Dieppe

I can think of some better ones, e.g. piling them high as a barrier against a lava flow. You can also use them to collect money (coins and bills) in for the group, if people feel like tipping. In a pinch you can use it as a tray for the drinks, or for the empties.. Patrick

Ah.. I figured it was something such thing! It just struck me as amusing because of Popeye and the recent "did sailors play the concertina?" thread recently and such.. All in jest of course! So... did Popeye, along with eating spinach, ever play the concertina?

And how junk shops with legs added can act as coffee tables? Why not? Baba Yaga has a hut with legs after all!

Of course! Popi the Sailorman! I wonder if he plays the concertina too?

I had an EC from the same people with the same problem. 2 pairs of notes had their reeds swapped. A high B and Bflat, and a low B and B flat, I think. Patrick

If you can snag the Stagi from the ButtonBox that might be a good way to start. Despite what some people say about the Stagi, I have a 48-button Tenor and I am happy with having some deep notes that a regular Treble wouldn't have. It's a decent starter instrument, and much better than starting with a cheap Chinese one. I lucked out with the Stagi I own, since it was a eBay purchase *sweat* but from someone here. If you get it though the ButtonBox you won't have to send it away to get tuned and fixed, as it's already had that. It's well worth the extra expense! It's like the difference between buying a car from Joe Scmoe down the road, and one from a dealer that's fixed it up and.. well okay it's a bad analogy here, but something like that. Patrick

It's too bad there isn't a "Buttonville" huh? Yeah I'll drop a line here if I do go.

Well, having grown up 14 miles away, I remember how a lot of people came into the area but were in another place. If I have to go up there to see my mom, like I said, might as well go during the Fiddle Festival! And... I don't think I've the patience to drag my PA along since I'd, more than likely, be flying up. Although, I don't have to I suppose.. The Airstream from South Dakota? You might not be the only one? Or would ya? Ah, I'll post here if I do end up going. Patrick

I know this may seem off topic, but does anybody here happen to go to the National Oldtime Fiddler's Contest & Festival in Weiser, Idaho in June? I grew up in that area, and when I was about 3 I seem to remember my dad (deceased when I was 5) playing fiddle, and something about that event going on. (I was 3, wha-do-ya-want? ) Does anyone here happen to go? I realize that this music event seems rather, uh, fiddle focused... but is there room for a concertina or two? Has anyone been? (I was thinking, if I have to visit my mom who still lives up there, this year.. I could go during the Fiddle Festival, have a free place to stay, and have something to do while I was there. Trust me, other than farming, t'ere ain't much going on there. ) Patrick

I can't bear to quote any more in case I'm sick But it includes a book!

*sniff* I didn't win! Well, if you ever get tired of it, lemme know. From the little I saw of it, it was a fine instrument!

Hey! Were you the one who bought the 56 button Wheatstone from AuctionDepot LA a few weeks back? I would have gotten it too, if it weren't for that dog and those meddling teenagers! I mean, it just went over my set amount. How are you liking it? Patrick

That's a mother of toilet seat, lob-sided, vertical anglo. Do you know nothing? Earwig-o again! For people who play Anglo, how is it playing a beastie like this? (In the appropriate key, of course.) Going from a Piano Accordion to diatonic button is a nightmare, I'm sure. But if you already have the bellows skills for it---is it just learning the fingering then?

I hear alcohol helps. But only in moderation. Too much and then you get REALLY pissed and think you're doing great--when you're not! But yeah, I've had that happen when practicing alone. I just can't get the mood, can't find a song I like, can't play anything from heart that I like... which means it's time to go outside or try another instrument or something.

\ Welllll.. get it back... and resell it again? Post it here? ETA: Ah, never mind I see.. so it belongs to the insurance company. Yeah, make them an offer I guess? At least if they auction it, find out from where and let people know? Patrick

Our cat likes to try and jump up on my leg. Accordion or Concertina. He doesn't seem to respond to the music, per se.. he likes being near his "people". I'll have to see if I can get him to sing along sometime. Hm. Well, a few times I seem to remember him looking right at me and meowing loudly. But he does that a lot.. so...

It really needs to say "SIR Charles Wheatstone" though to be accurate.

I don't know why but I first read this topic as "Wii Songs" as in the Nintendo Wii.. and songs of Depression. As in when someone is trying to find a Nintendo Wii before Christmas for their kids, and can't find one. Yeah, that kind of Depression... Silly me, I know.

In this same Re-tuning vein, I need to get my Wheatstone tuned. I'm allegedly in the queue for the ButtonBox, but it seems to be taking forever. Are there any other recommended United States concertina tuners that anyone could recommend? I'd really like to play my instrument without cringing! Patrick

Tape? Glue? Seriously, I dunno... practice?

Patrick, The description of this instrument as a tenor treble is, I suggest, suspect. A tenor treble would usually have 56 keys and run from the C below middle C upwards for 4 octaves. A treble would most frequently have 48 keys and the range would be from the G below middle C upwards for 3 and a half octaves to C. The range given, from E to C, and the number of keys suggests to me that this is probably a treble and that the seller has not in fact found the lowest note. I wonder what else he doesn't know much about ? The ledger entry doesn't throw any light on things I'm afraid. Buyer beware, or at least be cautious! John There are two instruments. The 56 button one sold already, and it's the 48 button one that I'm talking about. Yeah, it's just a treble concertina I believe. The 56 button one seemed to have just a extended treble range when I played it. The 48 button one has the leaky bellows. Patrick

Personally I'm still wondering about the "steel vibrators"... ;-) Patrick

There is a Wheatstone English Concertina (48 keys, 1950s) on eBay that I've seen in person (i.e. it's real, and it does exist). I had gone to this particular eBay auction house to look at the previous Wheatstone English Concertina that just got to be too rich for my blood. In any case, this one has a small bellows leak in the leather bellows somewhere. I liked the OTHER one better, but this one does seem to be in as good of shape as the pictures indicate. I didn't get a good feel for how in tune it was because of the wheeze from the bellows. I asked the seller in this action about whether the bellows leak, so I'm curious what they'll say. Just FYI is all. As many scams as go one out there, at least I personally know that this particular one does exist. And as for the bastard who outbid me on the other one---I hope you enjoy it! It's damn near perfect, though there are a few reeds that are slightly out of tune---but only noticeable to a discerning ear. Patrick

My opinion is the "concertina sounds like an accordion" sound because of the reeds is just a little bogus. ("Dudes looks like a Lady?") I play both, and some people have commented on the "fuller" sound from the accordion. Well, in the treble I typically have 2 sets of reeds for each not, and in the bass---well---chords. But also there's a deeper sound box inside with more "reverb" or something. My (tenor) Stagi, even with steel reeds, just has a single reed per note and a lot less of it to sound. They just don't sound the same to me. Now.. similar? Well, in the sense that one doesn't sound like a guitar, and the other like an organ. Just my 2 cents and I see that others have said things.. so... I'd just say that some clarification on that point should be made, and probably is by now. Some concertinas DO have a larger interior sound box and some do have double or even triple reeds... but not all of them. And not usually, right?

I play mostly isolated, though I have a friend who plays guitar who I'll sometimes try to play with. Lately though that's fallen by the wayside. So I do play alone, though occasionally the cat will come over, look up at me, and meow quite pitifully. I'm in a medieval recreation group, and sometimes I like to play for people there. However since my 'tina is "out of period" I've gotten a small amount of grief from some people for it. (Yeah, like I should carry around a church organ to be in the right time period.) So mostly I just play for me.