Jump to content

David S

Members
  • Posts

    83
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by David S

  1. Don't be put off by the 'accordion reed' debate.... both the Marcus and the Norman instruments play beautifully with a great action; my friend's Marcus has a slightly quieter action, but my Norman seems guicker and the response from the reeds is very good. Maybe a little harsher sounding than my Wheatstone, but amongst other instruments you would never notice.

     

    I really feel that they are much better value than the average Lachenal for a similar price, and, whilst some may suggest that the vintage concertina will hold its price better, that is hypothetical, because once you own a Marcus or a Norman, you won't want to sell it, you will just acquire another concertina to play alongside it!

     

    David

  2. I have a large diaphragm Rode and I play about 60cm away from it with the right hand end slightly inclined towards the microphone becuase I play melody mainly on the right with accompaniment on the left. However, I know of others who use a pair of small diaphragm Rodes and record two channels to very good effect.

     

    David

  3. Dear Jason,

     

    The Norman has accordian reeds which are held in places by screws rather than wax and the reedpan is MDF which will be pretty stable in heat and humidity. I've had one for years and use it as my busking instrument and the one that I take on canoe trips. Good traditional riveted action. All round excellent value. However, as in Ireland, we are more used to high humidity rather than high temperatures!

     

    David

  4. Today the bottom G on my Linota G/D (circa 1928) developed a fuzzy sound. I have inserted a sample Wheatstone_G.mp3 for you to listen.

    There is a ringing as the reed starts and it then quietens with increased pressure but 'rings' as the vibrations die when the note is stopped. There is a point where the air pressure is just right for the ringing to be continuous and to beat with the note, producing a horrible sound.

    Now, this doesn't notice at all in normal playing as I only very briefly play the note before following it with others which cover the 'ringing', but obviously it isn't right. and it is likely to notice when playing waltzes rather than polkas.

    I haven't opened the instrument to inspect; I thought I would ask you first to listen and suggest possible causes to look for.

     

    Thanks in advance for your help

     

    David

  5. Have been to one of John's melodeon workshops where he used only 'Shepherds Hey' for two hours. It was great to spend the time concentrating on when and for how long to press the buttons rather than just on which button to press!

     

    At home I often play tunes 20 or 30 times through without a break, tweaking the syncopation and the harmonies.

     

    In sessions I am sometimes frustrated by medley mania as I would like to listen to an unfamiliar tune at least 5 times ( minimum) before joining in with the right notes, (as I detest 'noodling',) but so often the rule is '3 times AABB' and then we'll change to another tune.

     

    Medleys may have their place in solo performance but for sessions and for dancing I really would prefer that we stuck to one tune at a time!

     

    David

  6. If you are in the UK, why not go for the Rochelle currently for sale on Ebay item no 380078321730; good value and easily resellable if you don't take to it.... but do be warned: 'concertina acquisition syndrome' is a serious affliction!

     

    David

  7. I have been experimenting using Protools and a Golden Age Tube large capsule capacitor mike (or a Rode NT1) which do seem to capture the Linota tone well. I close the curtains behind the mike and the concertina to deaden the room as much as possible and work about two feet away form the mike so that it doesn't favour either end. I have also fitted a fanless cooler to the CPU to quieten the computer. Playback / mixing is on a pair of Tannoy 5a active speakers which had to be smuggled into the sitting room and then gradually revealed to 'her indoors' as they are not elegant! I have also used a Boss 1180 recorder, but they are really geared for electric guitars effects for which I have little use nowadays.

     

    Sound processing is far less important than the quality of the original recording; the microphone is all important. I have used a pair of NT4's and I do like the stereo effect but the large capsule mikes do a good job on vocals and guitar and I had to give the NT4s back! The old adage of "you can't polish a t*rd" really does hold true on recording.... you need to have best original that you can make - which means the best microphone and recording environment available to you.

     

    Richard Morse mentions manufacturing reflections when recording; I have tried to minimise these as although they do give life to the recording, they cannot be removed and just sufficient reverberation / delay is easily added later.

     

    Latency hasn't been a problem for me in Pro tools as the Mbox allows to you monitor the input direct whilst recording and hear it without any latency

     

    The thing I like about Pro tools is that is not destructive; you always have your original recording however much you play with punch ins, etc whereas the Boss system seemed to overwrite the original recording with new data with no proper 'undo' facility

     

    What I don't like is that it is totally addictive.... I thought that recording my playing would focus my practice times with a bit of critical pressure - just like playing live - and it does, but the actual time I spend playing tends to diminish, as I can so easily get sidetracked into tweaking the recording through the software rather than getting on and playing. Still, it beats watching telly any day!

     

    David

  8. Thanks. That is amazing.

     

    You could make it sound like a saxophone and play in At the Racket....

     

    Or like an organ and play wedding gigs....

    Or even like a cocus flute? ;)

     

    You could switch from Rudall & Rose, to Pratten, to Sam Murray etc... :blink:

     

    .... provided that you have the right sample library. However, is there is really good Wheatstone / Jeffries sample library available? I know that top quality orchestral sound sample sets for MIDI are very expensive and I missed any mention of a sound library included in the sale. I did find a set available for a Stagi, but one might not want to emulate that on the Wakker????

     

    David

  9. I do admire all you woodworkers; I went to the local hardware shop, bought a suitably sized metal toolbox (£14), covered it with red rexine so that it looked slightly less like a toolbox and then blocked it out with wood and carrymat and lined it with part of the dog's velour blanket (which I always thought was far too good for a dog and he hasn't missed the half a yard or so I cut off the bottom!). The box is light, sturdy, dry and with a good carry handle - and doubles as an impromptu seat should the pub run out of chairs at a session.

    post-2289-1212830423_thumb.jpg

    post-2289-1212830439_thumb.jpg

  10. Hi Dan,

     

    My Grandfather Wal Savage played anglo concertina for Abingdon Morris before the Great War; according to my father the side did not dance again after the Great war, but he returned to Abingdon and continued to play in the pubs and was 'Mayor of Ock Street' onat least one occasion. I can just remember him playing at his home in the mid 50's but he was in poor health and died soon afterwards. My father taught me the Abingdon version of Princess Royal, but unfortunately he was always somewhat ashamed of his father's bibulous ways and music and so information on Grandad and the Morris are somewhat sketchy. However, I did meet two elderly men at a ring meeting in Thame in 1973 who remembered my Grandad; one of them was I think called Jack Hyde and played a harmonica.

     

    Look forward to reading your article - by the way, I found your trancriptions of Kimber's tunes fascinating and enlightening. Thank you.

  11. The anglo is a phenomenally difficult instrument requiring a high degree of dexterity and co-ordination, and supreme musicianship.

     

    At least, that's what I always tell everybody :) .

     

    Good on you, Howard! Keep up the mystery. Anyone who hasn't worked out that it is just a glorified mouth organ is always tremendously impressd by the seemingly random arrangement of the notes on an Anglo!

  12. Hey, I do like the idea of your NZ auction site. "Trade Me" ..... makes it like a 'proper' auction which doesn't have a time cut off but which sells to the highest bidder. Does anyone know if there is a UK online auction site that works like that?

     

    David

  13. CD arrived this morning on my day off, so I have been able to listen to it straight away. Brilliant. Vintage Will Duke. I can never work out where all the notes come from! This is a must have for English style Anglo players and it will be an education for everyone else!

  14. Do contact Chris Algar at Barleycorn concertinas... barleycorn@concertina.co.uk. He is an expert on English concertinas and has many passing through his hands at the lower end of the market. He is an honest man with a very good reputation and he will advise you fairly. A reconditioned lower end 'vintage' concertina from Chris will give you a much better start on the instrument than buying a Stagi, Jackie, etc and it will hold its value.

     

    Tell him how much you can afford (and how big your hands are) and he will serve you well. He also has lots of expereiece in shipping to Australia!

     

    Enjoy your new toy, which will soon become the love of your life, take over your spare time and begin to eclipse your other hobbies!

  15. Our local Police force in Cambridgeshire issued households with a substance called Smartwater (check out smartwater.com) which floresces under UV light with a specific UV fingerprint that can then be traced through a national database.

     

    Haven't had anything stolen yet, so are not able to verify that it works, but it certainly seems a good idea for valuable items. Hopefully the warning label (on the concertina case) might deter a thief?

  16. Dave Mallinson's Easy Peasy Tunes is a great start source as already mentioned. I would also suggest some of the progressive tune books for Descant recorders; there are several which work through Playford dance tunes, increasing the number of notes needed as you progress through the book.

     

    Further, having found a tune that you think you would like to learn, it can help to 'Google' it as the tune + 'abc', locate the abc file and paste it into Tune-o-tron on this website and listen to the midi playpack! Try and avoid Irish tune websites.... their versions often have more twiddly bits in them which can be confusing at first!

×
×
  • Create New...