pubpersona

-Dogged, cross-platform cleanup excellence. Well done!

I celebrated with arrghula salad.

-deleted-duplicate post

-Living near Ann Arbor's old Ark folk/trad coffee house venue on Hill Street in the late 1970's, that and a chum restoring a golden era Wheatstone EC fervently, knowing its true capacities. Saw Alistair Anderson play in the Ark's living room like a man possessed through the evening into the small hours. The Ark has moved to Ann Arbor's Main St. since.

-On first instruments: My first guitar 40 years ago was OK but a laminated top of the day denied it the robust tonality of a good solid-top. Disappointed it had no sweet spot in which it resonated like a Martin dreadnought, I looked forward to a premium instrument. The cheapie had a weak but well-balanced sound and got lots of play. I have a premium instrument now, but its strengths would have been somewhat lost on me then. Meanwhile, the cheap instrument served well and was toted through rain, left in frozen/baking cars (Bad! Bad!) without much worry and loaned out to wild friends whose pleasure in it exceeded slim replacement cost. A fully-found, responsive & inexpensive instrument is a treasure upon the earth... as is a fully-found, responsive expensive one. -Brian

-I saw a commuting unicyclist last week, steady over a mile of stop-and-go, trackstands, fast & helmeted. The fellow conveyed confidence and gave up little to bicycles in exploiting gaps, stability, and to lesser degree- speed. It was easy to forget he operated in multiple axes. A harmonica & holder would serve for tunes and imitating trains when cut off by ignorant drivers. A loud Jeffries might serve too, but a fast air button and extra-long bellows should be standard to permit use of arms for balance. -Does spoke layout or pedaling style distinguish traditional Anglo unicycle from English?

Wow! Europe's loss will be our gain. Welcome and best wishes to you for a smooth move! Brian in Seattle

- I have almost no experience with concertinas, only with button accordion like you and others here can advise better on concertina matters. This site: http://www.anglo-concertina.net/links.htm will interest you as it presents a lot of tunes played on a variety of concertina types from a variety of makers including those you mentioned. - Makers Carroll, Edgley, Johnson (Kensington Concertinas) and Thomas have sound samples on their websites as does Concertina Connection. Best to you, Brian

A question is never incorrect. An answer can be wrong, however. "Which concertina is best?" is meant to paraphrase the thread subject as to which a player would choose for ITM. Sorry if that was unclear. Squeezeless but for B/C melodeon and a long-suffering sweetheart, either of the two concertinas sound "best" to me, good quality instruments available after a relatively short waiting period, backed up by reliable service should need arise. -B.

The discussion has drifted from the merits of Edgley and Morse concertinas to business practices and pricing. -Price and service are indisputably part of the the buy and sell experience but tangential to the playing merits of the instruments. Time to move this to the general discussion forum mayhap? Which concertina is best? My answer is yes.

-Amen from a squeezeboxer: I'm playing in a squeezebox which arrived with very stiff bellows making for clumsy play of quick or intricate music. Six months of regular play has transformed the bellows. Its now a responsive, nimble powerhouse. I'd be worried conditioner might loosen things too much, but I'm no expert.

-Other inquiring squeezers want to know too. -Thanks for posting these questions. -Brian

-Animaterra-Your "Young James Plunkett" and the "Lamentation.." posted are played superbly. Very nice! -Hoping to add myself to Puget Sound squeezers soon and trying to align finance, availability, and quality for a purchase. A tip for Pike Market playing: The west central stairwell has great natural echo but much less foot traffic than the rest of the market, nice for no-power amplification which carries through the market. Best, Brian