JohnEverist

anyone know the name of the second tune the first "group" is playing? TIA

Let us know how you get on with that. FWIW about 4 years ago, Noel Hill found a similar sound (but hard to know without being there) on my then 3-4 yr old Dipper (Rosewood ends) by smacking a button really hard with his middle finger on his right hand with the bellows closed and then keeping the button down. He asked me if I had played it a lot (yes) and then said it was caused by a wearing in the hole where the rivet goes through the flattened part of the lever arm at the pivot point, and the buzz was the lever arm vibrating up and down against the rivet. The recommended fix was to take a needle nose pliers and gently squeeze the arm parallel to the rivet post at that point to "close up" the hole in the arm. I never did. I was able to make the noise happen when I wanted to, but it felt like I was abusing the instrument to do so. I certainly don't play that hard, and it never happens to me, no matter how lively the tune. I had sort of forgotten about it until I read this post. YMMV

can be had on ebay here

both of the winning bids were apparently the minumum increase over the next highest......suggesting that the winning bidder actually bid higher. I was just "wondering" how high someone might go for the "pigs in the poke" I was at about 50% on the 30b. would love to get winner's feedback on these.

and then there is this one. Looks like the same buyer got both. wonder what the bids were.

I use an ART Studio V3 with the same set up. Its got several pre-set voicings. I like "warm" vocal best. Able to boost the gain more than enough to balance. Inexpensive. only hassle is the power supply, 9V AC, another cord to deal with on stage. would be nice if someone would do a preamp that runs off phantom power.....

We mostly play acoustically for dances, sessions, and at play parties, but were lucky enough to score some bigger "festival gigs" this summer and needed to wire up. Here's the set up for these large venues that I came up with. At the advice of another member here earlier, I located a couple of Sennheiser 608 wind instrument mics and cobbled up mounting brackets that utilize the strap thumb screw. I run the two XLR outputs from the mics into a Samson input "combiner" and then to an ART Studio V3 tube amp. These mics are dynamic mics so you don't get the feedback problems you would with condenser mics in this application. Ran one gig without the pre-amp and wasn't happy at all......."harsh", uneven sound and had to really play "loud" for the mics to work. The pre-amp solved these problems. I was able to really push up the input side and back off the output for greatly increased mic sensitivity. Playing much more relaxed (softer) and getting all the sound to the board that is needed. Additionally this pre-amp has some voicing pre-sets. I am using the "warm vocal" setting, which really does warm up the sound. Still have to tell the techs to roll off the highs though. Problems: if you accidentally bump the mics you get a big thump sound. And as mentioned the air button gasp is not nice. Big incentive to work on balancing your playing so you don't have to use it. Thanks to dpmccabe for starting me down this path. YMMV John

thanks to Stephen Chambers and Peter Laban for clarifying Ms. Keville's concertina make in the U Tube clip. apologies to M3838 for not posting the link. The one provided by Stephen C is the one I was referring to. J

my subjective, inexpert opinion: I've owned a very nice C/G Dipper for almost four years, "customized" and "set up" for Irish music as spec'd by the guy I bought it from - new condition. I've not played any other top level concertinas on any kind of consistent basis, but have experienced a couple other Dippers, two Jeffries, and last fall a very nice Suttner belonging to a professional player. The major difference between my Dipper and the Suttner (other than the sound) was the button shape, length, and travel. The Dipper buttons are a good 1/4 inch beyond the surface with an 1/8 to 5/32 of travel. The Suttner buttons were maybe 5/32 beyond, more rounded, with less travel. Made for a completely different playing experience. I had a couple of tunes on the Suttner and didn't really get comfortable, but it was obviously a great instrument. I believe that these button/action details can be specified on any custom order instrument, providing you know what you want. About the same time I was able to play a nice Jeffries belonging to a young Irish woman and she played my Dipper. I thought the Suttner had a very similar feel to the Jeffries. Doesn't Mr. Suttner model his instruments on Jeffries? In any event the young woman put her finger on the only enduring question I've had about the Dipper: its noisy. As in "pad slap" after you get off the note. you can minimize the "pad slap" sound if you play with a light touch and don't snap your fingers off the buttons after pushing them all the way in, and I've worked hard at this. But the Jeffries and Suttner did not seem to have this issue. Does any one else notice this about Dippers or other concertinas? This being said, I would not have traded the Dipper for any of these other instruments. It sounds glorious. Four years on it just gets better and better. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to buy it when it came up. The only other concertina (recordings or live) that I thought sounded as good or better was Claire Keville's on the U-Tube clip of Port Hole of the Kelp. I had always assumed that she was playing a Jeffries, but earlier in this thread Peter Laban says she plays a Dipper. Is it a Dipper in this clip? Anyway, I hope this is the kind of information you are looking for, Azalin. I'd be grateful for any comments on the pad slap thing. John

Hi Patrick and John We're planning on going this year......we were there in 2006 and 2004 as well. its an every other yr thing. we play mostly mid-western old time fiddle tunes and hang in Stickerville. I play concertina on the 6/8'ers , waltzes and schottisches....banjo on the reels, except "The Irish Reel" and "the other Irish Reel", although last time I mostly played guitar as there is always an abundance of banjo players. We also play Irish and had a few Irish sessions, found quite a few there who play both old time and Irish. Look for the Airstream from South Dakota. oh yeah........Weiser's a blast, Patrick. you won't regret it if you go. I see that your avatar is a piano accordion. I've seen a great PA player in the swing jams, and last time there was a latino 3 row button box player entertaining at one of the food vendors. John our website

I just noticed this thread and thought I'd come out of "lurk mode" and throw in my 2 cents worth. I got into traditional music several years ago via clawhammer banjo and an ensuing friendship with a local fiddle player. He was playing in an Irish band, but turned out his real passion was Old Time, and specifically Midwest tunes. He was learning most of his tunes from Onawa, Iowa, fiddler and single-row accordion player, Dwight Lamb. After I got up to speed on the reels, I started trying to figure how to play the Quadrilles (6/8 pieces) and Waltzes. I really didn't like how banjo sounded in 6 or 3 however. About that time I heard Bertram Levy playing concertina on a waltz or 2 on the "Henry Reed Reunion" recording and it occured to me that the concertina would be perfect for quadrilles as well as waltzes. So I picked up a concertina and now play all quadrilles, waltzes, and polkas with that instrument. I also play the Nebraska "Irish Reel" on the concertina, but all other reels on banjo. One of the coolest things about the concertina (I have a C/G 3-row) is its ability to play in most all the fiddle keys. Most of the quadrilles are in A, but are found in all the other keys. E doesn't work too well, but isn't very common. I just transpose to F, which is easier for the fiddlers anyway. So if you're looking for some fun tunes to play on your concertina, try the Midwestern Quadrilles. They can be found on Dwight's recordings (Rounder). Also both volumes of R.P. Christeson's "Old Time Fiddler's Repertoire" have quite a few transcriptions. here's some of the ones I know: Silver Lake Quadrille (A) Art Wooten's Quadrille (Bb) Grand Army Quadrille (F & Bb) Oyster River Quadrille (A) Sant Walter's Quadrille in C Bob Walter's Quadrille in D Dwight's Grandpa's Danish Tune in G The Marching Quadrille (D) There's lots more and they all play great on the concertina! over and out, John

for a couple of relatively recent recordings of Tom Carey go here: Walsh's Pub The last set is Mr. Carey playing solo. If anyone has the name of the second tune here (after Sgt. Early's Dream) I'd appreciate getting it. I've been playing it for a couple of years as Tom Carey's . It sounds a lot like Devil Amongst the Tailors to me. Back to Lurking, John

thanks to all for the spirited responses. Its what makes concertina.net a great resource. I guess my question(s) really encompassed both areas: how to make a pragamatic key decision when learning a new tune, as well as trying to gain some understanding of the use of "odd" keys in the context of the tradition. Lots of help in both realms. yeah, Sandy, I agree that that Bm chord is atrocious. A transcription given to me by a fiddler had that written in there by some guitar player. It doesn't even sound Irish. But isn't the actual chord an Em? the tune seems to be E Dorian back to lurk mode, John

Hello all..... I know that this is a problematic question, but I'm coming out of 'lurk mode" with a few observations and some questions, and would aprreciate any response. I've been playing a modified 30 key Lachenal C/G instrument for about a year and half or so. I'm entirely self-taught, however I did make a bit of a ways into Bertram Levy's tutor. I live in an area (South Dakota, USA) which has no anglo concertina players (that I know of), but I am lucky enough to have some great Irish music players as friends who are willing to put up with my learning curve as long as I play piano for the local ceilis . I have been a gigging musician (with day job) for over 30 yrs playing guitar and piano in classic rock/jazz standard bands, and more recently guitar and banjo in American Old Time tradition, with emphasis on US Midwestern fiddle tunes. I can read enough to follow a lead sheet, or pick out a tune transcription, but I learn primarily by ear. I recently tackled Noel Hill's "The Wise Maid" which effort brings me to the questions. Apparently he is playing in Bb on the recording, and when I first sounded it out I was able to find all the notes on my instrument. I am continually amazed at the vesatility of the C/G instrument (30 key), and felt that with enough practice I could probably play it at a reasonable tempo in that key. But since its more widely played as a D tune (I think), I transposed and learned it there. So how is Noel Hill playing it on the recording? I am assuming D fingering with an Ab/Eb instrument.....anybody know? (BTW The AmazingSlowdowner from ronimusic.com is a remarkable learning tool for those that like to learn from recordings by ear, esp those NH ornaments ..... I am not affiliated) The locals play "The Earl's Chair" so I put in some time on that one as well. They play it in D and I learned it off a transcription from the ABC tunefinder, with help from my mates at the different parts. I am particularly fond of Mary MacNamara's playing and try to reference her settings if I am learning a tune she has recorded comercially. She plays that tune in C. Is that tradition in her part of Clare? I also love Mrs. Crotty and John Kelly, Sr., and find their settings pretty accessible. But again, their key choices are pretty different from the settings you find in the abc's or if our local session just happens to play one they play . And then there's Kitty Hayes with all those tunes in F. I guess its just a concertina "situation" what with the early 2-row instruments establishing the traditional keys for some tunes in some areas, and the availability of great instruments in keys and tunings other than C/G and A=440. So how does anyone else decide which key when learning a tune? For me, if its a tune that my local group already plays I will learn it in their key. If its for my edification, I either use the key that the recording I am using is in, or I may decide to use the fingering that (I think) the artist is using and transposing for my instrument. I was able to take a Irish piano class from Felix Dolan this past summer, and he was kind enough to accompany me while I played some of my concertina tunes. He rolled his eyes at some of my key choices Thanks for any and all feedback. I'm hoping someday for a real anglo lesson from an accomplished player, but am not looking forward to dealing with all the bad habits I am surely teaching myself. Happy Squeezing! John

while I don't think that Ebb Tide is there, the RTE Radio Ceolnet Site has some John Kelly concertina tunes to listen to, as well as much other great stuff. go to RTE Radio Ceolnet its a bit finicky to work with but I can usually get it to play.... John