Rock Chidley standard treble in superb condition having been restored to as close to its original state as possible by Wim. Virtually all original except the usual "disposable bit" and remaining in its original key. Among the first black ones made.
July 2010 Morse Geordie Tenor - the original Geordie tenor in as-new condition played only by me and having left my home only for a project with a vocalist colleague. Cherry finish. Specs on the Button Box web site with the photo thereon being my very Geordie.
1349935837[/url]' post='140344']Thank you all for the advice, especially the correction that it would be C#, not D, if tuned up rather than down: that certainly says something about my thought processes at the time.
I have appended the tuning chart for reference, should anyone else have one of these to figure out (maybe someone knows how to place it with the other tuning charts on Concertina.net. Now, I am not certain, but I think this layout suggests a 'G' instrument. (When playing it, it falls beautifully, almost intuitively into the minor.
It certainly has been modified, very professionally, but nevertheless modified from a 37 button instrument, all the original holes, including the breather holes, have been filled, ie air release vent, reed shoes modified, face plate guides added , right down to the air release button, which has been swapped to the left, having the air breather pallet kept so as to cover the two reed shoe holes. These shoes had to be displaced to elsewhere in order to hold the low C#. I am left wondering if it is not a early, Jeffries Bros experimental duet I have, prior to their going into production.
I may play it for a while to see if I can get the hang of the thing before making up my mind. Possibly the quickest way to change it would be to make two new reed plates, be a dashed sight easier than digging out the filling, and shimming down shoe slots. (Anyone out there got a left and right Jeffries reed plate -- without the reeds -- they would like to sell me?)
Thanks for all the help.
-
It seems to me that the matter of parity still applies.There is no vendor or retailer in Illinois from whom the concertina can be acquired or through whom it can be procured.Purchase of the subject Dipper concertina can only be achieved through a direct purchase from the source.The purchase was not initiated – in this case – to avoid the payment of tax.It was purchased one of only two ways that is it available – via shipment or collection from the source who does not sell to resellers.Accordingly, the State is not suffering from a loss of tax revenue to which it is entitled.
-
1346615317[/url]' post='139259']1346438927[/url]' post='139207']
Irene,
Here's a visual for you relating to David's comment associating the Jeffries duet layout to the Jeffries anglo layout.
Dan
Thanks ... I suppose? I have no idea why I should be interested in that .
I was only asking what the abbreviations stood for ...Irene,
Misdirected.
I was adding supplemental content to David's reply which I now see was in reply to cjmiller.
My apology.
Dan
-
Irene,
Here's a visual for you relating to David's comment associating the Jeffries duet layout to the Jeffries anglo layout.
Dan
-
Hello Geoff,
I listed, below, the criteria which I developed when contemplating an ideal concertina layout for me.
It seems that Stark had thought in similar ways long before I did and developed the Chromatiphone layout for unisonoric bandonion application.
Harry Geuns first introduced me to the Chromatiphone layout along with the Praktikal layout by Meisel which is a CBA layout also applied to a unisonoric bandonion.
So, thanks to Stark, there was no need for a new layout; however, there were huge design and engineering considerations to successfully incorporate it into a concertina - and that, Wim was able to solve.
The progress report is all favorable. All of the criteria are successfully met. The concertina is phenomenal, and I am thrilled that I am able to play as intended and desired. Bob Tedrow is currently building a hybrid one for me which is probably the best indication of the success of the layout for me.
Thanks for asking.
Dan.
- fully chromatic and isomorphic (meaning an identical and uniform structure) keyboard consistent throughout the compass of both hands
- fully capable of playing polyphonic music in all keys – major and minors – multi-modal and accidentals friendly
- fully and easily transposable – accidentals in-line with the naturals – not placed at the outside edges
- octaves in horizontal orientation like a CBA rather than vertical like an EC, Maccann, or Crane layout
- highly economical, i.e., relatively condensed/compact in shape and size for the scope of the notes provided
- highly accessible, i.e., the travel/transit is both efficient and versatile in moving among melodic sequences with semitones and accidentals and chord sequences/progressions in all of their intervals/positions/forms, e.g., 9th to maj to 7th to 6th to aug to dim
- congruent with the c-griff CBA layout with half-steps ascending in the same relative position and angling in the same direction even though four rows are utilized rather than three which allows for more compactness and more notes in a smaller "squarer" concertina-like space than the more linear/horizontal shape of the CBA
- genre-diverse
-
RE: i guess in paris there are CBA virtuosos falling out of the trees in l'automne....
Doubtful. Most can only aspire to the mastery of Richard Galliano, Ludovic Beier, or Julien Labro, and – while the prevalence of accordions in France are like guitars in America – relatively few will ever possess the extraordinary instruments which they play.
RE: Why anyone would want to take up such rare and out dated keyboards as those of the Maccann and Crane in the face of your overwhelming arguments for CBA I cannot fathom but ,there we are, although we are very few in number!
I won't attempt an explanation about the Maccann and Crane layouts – I've played them both and found them unsatisfactory; but with respect to concertinas – whatever system one adopts – perhaps some reasons are ...
- Because its sound is unique and it's allure is captivating.
- Because it is light and versatile.
- Because there's something about wood that feels more authentic – perhaps, more genuinely acoustic – than pearloid.
- Because it's just a cute little bugger.
- For comparison: My smallest and lightest CBA – a Pigini MIII – weighs three times my C2, requires a set of straps, occupies more than four times the cubic space, and can't take the heat – literally.
- Because some things just aren't fungible.
Humidity Control
in General Concertina Discussion
Posted · Edited by danersen
Hello Shelly,
These may be worth your consideration:
http://oasishumidifiers.com/plus.html
They are marketed for stringed instruments, but I've replaced all of my Stretto violin humidifiers which I used for my concertinas with these. (Also do work great for ukuleles and mandolins.)
They fit very neatly in the corners of a case.
I live in Colorado and use two in my duet concertinas which are larger than the standard English or Anglo and one in my Wakker E-4 Soprano. I refill them all once weekly. Very easy to use and quick to refill. A lot less fuss than the Stretto system.
I use the plus (+) ones which is the link supplied.
Amazon seems to be the least expensive retailer that I've found.
Dan