Hybrid question

[flix]

I play, by ear,the Stagi Hayden duet concertina, and also a bit of accordion, but can't read music, and know only a little theory. Given that background, I hope someone can answer my question in the context of those two instruments.

 

My question is, "When the left hand presses a button on a Geuns Hybrid Bandoneon, does it play a chord (as an accordion ) or does it play a single note,(as my Stagi duet?) I have found a lot of discussion about the Geuns hybrid, but this detail eludes me. I tend to play so-called "oom-pah" accompaniment to the melody, and altho I can afford a Geuns, I am not sure it is intended for what I like. An accordion is well suited to this, given the arrangement of buttons on the left.

 

Thanks in advance for your time

 

Felix

[Boney]

My understanding is that the instrument plays single notes on each side, like a duet concertina. No built-in chords.

[danersen]

Hello Felix,

 

I have direct experience with the Geuns Hybrid.

It plays single tones on all buttons.

The left hand is neither stradella, nor chordal.

It is more akin to free-bass.

It is unisonic - same tone on the press as the draw.

if you play CBA, the right hand will be very familiar to you - as it is the same as a 3-row CBA which you can set-up as either C-griff or B-griff by swapping the blocks according to instructions which Harry provides.

Similarly, if you play free-bass in either the C-griff or B-griff layout, the left hand will be very familiar to you.

The block-swapping provides great versatility - you can play in the griff to which you are accustomed - and/or it is very useful in determining which CBA system you prefer.

You can even play in C-griff in one hand and B-griff in the other.

The playing and hand positions/angles are notably different from a CBA accordion and you are limited to three rows.

Despite the familiar layout, it can feel a bit awkward at first, but that is quickly and easily accommodated.

I learned a great deal and progressed significantly with the less expensive Geuns Hybrid and heartily recommend it for experimentation, education, and/or development.

And mine sounded quite good, too. There are no differential tuning options, so you get what you get.

The only drawback is that if you really like it, you'll really want one of the "good" ones which are substantially more expensive.

It's currently the closest thing that isn't custom-built and readily available that a CBA player can get to a bandonion/bandoneon without having to alter fingering systems.

And you can get a realistic sense of the bandonion/bandoneon format.

 

Harry really is the expert and brain-trust on all this, but, for what it's worth, I'm going to add a couple of comments in the "Bandonion for Concertinists" thread that Matthew started some days ago which also relate to this.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Be Well,

Dan