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Jim Cush

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About Jim Cush

  • Birthday 04/22/1941

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    English and Hayden Duet Concertinas, Piano, Golf, woodcarving, reading
  • Location
    Pittstown, New Jersey

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  1. Before you open the Anglo for a look try rotating the button outwardly within the hole compressing the bushing. Jim
  2. One must have application is "the Amazing Slow Downer". It will take a recording and slow it down without altering the pitch. Great if you are learning a song by ear. You can also speed it up.
  3. I currently have a Morse Baritone English and had a Rose. The quality of both is very good although the ends on the Rose are not as smoothly finished which may lead to a negative perception. There is a difference in feel that is attributable to the different types of reeds rather than quality. The plastic like buttons on the Morse also have a different feel than the more traditional metal buttons on the Rose. These differences, again, are not quality related. As Ken Coles noted earlier you really need to get your hands on both and see which is most enjoyable for you. You will not have buyers remorse in either case. You should also decide if you hope to upgrade to a more expensive concertina in the future. The upgrade programs are significant. Enjoy your choice. Jim
  4. Steve, Very well done! It sounds like you have your Parnassus well played in. Did you carve the marionette? Jim
  5. Steve, Very well done. It's easy to tell you feel the wait for the Parnassus was well worth the waiting. It's a beauty. Your selection of woods was spot on. Oh, your performances were spot on as well. I wish you many years of pleasure with it, Jim
  6. Steve, I agree that the Edeophone does not seem great on air economy when compared with other concertina models.. However, I suspect variables such as its bellows specifications can account for some of the difference. I ran the test you asked for. This is by no means a scientific test but a reasonable approximation for discussion purposes. I am defining, for purpose of this test, moderate pressure as the amount of pressure needed to create a sound that can be readily heard by a person with "average" hearing across a 20 ft by 20 ft room while holding down the "C" chord one octave above Middle C and extending the bellows directly horizontally to its fullest extent. All reeds on this Edeophone speak immediately. On both Push and Pull it produced the full chord sound, on average, for between 7 and 8 seconds. Out of curiousity, I performed what I belive to be a typical bellows tightness test I.e. holding one end while the other end fell free, vertically to full extension. On average it was 20 seconds. I hope our bellows work as well if we ever live to be about 120 years old. On the compensory side, it has a sweet sound and it will instill in me a better bellows awareness.
  7. I of course ment Concertina World rather than Computer World, a trade paper from my working days.
  8. As the delighted new owner of this Edeophone, I'd like to add some thoughts. First; I examined the aluminum reed shoes and they look as good as when they were installed about 120 years ago so the problem noted about deterioration doesnt effect all aluminum shoes, I would also like to complement the restoration job done by David Robertson. As revealed to me prior to purchasing, the Edeophone appears to have rolled from a height sufficient to break off an arc from 9 to 12 o'clock, to a width of well over an inch, on the left hand side. As you can see from the photo above, you would be hard pressed to spot the repairs. By the way it plays beautifully.
  9. I found the special addition of Computer World very useful. It is a valuable supplement to David Elliott's Maintenance Manual, a must have for every concertina owners book shelf. The Special Edition and the content of this discussion thread also make for some good advertising for subscribing to Computer World.
  10. The topic was addresses under a general Concertinas in July 2012 in a post I started. Attached below is a response from Wim Wakker which gave the history. Button basics The keyboard dimensions for concertinas are more or less standard. You cannot change the spacing of the buttons without affecting playability. The diameter of a concertina button is primarily determined by the space available in the action. Anglo concertinas have fewer keys per sq. inch than english and duet and because of that can have a relative simple action and larger buttons. Button size and action material were determined by production cost/method, not ‘playing comfort’. Low end vintage instruments had bone buttons and wire action levers. The standard wire was ca.2mm in diameter and needed a lever hole in the button of 3+mm (room for the bushing). The walls needed to be c. 2mm to provide the necessary strength around the hole. Because of this, anglo buttons on instruments with wire levers were c.7mm in diameter. This was possible because of the low button count per sq. inch. The end plates are not bushed in these instruments. Low end english and duet models also came with bone buttons, but because of the limited space in the action, they only came with the standard button diameter (c. 4.8mm). This required the much more expensive brass sheet levers rather than the crude wire levers. They used the same buttons and action in the ‘next step up the quality ladder’ anglos. Better quality instruments came with metal capped/wooden core buttons (Wheatstone) or solid metal buttons (lachenal, etc.), sometimes with a silver tip. Early instruments had ivory buttons. Deluxe models could have glass, silver or gold plated buttons. The quality of these instruments was the same as their standard counterparts. The exclusive button material just added a considerable premium to the price…. Early instruments (english) had flat ivory buttons. They were flat because of the production method they used. These flat tops allowed players (e.g. Regondi) to develop advanced techniques such as changing fingers on a (pushed down) button, playing fifths with one finger, etc. These techniques also show up in the concert repertoire of the day. Around the 1880s Wheatstone started with domed metal caps. These are much easier to produce than flat tops and keyboards are much easier to regulate. Flat top keys have a larger surface and allow for more advanced playing techniques. To illustrate, try this: play a button with your index finger (index finger= 1, middle finger2, etc.) on your concertina. Replace your index finger (1) with your middle finger ( 2) while you keep the button pushed down. You can also try replacing finger 1 with 3, 1 -4 (pinky), 1-2-3-4-3-2-1, etc.. If your repertoire/playing skills don’t require flat tops, domed ones work just as well. The extra surface of flat tops can be nice on duets or englishes, but don’t expect them to improve your playing skills… If you play anglo, don’t worry about button shapes… Button shapes don’t have anything to do with ‘speed’. Keyboard responsiveness is determined by key travel, airflow and key pressure. All our Wakker models are available with flat or domed keys. A concertina action should never hurt your fingers…Key pressure on a concertina should be around 70-80 grams. The key pressure needs to be around 200-300 gr. Before it will hurt your fingers. The problem is that some players keep pushing the button. It is the same principle as writer’s cramp. Try this: push a button just hard enough for it to go down. Hold it in the down position and reduce pressure as much as possible without letting the button come up. You’ll notice that you hardly need any force to keep the button down. Wim Wakker Concertina Connection Inc. Wakker Concertinas
  11. The ButtonBox will give you a full refund if you return the Model 21 within two weeks of receipt. However, you will have to pay the shipping costs. Only your ears can judge the sound so actually playing it is the only way you will know for sure. Another fact to add to your rationalization support.
  12. It appears from the layout to be a Chromatiphone Duet.
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