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John Mock

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  1. John Mock
    Concertinas are small and light enough that putting them in a hard case THEN putting that inside a pack (for ease of carrying) is, of course, the safest way to go. And really... how heavy is a concertina in a hard case? I carry two Morse's... each in a hard case and then both cases inside one padded bongo bag. It's nothing to carry... at least compared to my guitar
  2. John Mock
    Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the nice comments... and John... that's very cool. I never got to play one at a service myself
  3. John Mock
    Hi John... I'm fairly new at the video end of things, but you would need a program like Adobe Premiere or iMovie to start. Then, you would set up both cameras, turn them both on, and start by clapping your hands once or twice. Then, when you put it all in the program, you would use the clapping to line them up. After that you'd be able to make the choices of which camera footage to use when. You can use the audio from one camera or the other or both and just switch the video shots from camera to camera while keeping the audio consistent. The main thing to realize is that once they are lined up in the program, you can switch around and the "timeline" is still always in sync. Each program does these things differently, but I prefer Abode Premiere Elements (Elements is the lighter/cheaper version)
  4. John Mock
    Oh... I didn't realize you could do that. Thanks!
  5. John Mock
    I delete when I can, but there are exceptions... If you delete an old youtube video then you'll lose any comments, etc that people made on the video, as well as that exact link. So if you sent that link out there to people, it wouldn't work anymore. I wish youtube would let you "replace" a video so the link and comments could stay the same, but they don't. Personally, for me, if I had a better version, then I'd want that to be what people are seeing, and not the old ones. BUT... recently I did a new promotional video for my concerts, but I still had to keep the old one up because the link to that one was sent to a bunch of venues that were interested in booking me. So... I have both versions up. Sometimes youtube is just messy that way... but that was all I could do. - John
  6. John Mock
    The coolest thing about "traditional" concertina tuning (like C/G) is that it gives you all those doubled notes that are available as both pulls AND pushes... allowing more options of playing smoothly all in one direction here and there, not to mention the availability of chords in both directions. I wonder if the constant push/pull of a B/C would start feeling (and sounding) a little tedious... even though it's certainly a cool idea.
  7. John Mock
    Thanks Mike... I have a recording studio at home, so I mic the concertina just like I do when doing a record. Then I use my still camera (that also records video) to do the video. I then bring the audio and video into a software program (Adobe Premiere) to line them up correctly and spit out the video. I've been doing audio recording for a long time, but I only started doing videos very recently, so I had a bit of a learning curve on the video and movie side of things. I still need to do a bit of work on that
  8. John Mock
    Actually Zoom make a video recorder now. This would be pretty simple. ... here is the least expensive version on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Samson-Technologies-Zoom-Q2HD-Batteries/dp/B008TVGUJC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361496502&sr=8-1&keywords=zoom+video+recorder I haven't used one, but if it's anything like the Zoom audio recorders then it's probably pretty good.
  9. John Mock
    The Zoom that Dirge mentioned is a good idea. I know some people who shoot with a DSLR in video mode and actually have a Zoom mounted in the hot shoe... apparently they make a bracket to do that...
  10. John Mock
    You're very welcome... and thanks for listening!
  11. John Mock
    Hi David. It's not a Hornpipe like an Irish hornpipe with the semi-dotted feel, but it is a Hornpipe in the "Sailor's Hornpipe" up version feel. - John
  12. John Mock
    Hi CJ, I have standard music notation for everything which I can email as PDFs... I'm not really familiar with ABC, though I've heard it mentioned before on this forum. I'll definitely look into that. In the meantime, if you could use the music I could email a PDF (my email is johnmock@comcast.net ). But I'll definitely check out the ABC thing, since it sounds like a great option. Thanks for the comment and your interest! Talk soon, - John
  13. John Mock
    As a side note, I must give credit to everything I've learned about concertina history to Dan M. Worrall. As everybody on this site knows, Dan wrote "The Anglo-German Concertina - A Social History". There's that chapter in volume 1 called "The Concertina at Sea". Thanks Dan, for bringing this history to light. It was a very enjoyable read, and the inspiration for "Sailor's Hymn"... I hope I got the story right
  14. John Mock
    Hi guys. I posted 2 videos in the general discussion forum a couple weeks ago... which I probably should have put here in the video forum instead. Anyway... for anyone who's interested, I've added two more, so here's 4 concertina videos on Morse concertinas (a C/G and an Ab/Eb). Thanks all! The Sailor At The Fair: For Those Lost At Sea: The New Chatham Hornpipe: Sailor's Hymn:
  15. John Mock
    Thanks Cary! I love writing for the concertina, and it's such a relaxing instrument to play. All the best...
  16. John Mock
    Thanks guys, I'm glad you liked the tunes. David - Yes, I'd love to go to the Squeeze-in. It seems like every year it comes up I have a gig booked with Maura O'Connell somewhere (Maura is a wonderful Irish singer that I play guitar for). We seem to always be working that same weekend. Maybe this year it'll work out...
  17. John Mock
    Hi Mike, thanks for giving them a listen! I really like the Morse. I have an Ab/Eb and a C/G just to vary the keys on the stuff I write. I also like the fact that, on the Morse, the lower (larger) reeds don't overpower the higher melody notes if you're playing chordal stuff...
  18. John Mock
    Hi everybody! Just in case anyone is interested, I've done a couple of concertina videos. These are original pieces played on my R. Morse 30-button Anglo. Thanks guys! - John Mock
  19. John Mock
    What I started doing was putting both concertinas - in their respective cases - inside a padded gig bag made by Gator cases called a "double bass drum pedal bag". It's black canvas, very heavily padded (but light), and it holds both concertinas in their individual cases. It's around $50. It's great! It zippers open from the top, so you can just set it down and pull the instruments out without ever having to take the cases out of the bag. My 2 concertinas are both Morse Anglos with the hard cases they came in. I would double check the size, because they may make other sizes of the same bag. - John Mock
  20. John Mock
    Dan Thank you! I'm hoping to do another CD soon, one with a lot more solo concertina compositions on it... though the last time I said I was ready to do a CD it took me 2 more years to get around to it... Maybe I'll be better about it this time. All the best. - John
  21. John Mock
    miking diagram I've attached a diagram of basic XY miking using small diaphragm mics (like a pair of SM81s, or anything that is "end addressed"). I also attached a photo of how this would be done with two large diaphragm "side addressed" mics. Chris is right though, there are different variations of this technique using various types of mics, angles and patterns that all have different names. XY is really just a basic, broad term used to convey the general technique. All the best. - John
  22. John Mock
    Galley It certainly sounds best to use two "open" mics (2 regular mics not attached to the concertina). Fortunately, the concertina has plenty of focused volume, so they are easier than many instrument to mic. The best concertina mics in the studio are ribbon mics in an XY position (I use a pair of Royer 122s), but they shouldn't be used in a live situation (bidirectional pattern being one of the many reasons). I think that two Shure SM81s are great for live use, and since they are almost shotgun pattern mics, they can give you plenty of volume without feedback. You can also save room, (and have them sound better) by having them XYed instead of spaced apart. You could use a stereo bracket that goes on one mic stand. The other great thing about XY is that as the one end of the concertina moves in and out (creating phase problems for the mics) the phasing doesn't change in the XY setup (keeping the sound full, rich and in-phase). Sorry for rambling on about this... but I'm both a concertina geek and a recording nerd... All the best. - John Mock
  23. John Mock
    My favorite bodhran is the top model made by Mike Vignoles in Ireland. I have had one for 15 years or so, have used it live and in recordings... it's really the best I've played - though I know there are great bodhran makers out there that I haven't tried. Here is a link to him: http://www.irelandwoodcrafts.com/ ... Get the top model, because he does make some more inexpensive ones, but I haven't played any, so can't vouch for them. Make sure you get a tunable... living in the US. All the best. - John Mock
  24. John Mock
    Galway Gal I've never played a Rochelle, but my first concertina was a Stagi that had been "tweaked" by the Button Box. I believe Bob Tedrow offers a tweaked/tuned Stagi as well, so that could be an option. There is such a difference in sound and playability when you step up to an R.Morse (The Button Box) or a Bob Tedrow instrument... if there was any way to pull that off financially I would highly recommend it (I own two R. Morse's, and really, really love them. I know that the Tedrow concertinas are very good as well). The Button Box offers a thing where if you get a Rochelle from them they will apply your money to an upgrade to one of theirs when you're ready. That is what I would do if I were in your shoes, and wanted to eventually get into the better instrument. That's one idea anyway. All the best. - John Mock
  25. John Mock
    Chris I have two Morse Anglos... a C/G and an Ab/Eb (I had the button box convert my G/D to an Ab/Eb) and I use them both equally. It seems like some pieces just sound "right" on one as opposed to the other in terms of key. The nice thing is that the keys get varied as well (G, D, and C on one are Eb, Bb, and Ab on the other). I don't play a whole lot of Trad on my concertina though, it's mostly pieces I compose, or studio work... All the best. - John
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