MarkvN

Actually I think some other Jeffries do have batch numbers. Has anyone ever tried to estimate how many Jeffries were made? Comparing the numbers of pre-war Wheatstones and Jeffries that pop up in auction, they may not be as rare as the mythical aura that surrounds them sometimes seems to suggest?

Hi Andy, The instrument looks lovely! In the description on e-bay you mention a serial number, 23124, and indeed there is a clear number in pencil on the reed pan on one of your photo's. However, I thought the Jeffries family weren't very talented in book keeping? It's the first time I hear of a serial number (anywhere above no. 50 or so). Does anywhone have a clue? Cheers, Mark

Hi Geoffrey, Thanks again. I marvel at the sheer numbers of dimensions that have to be taken into account, both in absolute terms and relative to each other. And then again, it's remarkable that concertinas from the 'Jeffries-Crabb-school' have this standard internal design (the older ones, anyway), which remains largely the same, regardless of their tuning and number of buttons. All the difference between a 30 button C/G or G/D, apart from the reed tuning of course, seems to be the screws mentioned above, to keep some reeds from hitting the closed bellows ;-) Mark

Hi Geoff, Thanks once more! Please don't excuse yourself for such a small unclarity when you're sharing your knowledge so generously - I'm only too glad that my question doesn't turn out to be completely silly. The photograph of the 26-k Jeffries isn't mine, really; I checked where I found it: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2669913270102727105DglWLk. It was made by Ptarmi (who is probably the same person as Ptarmigan on this site?). Maybe you'd want to replace my name for his in the credits. And, I have one further question, if you don't mind. You explained the way the slots are made and positioned. In different instrument I noticed a widely varying fit between the slot in the reed frame and the slot in the reed pan. In some, the slot in the reed pan is 'much' wider and/or longer, while in others each slot fits very snugly in both dimensions. Do you consider this an important feature for the tone produced and for the playability of the reed? Thanks, Mark

@ Geoffrey Crabb, What I do not yet understand is: why, in the fifth figure of your exposé ('When all the material has been removed...'), does the slot go only halfway through the reed pan? (Oh, and only just now I realised how an exeptional ability to plan ahead must be one of the virtues of a concertina maker, you having prepared your answer some seven years before the question was being asked...!) Thanks, Mark

Thank you for your replies and the excellent explanation! Here is a picture of another Jeffries with similar marks but then for 'ordinary' reeds, and probably not for the wind slot but for the grooves; I gather that the principle routing technique would have been more or less the same? How different was the Jeffries/Crabb routing process from that famous Pathé movie about the Wheatstone factory, that props up here every now and then? Thanks, Mark

Examining the innards of two 38-k Jeffries of a friend of mine, we noticed several mysterious pairwise punctures in the reedpans. In both instruments, the punctures are on the bellows side and in the same location. A comparison with pictures from a very similar 43-k Jeffries, posted by Andy Holder (http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=13850&hl=holder&st=0), revealed additional reeds in those same locations. It seems reasonable to assume that the punctures somehow served as a guide during the making of the reed slots, but I wonder if anyone has figured out the particulars? Did they hold some device, a template of the slot maybe? Jeffries-BbF-38k-left: Jeffries-GD-38k-left: Also mystifying are the one or two lone screws sticking out of the reedpans of some of those same Jeffries (like the second one, at the bottom). They usually seem to be in the same location, and being on the bellows side, I can't imagine them having a supportive function, nor can they be used to pull the reedpan out of the bellows frame. Were these also used during manufacturing and did the makers simply not bother to remove them afterwards? Cheers, Mark (Edited some typos)

Congratulations Leon M., your name was first out of the hat and so you'll shortly be receiving a copy of Indoors by Dapper's Delight. For those of you disappointed with the result, you can obtain a copy directly from www.karnaticlabrecords.com, or download it via Itunes or Amazon.

And your last chance... Winner to be announced soon! Cheers, Mark

Less than one week to go (and please don't be shy!)

Two weeks to go... !

Because they realise that not everybody would be able to come to their CD presentation in Amsterdam on the 18th of March, Dapper's Delight are offering a copy of their recent cd 'Indoors' for a competition. To enter, answer the following question: How many different concertinas does Adrian play on 'Indoors'? For answers, look at http://www.dappersdelight.com/, or listen to excerpts of the cd at http://karnaticlabrecords.com/. Send your answer to: de.vrolijke.plug-at-gmail.com (that'll be me) before March 18, 2012. The winner will be chosen at random. All the best, Mark

Hi, Gaueko, welcome to this forum. There are some Spanish players here on the forum too - try searching for 'Basque' or 'Spain'. And, as you'll find out, a thread here often gets hijacked. So... here's one for Jody Kruskal too: I do not have a suggestion for any particular tune, but may I suggest the trikitixa player Kepa Junkera? His album Bilbao 00:00h is a long time favorite of mine. He and other trikitixa players, both young and old, abund on youtube. You could spend hours and hours there... Kepa Junkera: And, more or less random, two charming young musicians playing outdoors: Cheers, Mark

Much relieved I watched this Myron Floren guy, playing 'Under Paris Skies'. Finally someone who understands how to get at a decent sound when playing the concertina!

Congratulations, what a fascinating collection & site! My personal favorite - for completely irrational or maybe I should say aesthetic reasons - is C.014 Wheatstone No 560, with its radial end frets and, more amazingly, radial reed pan: http://www.concertinamuseum.com/CM00014.htm. The reed pan is like a sunflower or a sea urchin hidden in a case. Too bad that this design for some reason did not hold. (I guess that the reed pan kept rotating inside and the reeds ended up in the wrong place every time you did a bellows shake?) Thanks a lot! Mark

Hi Hasse, My pleasure! As you say, a few millimeters difference between hand bars and buttons makes a big difference. I noticed this when playing other peoples concertina. One small precaution: moving the hand bars does change the weight balance of the instrument. If you ever intend to (learn to) play standing, you may want to test what effect it has. Cheers, Mark

Hi Hasse, Having rather long fingers myself, I know what you are talking about. How a concertina holds does not only depend on the height of the hand bar, but also on the distance between hand bar and buttons. In that sense, you might be allright with your AP James. I also had the problem that only the lower part of the hand rested on the wood, while the upper part was hoovering in the air. After reading some on this forum and experimenting with foam tube (used to isolate radiotors), I built myself two wooden hand bars that fit neatly over the original ones. No changes to the instrument, and easily removable! I do get the occasional remark about my 'prothesis', but I am quite happy with them. They are curved - higher near the thumb than the pinky, so they solve two issues in one (hand height and position). An additional advantage - in my opinion - is that my hands are fixed between hand bars and straps, which gives me more control over the instrument, although initially I felt that it was impossible to reach the buttons that way. Cheers, Mark

Der Fluyten Lusthof and T Uitnement Kabinet are not your normal folk music fare. The first one is 'obligatory' stuff for Renaissance recorder players. Often based on popular folk tunes of the day, it builds variations by 'breaking up' the notes - an often used technique of the time, but not everyones cup of tea. T Uitnement Kabinet, though closely related to the Fluyten Lusthof, containes more classical oriented material (though at the time the distinction between folk and classical may have been different or non-existent). That said, much of it is in a two-part, 8 (or 16) bars per part structure, typical of the music of 'speelmannen' or 'speellieden' (Dutch). (Not sure about the English translation: minstrel and troubadour seem too infer a different age). If Turlough O'Carolan is considered appropriate for folk music, why not this repertoire...? I find it especially interesting to see how the dance culture changes from the 17th to the 18th century: in T Uitnement Kabinet, it's all (courtly) pavanes, galliardes, sarabanden, couranten, etc. Mark

I’m not sure if this collection has featured here before; if so, I guess it’s worth a second mention. The National Library of Scotland has put its collection of traditional music on the internet, and it’s a treasure trove – more than 200 volumes digitised! http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Anlsmusic&sort=-publicdate&page=1 And when you’re at it, also have a look at a set of rare Dutch prints from the mid-17th century in their collection, the Fluyten Lusthof by recorder player van Eyck, and the second volume of ’t Uitnement Kabinet: http://www.archive.org/details/acompositemusicv02rugg. Mark

Very interesting... thanks!

Thank you all for some very nice tune collections and recordings! Mark

Hi Michael, You'll find large collections of old Swedish manuscripts here http://www.smus.se/earkiv/fmk/index.php?lang=en here http://www.lu.se/folklivsarkivet/skaanes-musiksamlingar/notsamlingen and here http://www.gotlandstoner.se/web/. And a very nice Danish site with a lot of Scandinavian music (also abc, midi and pdf, if I remember well) is http://www.spillefolk.dk/ Cheers, Mark

Hi there, I have a 20-button anglo concertina by Hohner here that looks identical to the one on ebay, apart from its serial number - which is about 50 higher. Mine is certainly not from the 19th century; actually the felt, leather, reeds and woodwork all look very new, just like the one in auction. My best bet is that mine is post WW-II. It is fairly well made but has brass reeds and a rather tiny sound (and to me seems never to have been in tune...). Was Lachenal still in business by then? Mark Edited to correct typo

Hi Pete, I am no specialist on the dulcimer/hommel/vlier/épinette; the guy in the clip, although playing a Flemish tune and bearing a Dutch name, actually appears to live in the US - so I'm not sure what type of dulcimer he's playing. That said, you could try your luck on the website of a Flemish folk group, 'Jan Smed'. Under the heading 'Meer weten?' they recommend several sites, also for builders: http://www.jansmed.be/jansmedhommel.html. And here is an explanation - sort of - on how to build one: http://epinette.free.fr/fabriquo.php Mark

Hi, Last week, I finally got around to posting some new books and manuscripts in the Garden of Musical Delights, or Lusthof der Muziek, dedicated to the musical history of the Low Lands. Most of the sources are available in the form of pdf's or scans. - Luithandschrift van Thysius (1595-1630) (Huge lute manuscript, transcribed into 'normal' dots): - Bert Aalbers (2007) Paard van Marken - dansdeuntjes en andere melodieën 1975 - 2005 (Aalbers was a famous figure in the Dutch folk revival who wrote many Scottisch and French inspired tunes). - J.P. Sweelinck (1562-1621): Variations on folk melodies - Popular tunes fron the 18th century from a carillon manuscript: De Gruijtters' beiaardboek (1746) - Manuscript with dance tunes: Dansmuziek van speelman Frederik Speets (1853-1923) Enjoy! Mark