RP3

I'm coming back for my annual thrashing! Wish I'd taken up the anglo before I turned 49! This makes #16 for me. Looking forward to seeing new and old faces as well as trying out some different 'Tinas! Ross Schlabach

Get in line and make sure your checkbook is well padded! Ross Schlabach

I'd hate to see this thread turn into a subtle bashing of an unnamed player/teacher. But rather then pick on the teacher, let's remember that each student needs to do more than just learn the rules -- they also need to become proficient enough to know when the rules need to be disregarded or just don't fit the tune. One way to develop this skill is to take classes from multiple instructors and get exposed to different styles and fingering. I recently attended classes taught by Florence Fahy. The wonderful tunes she taught us come from northern Clare and are played along the rows, and my training thus far had been primarily across the rows -- so I did have a fingering challenge. But rather than criticize any teacher, this showed me that I could benefit from more time spent learning the alternate fingerings and when each is more appropriate. And I didn't have too difficult a time adapting in class. With regard to Frank's comment about the B, C, C# triplet, this "nameless teacher" is not locked into draw B and Cs and does advocate switching to press combinations for situations like this if it is more comfortable for the tune. Possibly some students are misinterpreting the focus on certain fingerings as some kind of law never to be broken, but I've attended these classes long enough to know better. Ross Schlabach

Greg did post a picture of this concertina in his Christmas concertina pyramid. Look back to his December postings and you'll see a picture of this concertina. Regards, Ross Schlabach

While I won't go quite so far as David Levine in endorsing Noel's class, I can say that I have been participating in the NHICS since 1996 and believe it to be an outstanding learning experience. And at the same time I have attended classes in other venues with other instructors -- including attending the Swannanoa Gathering on multiple occasions. Out of these different teaching venues, I would rate Noel's class as being the best for learning concertina. Some people -- mostly people who have never attended his class -- seem to think he is some kind of a tyrant in his teaching methods. This is far from being the truth. But I would caution any new NHICS student that Noel will expect you to learn his fingering methods first and progress to tunes next. Some find this off-putting but once you have his method down, you will find it greatly eases your further progress. Should you be concerned that this will limit the number of tunes you get exposed to, relax. Noel teaches two tunes a day and provides a whole winter's worth in the Friday wrap-up session. You will get your money's worth and more. Some people want to take a class but are looking as much or more for the total festival experience. If this is your goal, then Noel's class may be too focused for you. If you decide to take Noel's class, I think you will be very pleased with the experience. As with most things, you will get more out of it, if you put more into it -- meaning practice, practice, practice. Hope to meet you in Kentucky with the rest of the faithful! Ross Schlabach

Flanna, I can understand your wanting to avoid the risks associated with eBay, but you might want to re-think your refusal to use PayPal. Your potential purchasers have your same worries about scammers, and PayPal provides them with some of the same protections you want yourself. Now, if your purchasers can all make their purchases in person and therefore pay in cash and take possession as they pay, then my suggestions have no value. But if you must deal with them by e-mail, letters, etc. then my comments should be taken into account. One other way that you can protect yourself and offer some protection to long-distance buyers is to work through a recognized business that can act as an agent for both you and your customer. Another way is to use this forum. This forum tries to be very open and supportive to sellers who themselves are open and cooperative, so you might find some benefit to trying to sell your concertinas through this forum board. Members can frequently suggest ways to arrange for ways to have instruments checked out/verified, point out issues or special features of instruments posted or even means of making delivery. So good luck and hope we can help. Ross Schlabach

Alan, when you spoke to the auction expert, did you by any chance broach the issue of the wrong font on the Jeffries stamping or the possibly of a forgery? Maybe I'm all wet, but the possibility that an instrument got sold as a Jeffries and brought a Jeffries price when it might not have been seems to me a real issue here and the fact that the auction gallery had photos taken of the instrument with it improperly put together doesn't exactly give me much confidence in their "expert"!! I'd be very interested to hear your views. Ross Schlabach

The audio file worked fine on iTunes. Ross Schlabach

Stephen, That's a huge change in reed tuning that would take a lot of metal off the reeds. How did it sound? I also wonder if the larger chamber sizes resulting from the larger overall instrument size was having much effect on the tome?? Ross Schlabach

Hi Lawrence, I just got my Bb/F Carroll back from Greg earlier this week and I will definitely bring it. Had a great time at last year's event, and I'm eagerly looking forward to a repeat good time. Ross Schlabach

Paul, I think you are right about this seller. I haven't done an archive search on our forum, but I do remember that seller being discussed previously in the manner you mentioned. I find any seller's reluctance to list serial numbers very disturbing and off-puting. His unwillingness to give out the serial number could be related to an effort to disguise its vintage, past ownership or any other number of unsavory reasons. But I can't think of any valid reason not to give it since a potential buyer might then be able to search the on-line ledgers and learn more about the instrument. Even without the serial number, the appearance suggests a 1950s or early 60s model, don't you think? Now, continuing in the eBay vein, what should we think about the very sad ?Jeffries? that has also recently come onto eBay? http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-C-JEFFRIES-CONCERTINA-CIRCA-1880-1900-NR-/320649954403?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL&hash=item4aa83a0463#ht_712wt_1132 Now there's a real fixer-upper. Ross Schlabach

Hi David, Florence Fahy has moved to the Boston area and is an excellent anglo teacher from North Clare. Here is a website link that can help you get more information about her: http://www.learningmusician.com/flo_fahy She taught at the Southeast Tionol in Atlanta last year and did a great job. Based on that, she also has a nice bunch of tunes! Ross Schlabach

Paul, you have every right to post a response to Greg's posting, but I think it's in poor taste to hijack Greg's thread to basically post an ad of your own. Don't you think you should have posted your ad in a separate thread? Ross Schlabach

Wes, I don't mean to create any friction but I'm not sure I would consider anybody lucky to buy an instrument with worm holes -- without some careful prior investigation and careful fumigation -- two things eBay make nearly impossible! Most folks I know on this side of the pond are seriously scared away by woodworm. Is the English attitude any different? I would also like to pose another question which is related to Ball Beavons in general. What are other peoples' opinion of the BBs. I've had (temporarily) two different BBs and found those two to be inferior in tone to similar vintage labeled Crabbs even though they look virtually identical -- except of course for the Ball Beavon stamping on the wooden sides -- and have similar actions. Thanks for the comments to come and Happy Holidays to all our forum members. Ross Schlabach

Having spent many an hour at the foot of a Hegner scroll saw, I can vouch for the effort that goes into this process. Your work so far looks really nice -- especially now with the finish and the fittings back on. You should be really proud of your hard work. Next time put bigger pictures up so we can really appreciate your craftsmanship. Ross Schlabach

I second Michael's comments. Greg did similar work on my Dipper and I have been delighted with the results. He is very meticulous and takes his time to get it right. Don't expect him to be fast because this kind of work takes patience and skill, and Greg has both. Right now, he's doing some additional work to my Carroll Bb/F. I know I will be just as happy with that work too! I highly recommend him. Ross Schlabach

Hi Lawrence, This is very good news. For those who are not aware, Florence taught concertina at the Southeast Tionol held in the Atlanta, Ga. area this spring, and her class was very well attended. Florence is a lovely player and came to class very well prepared with copies of all the tunes she was teaching -- even though she was doing the actual class sessions by ear. Even though classes only ran for about a day and a half, she covered a lot of tunes with us -- many being ones I had not been exposed to elsewhere. I am already committed to attending and I am even more delighted knowing that Florence will be our tutor! Ross Schlabach

David, I agree with Paul. I too have a 28 button Jeffries and the fretwork was identical. The ends on my Jeffries are the same outline and the same color - stained wood, not black. The strap adjusting knobs looked the same too. We couldn't determine the key -- other reeds were sounding. That could have meant a stuck button or a warped reed pan or whatever. Can you explain why you thought it didn't look like a Jeffries -- other than the obvious of no stamped name?? Ross Schlabach

Hi Paul, I was thinking along the same lines, but I had the seller look all over the outside of the instrument and there was no stamping anywhere. I did compare the filigreed ends with my 28 button Jeffries and they matched perfectly and the filigree work was much finer than any I had seen on similar vintage Crabbs or Ball Beavon concertinas. When I spoke with the seller and she tried playing different buttons, multiple notes sounded and made it almost impossible to evaluate the instrument -- soundwise or pitchwise. Without looking at the reeds, it would have been very hard to come to any conclusion and even there it would have been at best an educated guess. The instrument had apparently had the pads redone at some time cause they looked too new to be original. And, of course the bellows had the same papers and stamping as on Jeffries, Crabb and Ball Beavon so no help there. Any other reasons you suspected it to be an unstamped Jeffries? Ross

Today an auction finished and there was no one talking about it on this forum -- normally people here are quick to draw attention to it: http://cgi.ebay.com/30-Button-Anglo-Concertina-w-CASE-SUPER-VINTAGE-/280569471412?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41533e61b4#ht_5158wt_1141 The concertina was not in very good shape and I tried to work with the seller to determine the pitch but was unsuccessful. I'd be interested to learn what others have concluded about this concertina and whether they think the buyer (not me - my bid was too low) got a good deal or not. Regards, Ross Schlabach

I plan on making the trip too. I had a great time at the one this year in Atlanta. We had lots and lots of concertina students, so hopefully we can fill the enrollment requirements again. Ross Schlabach

Carl, Ben is not "jerking you around" with regards to the potential value of your instrument. There are some Wheatstone models that have held their value quite well over the years and there are others that temporarily shot up during periods of concertina shortages. But in the last few years there has been the combination of a Worldwide economic downturn and an increase in new sources for concertinas plus an increased supply of older instruments coming from your part of the world. These factors have had a downward effect on those concertinas that were only OK to Fair but were below the top quality tier of instruments. If you can look at recent eBay auction results here in the US, you may see that even Wheaststone Aeola model anglos -- among the most expensive models that Wheatstone sold -- have gone without buyers at prices below $4,000. If you are able to open and photograph the inside of your instrument (showing the button levers and the reedpans) and post those photos, it may be possible to better assess the value of your concertina. Wheatstone made a number of concertinas with aluminum reedframes and hook type actions, and models with those features are generally much less desirable to your potential buyers. Most of the folks on this forum will try to give you an accurate assessment and not be trying to defraud you. Should someone post any unfairly negative info with the intent to force your prices down, I'm sure others on the forum will be quick to de-bunk any misleading statements. So let us try to help you, and I feel sure you'll get reasonable information. Also keep in mind that you need to be realistic in evaluating the value of your concertina. Just because a friend said it was worth thousands doesn't make it so. But listen to what forum members say after reviewing pictures of the interior of your concertina, and then I think you'll get a better indication of what your concertina is worth on the market. Then you can choose to keep or sell it at your whim. Ross Schlabach

Michael, in addition to the possibility of the concertina getting stuck in the case, there's a more important issue of valves. When sitting upended in a jug case, one set of valves lies nice and flat while the other set is being tugged on by gravity and may ultimately develop a set that keeps them from resting snugly against the reedpan. So storing a concertina on its sides instead is a better -- if still not perfect -- option. But yes, the case does look neat. Ross Schlabach

David, you're forgetting that I'm a Leftie, so putting the concertina above my left knee would mean managing the movement of the instrument with my weaker right hand. Hence the right knee placement. I tried it the way Noel prefers, but I have never been successful. Noel has criticized me about it before -- but after 15 years in his class, he has learned to tolerate my deviation. One negative of my positioning, is that the placement on one knee or the other allows that knee to reflect the sound from that side of the instrument. With Noel using and recommending the left knee, his placement reinforces the lower notes from the left side of the concertina. Since I am using the other knee, my placement results in emphasis of the higher notes. So Noel suggests that I actually let my concertina rest above both knees for a more even sound. When I can do that, I do notice the improvement and I imagine folks sitting in front of me could too. Squeeze on, Ross Schlabach

David, from that one photo it does look like a Lachenal. Im surprised the number is not much higher -- like over 100000 -- but I'm no expert on English models. Welcome back to the free reed fold and hope you enjoy your new squeeze. Ross Schlabach