Henrik Müller

Yes - a brilliant metaphor! There is no free lunch - but once you have the knack, it's lunch all day long - /Henrik

I am trying to find an emoticon for "giggling" but I'll have to do with this: /Henrik

Cool! I can relate to that, congrats! /Henrik

Thanks, Chris - I have come to the point where I do miss a few more buttons (but only a few!), especially the high C that I forgot (roaring laughter in the background, fair enough). Coincidentally, this very afternoon I fumbled around playing in E (which I never, never do), but I was intrigued by the first track on Noel Hill's "Irish Concertina 2", which is played on an (E/A? - correct me, anglo-players). Anyway, everything ends up a tone higher, hence the bright sound. And I did miss a high Eb, there. I would also add the Ab (I dropped it, thinking I'd be OK with the G#). The left side is here (photo 1) - look at it as a standard 48-key, with some buttons missing (yes, the high C) /Henrik

Congratulations, Dan - it must feel grand! Ordered yesterday - /Henrik

Oh, I'll be there! Henrik Müller Licensed Industrial Spy

The animation on step [11]? Hmm - peculiar. I just now made a small correction to it (the link to the last step [28] wasn't active.) The Flash file is, on purpose, published so it's several versions old, not demanding the latest Flash player. But since everyone is watching YouTube, they will have the latest... But I do react to the fact that everything seems to go very slow here today... /Henrik

From looking at the video, it appears you never use the 2nd column either. Is that where all the accidentals are? Again, we are being fooled by the video. Yes - it looks like nothing goes on there. In this tune I use 3 buttons in the second column, the d, the a and the e'. This is what I have: Ahem... the high c" in the left side is a mistake. On the little Stagi, I marked the extra buttons I would need by gluing small paper dots on the ends. Where the c" should be, was the decorative cut-out. Once I had marked all, I switched the brain off (or on to other things). Very embarrassing... /Henrik

Too late - it works now, /Henrik

Ha, haaaaa! That's what I call "taking a close look" - you are right, of course. And pun intended as usual - /Henrik

Hi, all - I have done a small make-over on my (building - again, pun intended) site: The update means general cosmetics and adding content to the last step [28] = a couple of photos - springs and spring winder, a YouTube video. Also revived step [11], the Flash animation of the action. It hadn't worked for a long time... fair enough, since the file wasn't on the server. It is now. It is reached with link in my signature. /Henrik

Thank you. And nice playing in the video. Edited to add: I still don't understand your 3-column button arrangement. Thanks, David. Well, there are four columns - only the the fourth contains only one button, the one you can see in the video, hanging there by itself, all sad and lonely. Come to think of it, I never use it. Hmmm... /Henrik

Easily: I built it in 2005/6 as the only way out for me to continue playing Irish music. It was modelled after a Stagi miniature, that I had modified to "feel" like a standard 6 1/4" size. I experimented with various hand strap positions and landed on this, slightly angled version. It did have thumb straps, though - the small-width bellows on the Stagi would, combined with full-width sides, make the bellows collapse akwardly on the pull. So the new instrument had modified thumb straps: half-width and positioned so that the thumb should go all the way in, to minimize strain on the joint. Half-width to prevent an unpleasant feeling when the thumbs were slightly bent. In 2007, I discovered, through curiosity, that I could loosen the thumbstraps and play away as before and after one month of intensive playing (3-4 hour non-stop sessions) I removed them and changed the handstraps to what you see today. Never looked back. Not so obvious are the changes in the buttons (apart from the reduced number): the horisontal spacing is wider than a "normal" EC (whatever that is). Today I now consider this width ridiculous narrow (and I don't have big hands) - the greater width allows me a playing style which would be difficult (though - in all fairness - not impossible). If one considers the spacing on an Anglo there is no comparison (taking into account the differences in the layouts) The only "real" instrument I have ever seen, with wider horisontal spacing, was a Wheatstone hex-baritone from 1914, item no. 57, in the Horniman museum. A custom job, maybe? The other change - also taken from the Stagi - is that the buttons go all the way down. Que?! Meaning that you feel the hole/the bushing/ the plate when you press it. I have always felt it unpleasant when, after a while, the buttons feel like they are little needles going into the fingertops and it was one of the things I felt good about the first time I fell upon the Stagi. It turned out to be another parameter that allowed a new style of playing. The whole story can be seen (with a few image mistakes) by following the link in my signature. === The number of buttons: I don't need all the bs and #s, hence the peculiar look of the right side. The left is ever worse... /Henrik

C'mon - have a little faith /Henrik

I played around (pun intended) with a video camera an afternoon during the week after New Year, only to find that the equipment, surprisingly, had gone on strike = no sound The only result is this video, left on YouTube for you to peruse...Hope to do more next time - /Henrik

Works fine for me - iPod Touch. Never thought of selecting any LoFi version. Must be for the Nokias or Sony Ericssons /Henrik

Re. 1: He, he! - good try. No, the pentops are actually a bit too domed Re. 2: No, it wouldn't, it would be nice (like 6mm) /Henrik

Thanks, Bob - and a Happy New Year to you and the family, /Henrik

Darned tasteful, if you ask me! /Henrik

Very cool! I'll get it - might learn some Anglo stuff, who knows - /Henrik

Oh, no - after lots of playing, consideration and thinking, my personal preferences is probably called "domishly flattened". And psst.... don't mention the "D"-word (like in diameter) /Henrik

Agree, agree! The place, the space can really get the best out of you - there are some rooms around here, where I could be left alone to play for hours and hours. Now - a lounge with soft settees and a thick carpet... /Henrik

Hear hear2 Chris Hear hear3/HenrikBlast! I messed it up...

Hear hear3 /Henrik

Oh - nothing to do with the music - it was my post that was all messed up: I always make sure to make paragraphs (line breaks), but for unknown reasons they had disappeared, making it one long text mass. /Henrik