wim wakker

Yes it is... The reason I did not use this format (which is more clear as far as keyboard layout is concerned), is because it doesn't explain the difference between the uni- and bi-directional keyboards, which makes much more sense in the 'up and down' picture. Explaining bellows performance is one of my (almost) daily routines... The bellows performance determines much of a concertinas overall playability, dynamics, and reed response. A mediocre instrument with high end (low resistance) bellows will often play much better than a high end instrument with (new) hi

I’ve changed the keyboard picture to ‘front view’. I didn’t realize that the ‘from behind’ view was so confusing for some. The Troubadour is a small duet, only 6 1/4” across the flats… reedpan surface is limited. It’s like building a 1000 sq ft. home with 12 bedrooms. We used 97% of the available space. From a technical point of view, the real achievement is that we were able to utilize so much of the reedpan and still were able to have a min. of 50% chamber over pressure reserve, an airflow pattern within a 25% variable, and a max. chamber/reed deviation of 8 cent. This me

The Troubadour has 36 keys + airbutton= 37. You can easily play in A major without the 3rd (G#) of the dominant in the left hand. If you want to play harmonies (chords) it is always a good idea to play them 'wide' on a free reed instrument because of harmonics. In this case (A major dominant chord: E G# B D), you could play LH: E, B/RH G#. or RH D,G# (E7). or: LH E, B, F#/RH D,G# (E9), etc. Alternatively, when playing melody in the RH and harm. in the LH: play LH E, B or E, B, D (E7) for the dominant function. The 3rd (G#) might or might not be part of the melody. Harmonicall

About the layout pictures.... As I mentioned above the keyboards, it is seen from the players view. This is a common way of showing a keyboard in an educational setting. The view is from 'behind' the keyboard, as when you hold the instrument. The keyboard is the same of course as the Elise.

Later than planned, but we finally added the Troubadour duet to our intermediate model line up http://www.concertinaconnection.com/troubadour.htm The Troubadour is a 36 key Wicky/Hayden duet, 6 ¼” across the flats, comparable to the Minstrel (anglo) and Busker (English). It fills the gap between our Elise and Peacock models. All our duet concertina models (excl. the Elise, but including all the Wakker duets) are available with either a bi-directional or uni-directional keyboard. The final addition to our hybrid duet models will be the Peacock XL, a 50+ key

For sale is our backup (less than 100 hrs) Tunkers variable speed gluing machine, model ‘Liliput 150”. This is an industrial quality machine with a very small footprint (14” x 15” x 7 ½”, weight: 35 lbs). This model is for water based cold glues. It comes with a 2nd glue pan. It is used for applying glue to bellows papers, bindings, and hinges. Both glue film and application speed are variable. Current new price is around $2300 (E.1990) plus shipping from Germany. It’s available for $1200 excl. shipping. Factory brochure (PDF in English) is available. Wim Wakker

I agree. The main addition i would like is a mirrored left hand option, but that's proably not in the cards for keeping the price down. ron Actually, all our duet models (Peacock, future Troubadour, and the Wakker duets) are available with a mirrored left side. We don't charge extra for that. Mirrored duets make more sense to free bass accordion players who switch to duet concertina. Bayans also come with both variations for the left hand; the Russian system (bottom low/top high) and the western system (top low/bottom high). The CT referred to ‘Closed Tension’, wh

Actually, I developed 2 models, one in a 6 1/4“ housing and one larger… We’re not sure which one will go in production. The smaller one is cheaper (Busker price), the larger one has more buttons but is therefore more expensive. Our primary objective for this model line is a low cost model, which is a big step up from the entry level models in playability, quality and sound. A larger instrument will probably be out of financial reach again for many players, especially for customers outside the US when you have to add 21% or more sales tax, import, shipping, etc.. We’re still working o

The CT referred to ‘Closed Tension’, which was explained earlier in the article I copied the text from. CT stands for Closed Tension, as opposed to OT Open Tension. Bellows tension is one of the subjects measured in a bellows evaluation and was explained earlier in the article (bellows tension (in grams), bellows travel (in percentage), stability (in pressure) and airtightness (airflow per minute)). “Bellows waist” is the difference in circumference between the bellows frames and the bellows. hope it makes more sense now...

Hi Wim, could you please elaborate on what 'rig made bellows' are and how they differ from 'Wakker bellows'? Are we talking folded card vs. individual card construction? Hi Alex, I've enclosed an excerpt from “about Bellows”, a series of short technical articles on concertina construction I wrote. This explains the 3 basic (free reed) bellows designs, The full article also explains bellows evaluation etc.. Concertina bellows can be divided into 3 classes: Basic bellows Basic bellows are of the ‘accordion’ type. They consist of folded cardboard panels with leather or syn

Regarding the Minstrel (anglo), Busker (English), and Troubadour (duet, available 2018) models…. A few facts: Except for our entry level models (Jackie/Jack/Rochelle/Elise), ALL our models (34 in total; 6 hybrids and 28 with traditional reeds, ranging in price from $445 to $34100), are made here in the USA. The only parts we import are the (accordion) reeds for the hybrid models (we make our own traditional reeds), and the bellows for the Minstrel/Busker/Troubadour models, which are made for us in the UK. We also import our tonewoods for the Wakker models ourselves from all over the wo

For sale is a rare Lachenal Edeophone baritone from ca. 1925, amboyna ends with gold plated keys/fittings. The instrument originally comes from my own collection, and was sold earlier this year to the current owner who recently passed away. I am assisting the family with the sale. Instrument history As a (former) professional classical concertinist, I have owned many concertinas over the last 30 years. Through the process of buying, restoring and selling, I selected the best instruments for myself, and would replace them when I found a better one. Over 500 instruments have gone through

I’ve added 2 recordings on youtube from a concert I gave a while back in Germany. These recordings are interesting (I think) because the concert was played on period instruments; a Conrad Graf grand from 1838 and a Wheatstone English from 1877. The compositions are: -Rondo from the Sonata for Concertina and Piano Forte, by Berhard Molique. This is considered one of the most substantial compositions written for the concertina and is technically quite demanding. Bernhard Molique was a composer of high standing during the 19th century. He wrote several compositions for the concertina,

David: Glad you 're enjoying your instrument. We decided to postpone the introduction of the Rose baritone. As you might know, there are a few technical problems (equilibrium, reed coasting and dynamic differences) that come with installing lower accordion reeds in a concertina box that we want to solve first. Accordion reeds are designed for a large air reservoir and low airflow. A concertina basically is the opposite, which does create problems with lower reeds. The 1st generation Rochelles had Chinese reeds (different scaling), the current generation has Italian reeds. "Italian

First of all, there is no need to replace or upgrade your Elise (or Rochelle, Jackie/Jack which are all the same instrument). In the original form it will probably last 20+ years. The reason why you might want to upgrade certain parts is because there is some room for improvement. The best way to describe it is by comparing your instrument to a very basic car. You don’t need to change anything, it will run just fine the way it came from the factory, but you could change the upholstery to leather, maybe larger alloy wheels, different exhaust, modify or replace the engine, etc.. As you kn