
Dave Prebble
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Everything posted by Dave Prebble
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Hi Rhomylly, Eight months is a pretty fair session I should say Dave
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Hi Goran, Surely you are approaching this problem from the wrong direction? In these days of truly marvelous cosmetic and corrective surgery and given the unwillingness of those who actually play the concertina to change to an, as yet unavailable, 'ergotina', perhaps you could write a design brief (with thumbnail sketches if not scale drawings, of course) for a Surgeon to re-model the human hand to suit existing vintage instruments. Dave
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Or perhaps, in the absence of a computer keyboard, developed his skills by devoting more time to actually playing the instrument ?? Dave
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Asking For Help - Microphones For Anglo Concertina
Dave Prebble replied to Jacek's topic in General Concertina Discussion
Hello Jacek, Welcome to the forum. Have a look at this link: http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php...p?showtopic=566 The systems shown there will work just as well for an Anglo concertina or an English. I hope you will find the answer here but please come back if you need any more information. Dave -
Hi Pete Weather Permitting, I shall see you there....c/w Sleeping bag Dave
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Hi Alex, Here is a picture of a Lachenal New Model with bowing valve currently for sale by Chris Algar. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...95&category=359 Regards Dave
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Hi Signor Read, I could do with a new pair of 'eophones'.....are they 3mm or 5mm stereo jack plugs? I'm a bit hard up at the moment as I've just had to pay off the mafia so would you take a Jeffries and 200 Lire in exchange? 'Honest' Dave
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Hi Jim, I hate to have to break the news to you but I share your symptoms and have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it is all part of the early stages of becoming a folk wrinkley! The older we get, the harder we have to work for our pleasures Maybe we need to eat more fish or something ?..... could that be less Beer? My biggest difficulty is remembering how a tune starts. Whistle the first 3 or 4 notes, however, and I'm away. Any tips for remembering how tunes start other than by adding wacky or lewd lyrics to the tune in your head?? ..... I do hope I'm not the only one who does that !! Regards Dave
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Hi Pete, Nice to see you back on the forum. North West ?? Someone else geographically challenged ? From where you live you can nearly spit to the Western outskirts of Sheffield so no excuses, see you there! regards Dave
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Hi ??? Definately sounds to me that it is time for you to move forward. It will only take a week or so to adjust to the different spacing and this is a minor inconvenience compared to the quantum leap you will experience with a better grade of concertina in your hands. I have both experienced myself and seen in so many others, the huge improvement in playing that occurs after an upgrade. I suggest that, once you start to overcome the spacing problem, your biggest difficulty with the new concertina will be summoning up the resolve to ever take a break from playing. It usually becomes apparent very quickly just how much a lower grade concertina, especially one in poor condition, has been holding a player back. Grab opportunity by the forelock.... he has no tail ! regards Dave PS What concertinas are you looking at ??
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Hello to all, I too have one of Fred’s old boxes a 38k G/D Jeffries, which was one of the instruments initially retained by the family when Fred died. Thanks to the help, information and pointers given to me by Roger Digby, Mark Davies and others in response to a request thread of mine a year ago, I managed to locate a number of recordings held by the National Sound Archives, a record company and also some in private hands. Although the bulk of these recordings might be considered to be 'safe for posterity', they are not readily accessible to today’s players. This is a great shame and, if it is within my power, one I hope to be able to rectify. After making a good start on my search, this, along with other projects, had to be shelved due to family and health problems and, only now am I in a position to start picking up the pieces and continue on the quest. Having heard a tape of Fred’s playing I can certainly go along with Chris’s contention that the fellow must have had 45 fingers…and, I would suggest, double jointed at that! As others have noted, he certainly makes the instrument sound like a Duet and in all sorts of ‘non-home’ keys. At one point at the 2003 English Country Music Weekend there were no less than four of Fred’s boxes present at one session including one that rather surprised me…from memory ..a 64 key Aeola McCann Duet ! I have no idea if Fred played duet or if this was simply an instrument he had ‘collected’ (I should be most pleased to hear from the Lady who was playing it or anyone who knows who she is) In trying to get together a representative collection of Fred’s recordings, I would anticipate that the biggest problem will be researching copyright ownership and negotiating permission for some kind of limited release. Understandably, at this early stage, I wouldn’t like to comment further regarding in what form such material might eventually be made available. Having spoken to Chris, I am sure we can combine forces and hopefully get a good result. Meantime, either Chris or myself would be delighted to hear from anyone who could point us in the direction of any other sources of information, anecdotes, photos or perhaps even recordings of Fred. Regards Dave PS Could any one email me (not post here) with email addresses for Harry Scurfield and Nick & Mary Barber? Thanks
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Hi Clive, Surely, the answer is really quite simple. Since +90% of such flare ups involve Goran's indefatigable views on the component parts, and mythical 'whole', of some imaginary 'Ergotina' and of course the inevitable frustration and annoyance they seem to cause amongst our members; then the solution would appear to already exist and lie pretty much in our own hands. Where a new topic covers such 'ergonomics related' subject matter then it should be started in the correct forum and, if necessary be moved there by a moderator. (as indeed was the 'Reforming concertinas' thread') Where a post in an existing thread diverges (some might say 'is hijacked') into such ergonomic design/redesign arguments, we should ALL simply refuse to reply in that thread. Surely all that is needed is to leave a new post to act as a 'signpost' in the original thread and then restart the new material by quoting the full 'diverging post' and any reply thereto in a new thread in the correct forum. Regards Dave
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Hi Helen, Forget it......not enough bellows per skin Dave (not just hiding but hibernating...)
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Unanticipated "refresh" - Work Lost! Aargh!
Dave Prebble replied to JimLucas's topic in Forum Questions, Suggestions, Help
Hi All, I had similar happen to me some time back and also my internet connection is not too stable, so for longer submissions, I compose in a word document then cut and paste. A bit of a pain, but better than losing a couple of pages of typing. Some of the formatting lacks compatability so it's best to preview post if doing this. Dave -
Hi All, An extremely close variant in the Lewes area of Sussex called 'the Boys of Oakhill' ... Dave
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Concertina Design Brief
Dave Prebble replied to Pete Dickey's topic in Instrument Construction & Repair
Hi Clive, Check out this info and photo on Chris Timson's site http://www.concertina.info/tina.faq/conc-his.htm Dave -
What I Did To My Concertina's 'humidifier'
Dave Prebble replied to bellowbelle's topic in General Concertina Discussion
Hi Alan, Presumably yours will smell like a fresh baked loaf of bread when the weather warms up If you think you've got problems; 20 years on and my G/D still smells of the bottom of the Macclesfield Canal ! For preference, my favourite smell would be a freshly filled hay barn on a hot June day....... Just how do you create that I wonder ? Regards Dave -
Amplifying An English Concertina
Dave Prebble replied to dunshire's topic in Instrument Construction & Repair
Hi, Have a look here for a good starting point http://www.hjcjones.freeserve.co.uk/music/...ertina/mike.htm This article is based on miking an Anglo but will include a great deal of relevance to any concertina. Regards Dave -
Hi Pete, You may rest assured that all Accordions and Melodeons will be shredded at the door! Dave
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Hi All, Nothing I tried in settings seemed top do any good at all but, if it is any consolation, my problems resolved themselves a couple of weeks later probably when re-booting after a crash. My machine is on 24/7 because of another problem. It takes 45 minutes to re-boot !! Don't know what that problem is. Gets halfway through boot up then freezes for 45 mins then carries on as though nothing has happened!!. Been like that 12 months now One day I'll get round to sorting it.....now where did I put my concertina? Dave
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Hi Pete, I’m sure you would be most welcome. Being a bit of a traditionalist I expect yours will be a pint of ‘Newcastle Brown Gum’ and a ‘Scotch’ chaser ? As regards sealing I think we are a little at cross-purposes here. The shimming I mentioned goes behind the chamois seal that you see on the inner faces of the bellows end frame when the pan is removed. Shimming behind this inner piece, which I call a ‘skirt’ when it is loose, will effect a tighter seal on the edges of the reed pan itself and on the ends of the partitions. On many old concertinas, however this skirt is actually glued to the inner face of the bellows frame. Having said that, I have unglued and shimmed behind such a seal in order to marry up bellows and reed pans from two scrap instruments…Ah! The wonders of reversible glues! As regards the partition seals that mate to the action box, the key points to consider when renewing them are: - With the old seals removed and the old glue residues cleaned off, place the pan face down on a flat surface and check for any significant warping by trying to rock it. - Ensure even thickness (and texture/density) of the new seal material and take care not to ‘thin’ it by stretching while ‘placing’ it. If you get the above right, you should have no problems obtaining a good seal. In effect you are starting with a flat surface and adding the same thickness throughout.... result = flat surface After all, the whole idea of the chamois seals is to take up and allow for any minor irregularities between the mating surfaces. Do remember, only a very light application of glue is required. Too much and it will soak into the seal and harden to create ‘high spots’ and possible leakage. Just place each section onto the glue as gently as possible and then invert and gently press down each new seal on a flat surface is to ensure even glue distribution. When you think about it, these seals are held in compression and the only requirement of the glue is to stop them falling off when the instrument is stripped down for repair or maintenance. Though I have heard of a sheet of glass being used in this way, I have never tried it myself. The only way I can see that it would be of any use is if one could visually judge (thriugh the glass) how compressed a section of chamois seal is when say finger force is applied; air leakage being, of course, invisible. I have just tried it out using an old reed pan with well bedded in seals and could determine no visual differences.. I can however imagine that with well textured and, as yet uncompressed, new seal material, some differences might be visible. I would love to hear from anyone who uses the ‘glass trick’ to useful effect. I suspect it may be of some use when building new instruments or compensating for warped reed pans but my feeling is that under normal repair circumstances, the guidelines set out in the various postings in this thread should suffice to give good results. The above ‘general guidelines’ will of course only hold true if the reed pan is free of significant warping. Hmmm……I feel a 'warped reed pan' thread coming on…. Regards Dave
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Hi All, Just picking up on the mention of the 'Doncaster Band' and the importance of securing and preserving information. Last year, I responded to a 'for sale ad' for a leather sewing machine in a Doncaster paper and in conversation with the owner, my interest in concertinas came up (I always make sure it does!). The woman said she wished she'd known a few weeks ago as she had just sold six of them! That was more than a little upsetting in itself, but she then gave me the history. Her grandfather had been a founder member of the Mexborough concertina band and her father, two uncles and a cousin also played. Over the years, they all passed on and the instruments and everything related to the band had been passed to one uncle. He had recently died. She could see the antique value in the instruments but threw out, literally filled a skip with, box after box filled with band arrangements, photos programmes newspaper cuttings financial accounts and the Lord knows what else dating back to the band's inception. Effectively a full history of the band throughout it's life. You might imagine how I felt. All she has kept is an old group photo of the band which, when she locates it, she has promised to lend me to copy. She agreed to contact some friends of her relatives to try and track down any surviving members or their relatives who might still have material, but what a loss! That's life! Dave
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Hi Greg, Just a couple of afterthoughts: While bearing in mind Dave E's comment about sufficient thickness of the leather, do be aware that Chamois leather skins can wary quite widely in thickness from one part of the skin to another. Take good care to select an area of the skin with even and sufficient thickness throughout and cut all your partition seals from there. Another ommission in my earlier post....take care not to stretch the partition seals as you glue them on. Chamois stretches easily and could lead to uneven thicknesses. As Dave mentions, do try to ensure a good snug fit but never force things along. The beauty of using an unglued skirt is that' if compaction does occur over time causing leakage, you can easily make very fine adjustments by shimming out under the skirt using paper strips. As an additional measure to help with the safe removal and replacement of the reed pans, a one off application of a little French Chalk to the new linings will greatly ease the passage of the pans. Regards Dave
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Not to mention my enduring 'pearls of wisdom' Dave Greg, do let us have some feedback on how you get on with your project and feel free to shout up if you get stuck.......
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Hi Dave, Yes we shall have to meet up soon for a good ‘shellacking’. I intend to get 1/2” ‘cut’ on Richard’s ‘Vodka Flake cocktail’, but I’ll be a good chap and stand you a pint of PVA…… sup that and you really will find out about non-reversibility Best Regards and a Happy New Year Dave