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Bruce McCaskey

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Everything posted by Bruce McCaskey

  1. Thanks for the review. I’ve long been intrigued by this model but have never encountered one. I’ve seen the video on the Marcus website but would love to see more videos if you’d be inclined to post. I suspect that if I ever actually got my hands on one to try I’d be inclined to order my own
  2. No inquiries so I’ve decided to withdraw it from sale offering with a contribution to Paul for the use of the listing space.
  3. This is about three years old. I bought it new in the fall of 2019 but didn’t find many opportunities to play it so it is little used and in excellent condition. Includes the case. The price is $2,350 and I’ll pay the shipping.
  4. Nice looking instruments, I ordered mine at the start of COVID and the wait was about 14 months.
  5. I sent a PM yesterday, did you see it?
  6. John, it’s difficult to do a direct comparison to my Dipper. The Dipper was sold as a “Professional County Clare” and Colin said he put his “best” reeds in those. It’s metal ended with a bright and distinctive sound. It’s maybe 30 years old and I’ve played it a lot, though not so much in the last couple of years, and the reeds are well broke in. I’ve included a photo of the Dipper below. The TC Suttner is new (literally just made a few weeks ago) and wooden ended. The reeds haven’t been played much yet and they are a little softer toned and don’t have the brightness of the Dipper. Still it’s a good sound and I expect they’ll sound much richer in a few months of playing. The seven fold bellows move very readily and the buttons only require a light touch to operate. I find the action to be crisp and responsive. The Dipper...
  7. Last summer I had a chance to meet Tim Collins in Seattle and he graciously permitted me to try out two of his personal instruments. I was quite impressed and a few days later looked into ordering one for myself. I hadn’t been following the concertina market too closely and until I met with Tim I had been unaware that Jürgen Suttner offered a Tim Collins (TC) model at the top of his Anglo line. I placed an order and a little over a year later, the completed instrument was delivered to my door. Lovely instrument, 31 gold plated buttons (D drone), gold tooling and Thuya burl ends.
  8. Recorded July 9, 2020, a one-hour Zoom based concert from Ireland. Excellent opportunity to enjoy Brenda playing in an intimate setting. Click this link
  9. Forgive me if I'm out of context or confused between games and versions, but isn't this the same game that Jodi was describing in his post last year?
  10. I don’t know how it's working out in these days of virus related concerns, but my past experience has been that one a package gets this close, it's likely to be delivered in the next day or two. I have to wonder if the delivery date specified wasn’t a rough estimate applied at the time it was surrendered for shipping and it moved along much quicker than expected. If this as a current estimate based on location things must be in real turmoil with the shipping company. Maybe it will show up Monday and surprise you. Good luck.
  11. I spent some time looking into this just for curiosity's sake. Google, Bing and a few other search tools were employed along the way. It appears the publisher no longer has copies, I ran across a comment elsewhere the said the publisher reported it to be long out of print. I'm not entirely certain the publisher is still in business anyway. I also ran across a past reference to a copy being sold on eBay, but that was not a current offering. A search of this forum reveals that a copy was offered up for sale and another forum member apparently purchased it. I don't want to name the buyer here, but suggest you do your own search on the forum for reference to that book and when you identify the buyer, reach out to him with a personal message. Perhaps you can strike some sort of deal.
  12. Although this is primarily accordion focused, the concertina has a brief presence. I've included this video here not so much for its limited concertina content as for the fascinating window it provides into the world of bellows driven free reed instruments and some perspective on their many forms. It's dated 2009, somehow I missed it then but Martin Donohoe of Cavan (Ireland) recently posted a link to it elsewhere that brought it to my attention today. Behind the Bellows
  13. I heard “concertina” several times but that was all I could recognize from the narrative. Using Google I found a photo of Jayden and I'd say there is a good chance it matches the player in the video, but the player’s face isn’t well displayed in the video so there's some uncertainty. I also found one YouTube video that might be Jayden playing but it shows only the concertina.
  14. These were just posted to YouTube within the last 24 hours. Wish I could offer details beyond the tune names but I can’t offer translations of the associated text. Regardless, these “Concertina and Guitar” offerings are very well done. I'm only including one link, the other two video's will show up as options at the end of this one. A bit of a bonus, while I was casting about trying to figure out the performer in the above video(s), I stumbled across this nice spritely offering from Toru Kato on a 40-button Anglo.
  15. I didn’t see any description of the instrument in the video I or hear any words in the video I posted, but I can believe it is a duet after looking closer at his left hand fingering. Further research does make it obvious. Still a nice tune in that setting. I'll go back and edit the original post to clarify.
  16. I don’t often see new Anglo videos posted to YouTube these days, but thought I'd pass these on. The first from Robert Johnson in New York, I initially thought was an Anglo when I made this post but it has since been clarified as a Hayden Duet. And the second, only recently posted, of Chris Droney in 2014 (Gradam Saoil TG4) playing Anglo. Edited October 24, 2019 to clarify the types of concertina involved.
  17. Just saw a new news item about this English Midi concertina that provides a little more information.
  18. Three things about this project were of particular interest to me. First, this looks like something that might not be as expensive as a custom built traditional style instrument. Admittedly that's only a guess and I may be well off the mark, but I like to imagine that someone with access to a Glowforge might be able to cut the needed pieces and put together a full kit of parts with instructions and market it for under $1,000. Second, it connects by Bluetooth, thus eliminating dangling wires and making the connection process very simple. Third, he mentions that he’s using Fluidsynth on a phone for the sound synthesizer, eliminating the need for another piece of hardware and making the whole setup very portable. I assume at this point one could easily route the sound to headphones for quiet practice in the presence of others, or to a speaker system if a louder sound is desired. I don’t play English, but I assume that if an English model of this sort ever becomes available commercially an Anglo version won’t be far behind. I don't think something like this would be satisfactory as a replacement for a traditional instrument, but if the price wasn’t too prohibitive I could see it being a fun novelty or secondary instrument.
  19. I knew nothing beyond what I'd posted, but today after stumbling around in the links within the story I found some additional details of the construction and the author's name, Dave Ehnebuske. I've run across a couple of ways of contacting him by email if you are a member of certain groups, and also one that doesn’t require membership but uses a business email. I don’t think it is appropriate for me to post those details here, but I will send you a PM. i was going to check to see if he might be a forum member here but can’t find a way to do that. I know there used to be a way but I suppose it may have gone away in more recent years - or maybe it’s still there and I just don’t recognize it.
  20. The general concept has been explored and implemented in recent years, but I don’t think this particular story about a glowforge approach has been otherwise highlighted here. https://community.glowforge.com/t/concertina-midi-controller/43946/14 This related video offers some practical perspective. https://vimeo.com/354102197
  21. I should mention that while it is an excellent resource, Bertram’s second tutor “American Fiddlestyles for the Anglo Concertina” is not intended as a beginner's first guide. It assumes the student knows the basics of the instrument and can read music. An absolute beginner would likely be lost, but someone who can already play a dozen or more tunes would be able to work with it. It is targeted at intermediate level players but I dare say many that consider themselves proficient would still find it beneficial. What I like best about it is that it really explores the fingering possibilities on the Anglo. Coming from an Irish Crossrow approach this book was eye-opening for me. Bertram's website has some issues as mentioned above, but this link will take you to the page to purchase this book: http://bertramlevy.com/concertina-tutor
  22. Michael Arraide has an accordion shop in Kent (south of Seattle) that Bertram Levy goes to for tuning his concertinas and bandoneons. Bertram speaks highly of him and has recommended him to me multiple times. A few years ago I sent Randal Bays there to have his son's concertina tuned and Randal reported he was pleased with result. I've never met Michael but feel comfortable recommending him based on Bertram’s strong endorsement. http://www.expertaccordionrepair.com/
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