harpomatic

Stephen, so how does it play, what's your playing experience with it so far? I'm curious, because it is such a radical design - what are its pros & cons?

Steve, i agree that the tongue plays an important role in bending, although I bend easily, while "tongue-blocking"(no tongue involved in the bend, just change in pressure and change in airflow direction). You may be right about the importance of "air-direction-changing" apparatus, like a tongue, in order to facilitate this bend. While xb40 offers more with its "enabler" reed plate, we know that chromatic harps are easily bent even more than diatonics,and those are "single reed" bends - thus no real need to incorporate the "enabler plate". Bony, the site, and its product looks and sounds cool, but seems to be a costly and complicated technology, and it is unclear when and how it will be applied to concertinas. I think the guy's work is good and inspiring, but when will I be able to put my fingers on it? That's the only problem I have with it. I suspect there must be a simple way, only because it is so easy to do on harmonica, but I may be wrong - sometimes simple goals become super complex engineering problems. I just wish we could unlock this beautiful capability of reeds for button box players soon.

harmonica is the only "breath" instrument that works in and out, and I think due to that is the most natural, as you never run out of air. It does take time to get used to. Great companion to anglo, as the layout logic is the same - song learnt on one, is a song learnt on the other. About XB40 - what do you think of applying this technology to concertinas, so they can bend notes?

Bandonion sound would be cool, but I see that retuning up by that much is too much. May be tuning down, by adding weights is possible(I tuned plenty of reeds, but never by such drastic intervals.) Tuning down, though, would not be too useful on the trebble side(that's the one I'd like to adjust).

Thanks, Richard. does it make sense to tune both plates dry instead, how will it be different from single reed sound? Tremolo bothers me a bit.

Bill, i believe your story, i have no reason not to, but I wish it was not true! This is wild, and can instill paranoia in my mind - i never thought fumes can travel like that. Tell me it's a joke!

I got a double reed concertina, tremolo-tuned, and wonder if one of the reeds can be tuned up an octave. What do you think? thank you, Misha. P.S. Any info on Edmund Rachner and his Bandonion und Konzertina Fabrik would be curious to discover, as well.

Thank you guys, I'll try to find some practice material first.

Thanks, Wade & Theo. This is scary stuff, though. Explosions, fire.... I wish I had something to practice on, Regretably, my toilet seat is not such a decorative one.

So there's your answer, Misha. Burn it off! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can see it would be an ideal technique for a "natural charcoal black" finish, but I have a deep blue in mind.

Amigos, I would like to re-finish my pearlarized/oid/MOTS concertina ends, have worked with wood finishes, and can competently do the job, as long as I can remove the original plastic - that's where I need your help. In some places it can be lifted slightly, but others seem as if the MOTS layer is melted into wood, as if it was liquid at first, forming a tight seal. Any suggestions on how to safely remove this plastic layer, without disturbing wood underneath too much? Thank you in advance, Misha.

I'm in South Beach, living here for 6months, and then 6 months in NYC. Very new player on my anglo, but LOVE it more and more, every day. Misha.

It will be red pearlized plastic look, and it will match your playing skill perfectly for a long time. CG, at www.violinsoftexas.com The look, chinese origin, etc. - is all a status game and I don't play it. Some of my buttons were catching the edge of their holes at first - easy to adjust. Any instrument will need adjustments. For the price, it is worth it. I love mine more and more every day. People that do not know what concertina "should" look like(majority of earth's population) think it is beautiful. I do as well. If we're not talking hand made, over $1000.oo, "Booringwood", stagi, etc. - all seem to be made at the same factory in china. It sounds like the instrument for me! The price is certainly right...can you provide me with brand, key and where you got it? I would prefer something NOT pearlized red plastic if possible! <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Greg, When I got my concertina, I liked it right away. I play harmonica professionally, and I know what is a good free-reed sound. This one, 30 buttons, under $100.oo has got a great sound, airtight - a good starter. My technique limits me more than the instrument at this point, and it will be so for a while. If I did get 20 buttons first, and LIKED the instrument like I did, right away, the same moment I'd regret that I didn't pay for 10 more buttons. It would drive me crazy, to guess what those buttons would offer. In fact I would not need to guess - I know they provide you with a complete instrument, and all the music you can think of can be made on one. The choice is simple.

About 20 vs. 30 buttons - I don't understand why anyone would choose an incomplete range instrument(given a choice). I don't really see a reason why such instruments are still made. Harmonica can bend, and I love it for that, thus letting you play all the notes, but concertina cannot.

As another harmonica player, I would add that Anglo is the obvious choice - a song learned on anglo is a song learned on harmonica, at the same time. Wealth of harmonica tab out there, is an asset.

There is space between the body of the button and the "wall" of the hole, so the button can go back and forth. Push the button in with a pencil, deeper into the hole, mine go in far enough to expose the edge of the hole. Stick a match(in my case), or anything else (a toothpick) in between the hole and button, to get the button in a real "stuck" position, so it stays"in". You only need to work on a tiny outer edge, sraping with an exacto knife, or a blade, shaving invisible amount of wood and perlaroid plastic. That's where the button gets stuck, not any deeper inside the hole. Do not overdo it, there is no need for anything drastic. Hope it helps, let me know if I made myself clear, or I can try to explain myself better, no problem. Misha. ok i'm going to give this a shot first. but can you clarify how to hold the button down while keeping the edges of the hole free? thanks for the suggestion! <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pinko, I had the same problem with my chinese 30 button anglo. The difficulty is that you cannot take it apart(the mechanism is glued to the "fret board". So, this is what I did: My buttons will dive in deeper into the hole if I keep on pushing. Pushed in to the max, I kept it in the hole with a paper match between the body of a button and the "wall" of the hole (there was enough spaceto stick a match, so the button stays "stuck" very deep in the hole). Then, as you have edges of the hole exposed, I simply scraped the edge of a hole with a sharp razor blade, enlarging it by a tiny amount. That's all you need, as the button is being caught by the edge only. Initially I thought I'd re-drill it to make a holr litlle wider, untill realizing that the mechanism is hard to take apart. This process is neat and invisible to the naked eye, and my stuck buttons now work perfectly. Hope this helps, Misha.

Friends, coming to concertina from harmonica background, I naturally want to bend notes. Without this effect, concertina is a beautiful instrument, as is, and it is NOT a harmonica - I realize and accept it. However, I herd it being done by Croke's CBA player, a tonal, not a volume, bend on low notes. It is the only time I heard such a thing. I have not listened to alot of concertina/accordion music, and wonder if it is an effect that more people are doing, than this one instance that I'm aware of. If so, do you have some/any suggestions, as I haven't been successful in bending yet. Happy New Year!!!!! Misha.

Hello comrades! Al, cool idea - I'll try it myself, right after I send this message. Currently I'm curious about how to bend notes on the thing, if possible at all. I heard it done by the guy from "Kroke" klezmer trio, on Chromatic BA, on low notes, just like harmonica. Not a volume bend, but a pitch bend, and really deep. Wow! Bill, what is a hybrid? You are correct that my Ango-Chinese is good to get me started(infected) - for days I cannot think of anything but the concertina. As in harmonicas, air-tightness is so important, and this one is tight, like a good harmonica. But I'm curious about hybrid's action/ease of playing. If it's not the air tightness, are the higher reeds more responsive? Stuart, I do think of my concertina as an overblown, multi-row chromatic harp, and as such, it offers wealth of chromatic options. Of course, it is an instrument of its own, and soon I'll be thinking of it more and more as such, but that's how I start. Thank you for your comments, Happy Holidays, Misha.

Amigos, I just got my first 30 button Anglo Chinese concertina($85.00), and I love it. I play harmonicas(diatonic & chromatic, semi-pro) for 20+ years, own about 30 of them or so, fix and tune reeds, played every other kind of "free reed" family member - in short, I KNOW reeds and all that they do. Having said this, let me tell you that my new Anglo-Chinese is a great starter concertina - I love the sound, airtightness and price. My goal is to play both concertina and harmonica on the rack, doing bends on harp and backing up myself on concertina. As a harmonica player, I understand the "aquisition syndrome" that we all may experience from time to time, however, isn't it true that a 30button anglo can play in all keys, as it is fully chromatic? That is how the chromatic harmonica is used. Surely, some keys are harder to play than others, some chords are not comfortably available for some keys, but all in all, concertina seems to offer more choices in fingering chords and melody in any key. Is that correct? (I'm already thinking of a F/C, lower sounding instrument:) Love to all, thank you for the wealth of info I already found here, Misha Rabin.