Robin Harrison

Hi Bill.....( and welcome !)...don't know if you've had time to explore this great concertina web site but there's an interesting Maccann ( note spelling from www.concertina.com) currently for sale over on the Buy & Sell page. http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=20181 It gets better, too ! This advertised in the Button Box.....see bottom of page. http://www.buttonbox.com/concertinas-in-stock.html#duet Let us know how you get on and for what it's worth, Mccann duets seem to me to represent absolutely incredible value-for-money. .....Robin

......always looks fun when you play , Jody. Guess that's the point,eh ! Robin

Thanks everyone for listening.......it's an interesting one ! There is still a reed rattling against it's frame so I'll get some images when I look at it. And yes, I did come up with the idea of the EC thumb strap but Geoff Crabb was the inspiration for the lever air release ( he calls it a wind valve) and Colin in fact has something similar on his Franglo so I can't claim it as original. The lever works really well with the EC thumb strap as the thumb moves in its natural direction. I do sympathize, Jim........fortune favours the bold and I said yes to Colin before seriously thinking about it. HaHa...hadn't noticed the back ground. But having just spent 8 years building ( and now completed) a cabin on the very remote west side of Vancouver Island, Marlene said she would like an outdoor shower. All the ones I could buy were stupidly expensive, so for a Christmas present I made her an outdoor steam-punk shower, complete with pressure gauge and heated soap holder. I love being retired ! There is also a Aluminium cello in the background but another story, another time ! Sure....happy to.....

Adrian and Cohen have asked me for sound samples on my new bass so here goes. They are just recorded with my iPhone so there is a quality loss but it gives a good idea. The first video is a general sort of one........if the tune at the end sounds bonky it is because it not a tune as such but just me noodling to give some idea about response etc. It is a much harder anglo to play than a regular treble anglo.........I've added one video of the same tune, Polly the Lass, for comparison on a regular treble anglo. It takes a lot more air and energy to get it going and I think I'm still being too restrained. It is from the same group ( I believe) that Colin made for Cormac Begley and he certainly rips into his. I used it for accompanying a song I sang at a Toronto folk club the other week and it was surprising effective. I say this because it is often hard to rein in an anglo to be quiet enough not to overpower the voice. With the bass, the song was in the key of G and my voice was well above the anlgo and it was perfect ( so I have been told).....or at least very nice ! My aim with this anglo is to use it in our Toronto trad.English session rather than my melodeon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VOd8HBQhwg The last shot of the bellows fully is for the benefit of Bill N. on this forum. We were playing in a session together recently and looked at my concertina and remarked " Robin, I think I'm suffering from bellows envy" ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuZHUGJJYTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmFC-Z0XFZs Thanks for looking. Robin

Tx Alex.......pm sent

.......there is a trick I have recently discovered when repairing the nut on a guitar or similar, whereby superglue and baking soda are used together. Would this be useful for filling wider gaps in wood in an instance like this ? Robin

Tx Cohen......unavailable. Robin.

Wanted to buy.........38 key Bb / F Jeffries. Ideally I'm looking for one in old pitch........needs to be in nice condition but unrestored is fine. At a push, I would consider a 44 key instrument. Thanks Robin

I'm sure I don't know David......but I love the idea of " ancestral memory " Robin

BTW . Welcome to C.net......I see it's your first post. Hope you enjoy it here. Robin

Great tune ! Sounds very Morrisy.......any idea who the anglo player is ? John, have you transcribed the tune ? Would love a copy if you had. Nicely played too. Robin

Really nice John.......all I can add is that I would have loved to hear them all at half the speed ! Great bass playing there ! Robin

Like so.......I used Roger's pdf also and added and subtracted bits for my 38 key......mine is a somewhat customised layout but the basic 30 keys are there. I just show it as an example of what Adrian is talking about. At the moment I use just mainly 2 note chords on the right hand ( occasionally 3) and keep it very simple. One of my graphics shows every note in the chord, the other is simpler and shows the ones I am most likely to use. Robin

I hope Adrian Brown will chime in here. I recently attended a workshop with him and he emphasizes the concept of spreading a chord as widely as possible ie from the bottom notes of the left hand to the top notes of the right hand. I have started to incorporate this as much as possible in my playing, mainly song accompaniment......it's a great sound and reasonably simple with just a little practice.

Here's mine...... stay old-fashioned ! Books of music and 10,000hrs. Good luck..........I did this same thing 15 yrs ago.

..........and some lovely stuff on his bass Dipper anglo.

Phew !......huge sigh of relief from everyone !.

I used a flat washer & spring washer so no chance of this but point well made.

......I've observed this effect before and had assumed it was caused by air rushing over the brass frame (plus smoke, pollution etc.) Interesting about the alum causing it. However, if it is only a patina, is it a cause for concern ? ie a discolouration rather than corrosion. The reed frames appear intact simply darker.

My solution.....maybe 75c worth of hardware.

Just to add a further thread to this conversation.....if the wood used is crucial to the sound etc. any guesses as to how the sound is affected if it is laminated or solid. Traditionally it would have been solid, but Colin Dipper laminates his if he knows it is going to the N. American market.

How exciting, Geoff ! Do you have skeletons in your closet ? Robin

Fantastic, Stefan. Can't help thinking that Charles Wheatstone, creative thinker that he was, would applaud the intersection of his work and new technology. More, More, More ! Robin

How's this for a splendid piece of English concertina playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRQUrISOso4 ! Robin

Has any one else been dying to make a pun about mordant sheep or is it just me ? Anyway, I hope I sleep well tonight or I'll be counting..........etc