Ptarmigan

Ken, I notice this Concertina is still for sale on eBay! So if it has been reported to eBay as a little suspicious, can we assume that eBay have now checked it out & believe this to be a genuine sale? Cheers Dick

Why is this seller using a photo nicked from our website, here? Here's the eBay Concertina: 30 Button Bastari Concertina, 8 Bellows. VGC & here's the page here with the photo: By Ken Coles, Logansport, Indiana U.S.A Am I missing something? Cheers Dick

Well, thankfully I see it has been deleted, so well done Paul for spotting this so quickly & hopefully saving some poor soul from being done!

This could be an identity that has been hijacked by a scammer. He says he is going to cancel any bid not made by prior arrangement. He says there is a buy-it-now price, but there is not a buy-it-now option. If you click his "other items" button, there's an awful lot of very valuable stuff: rare musical instruments, electronics, cameras, telescopes, even a bicycle and gym equipment. Several of them have a bid of precisely £63,339,244.36 on them, perhaps that's $100,000,000. Looks like anti-scam activity, and he is fire-fighting to keep his scams going, whoever he is. Hey, I assume all you guys in the know, notified eBay about this b*****d before you posted anything here, which might have scared &/or tipped him or her off? I'd hate to think of these so & so's getting away with these scams & giving Concertinas a bad name on eBay, in the process. Cheers Dick

Andie, I don't wish to worry you, but I would imagine that if anyone here had the above, they would probably just be waiting for enough cash to restore it to its former glory, or waiting to swop or part exchange it with someone who was prepared & able to restore it. Knowing, by reputation, the expertise of the many expert restorers who are members here, I'd say there is probably no degree of dilapidation that they couldn't work with, to bring one of these instruments back to life. So I'd be very surprised if anyone here was willing to give away something like this ..... for "research purposes". If you were looking for a dilapidated old 20 button Mahogany ended Lachenal, you might be in with a shout, but an Edeophone TT ...... I hae ma doots! Still, I suppose there's no harm in asking. Cheers Dick

That said, why on earth should anyone want to play an Extended Treble?

Naw, sadly, they just don't go together at all! Two steps forward ....... & four steps backward!

Lucky you! I'm stuck at home, in bed, with a rotten Flu!

If that's the case, then all I can say is fair play Ivan. After all, he provides a truly wonderful service. Cheers Dick

Thanks Marien, I knew someone out there would be fit to do the maths ... it was way beyond me! N. B. I notice that a rather nice looking 56 key Extended Aeola has just popped up on eBay! Cheers Dick

Well the D/G has one bid & the C/G has two bids now, plus 4 questions have been asked about the Lachenal, so it looks like I spoke too soon. I'm curious though, are 5 bellows really far too few for that Bass Concertina, after all there is a huge space inside that set of bellows? Cheers Dick

I don't think Noel should be too hard on himself, after all he helped to create loads of interest & kick start the huge enthusiasm for & in the Concertina today, in Irish Music. Musicians will always be going back to source for the pure drop. Interesting to read that O'neill didn't think the Whistle, Melodeon & Concertina were Irish enough. It makes you wonder what he'd think of the Bouzouki, Banjo, Bodhran, Guitar & Mandolin in todays sessions. Cheers Dick

Indeed Peter. For example, on a Scottish music forum recently someone asked the question ~ Are there many people using the English Concertina in Scotland today. This was the first reply: "There are not many at all. Myself, Norman Chalmers, Stuart Eydeman and a few more in ceilidh bands." Simon Thoumire However, I was very curious to find out just how many there really are & at the last count the list has reached no fewer than <<< 42 >>> active players today!!!! Cheers Dick

I have six, a Wheatstone 48 key model 21 treble, a Wheatstone 56 key model 19 tenor/treble Æola, a Wakker 30 key Jack baritone, all of which are played regularly. I also have three Lachenal 48 key treble models; one tutor model fully repaired but awaiting tuning and re-voicing, one 'Inimitable' awaiting (lots of) repair and tuning, and a very cheap tutor model that will probably be scrapped for spares. Technically (I suppose), I own a seventh one too. That's a brass reeded Wheatstone 48 key model 2 treble that I bought at auction, fully overhauled myself and had tuned by Theo Gibb last year. Sally plays that one as her main squeeze so I don't really think of it as being mine. If I had a piccolo, a vintage baritone, a single action bass and a miniature they would get plenty of playing too! My question was: Where Are All The English Concertinas Today, In England? So now we know ... you've got half of them! Lucky man though, that's quite a collection. You do know that there's a " a single action bass" just waiting for your bid over on eBay right now. That'd get you one step closer to having a FULL SET! Cheers Dick

I notice with interest that, what look like, four very nice Concertinas on eBay right now, haven't had a single bid between them! Is this a sign that the credit crunch is starting to bite, or just an indication that everyone has all the concertinas they need? Cheers Dick Lachenal Concertina Bass Concertina Wheatstone 30 Key Anglo Wheatstone 30 Key Anglo

Aye, a good job alright .... & I see he lines them with Velvet too! One word of caution regarding dimensions: the case is 9"&3/8 by 7" & 3/8 W and also 7& 3/8th up to the inside of the lid, WITHOUT the padding. So it's a pretty snug fit for a Thomas or a Lachenal. I don't know about an English Wheatstone... You may need the next size up. Thanks for the tip. I phoned the guy on Friday afternoon, just as he was shutting up shop, so I'll be phoning back on Monday & I'll make a point of discussing dimensions in detail, rather than them send me the wrong size. Cheers Dick

Thanks for the ideas, but I am actually more than delighted with this #22. Dave made a wonderful job of it & it sounds & looks great. So the only reason I'd even consider parting with it, is if I could swop it for a wooden ended TT, even if a little money did have to change hands. But I'll be honest, I'm in no hurry to part with it. Who knows, maybe Mrs Lotto will smile down on me tonight & then I could afford to keep it ... & buy a wooden ended TT! N.B. The extended would certainly NOT be an option for me as it's those extra low notes I'd be looking for, plus that soft wooden ended tone. Cheers Dick

Well actually, I do have a lovely Wheatstone #22, but I'm afraid I would only ever even consider parting with this beauty, if I could swop it for a wooden ended Wheatstone TT. But good luck anyway in your search Simon. Cheers Dick

well, the more pertinent question, is is the survey representative of the population of concertina.net? probably not... I'd say DEFINITELY not. Especially when you consider that only 16 of the current 3,300 members have responded to this poll! Still, a little light hearted thread every now & then, is fine in my book. Cheers Dick

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." William Shakespeare ~ 'Hamlet'

Ah now there's a lovely, safe idea for a bunch of kids at a party ~ just hand out the Pitchforks & watch them all have fun! No harm to you, but I think they might just be safer Dookin' for Apples!

Aye, a good job alright .... & I see he lines them with Velvet too!

Ha Ha you mean NO SMOKE? Yeah, it's wonderful, isn't it.

Yes, that quote was made in reference to those easy to play Uilleann Pipes! After all, those Pipers have to learn how to control a bag under one arm, control a set of bellows under the other arm, learn to play melody on the chanter, learn to play their own rhythmic & melodic accompaniment on the three regulators & try to keep their SEVEN reeds in tune all night! I'm surprised it only takes them 21 years! Do you see now, how easy the Concertina is?

No, in a noisy session I won't be listening to anyone else tapping either, or watching their tapping either, for that matter. However, sometimes in quieter sessions, when your pub has a good hard floor, you just cannot help but hear other players tapping, especially if they are double tapping to your single tap. This is never a problem, except when they sound like they're trying to drown out the sound of their own music with the sound of their size 10s! That can be annoying to me, cause I must say, I prefer to listen to the melody & the music. I remember a guy used to play sometimes in our session who just could not tap his foot in time to the music. It didn't matter what the tune's rhythm was, his foot was in another world! It was like his foot was having some kind of a fit, there was never ever any rhyme or reason & certainly never any regular rhythm or pattern to his tapping. His tapping was so bad & I must say distracting, that if you were unfortunate enough to be sitting next to him, you really had to concentrate on your own tapping to keep your own playing steady. Strangely enough, his actual playing was pretty steady! Mind you, beware ..... if you have always tapped your foot & especially if you are used to tapping loudly, so much so that you find it difficult, or at least very uncomfortable to play without tapping, then watch out when you have to sit in a recording studio! I've seen guys have to take their shoes off or tap onto a cushion, which doesn't have the same effect at all. I remember too, one time, us having to sit on high bar stools in one pub, where our feet were just dangling! That felt very, very strange & really uncomfortable ~ tapping thin air all night .... I hated that! Cheers Dick