Geoff Wooff Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) Here, I hope, is an image of the left hand end of a Baritone (extended down) 56 key Aeola. This instrument does not quite fit into any of the keyboard descriptions given by Geoffrey Crabb. The difference is that the button that is aligned with the centre screw of the finger plate/ centre of the thumb strap, is not C but F. The four octaves G to G start and finnish on the left hand side. This allows the "treble" fingering to be used as normal, just displaced upwards by one row, and gives greater facility for playing the lower notes than even on a Tennor-Treble. The only lack is the last three treble notes and their semitones(up to the high C) which would be there if it had 64 keys. I have been experimenting with this concertina for six months and, now that I have got used to the slight fingering displacement, find it to be the most ideal EC I have ever used. I cannot remember ever seeing one quite like it. Is it a "special" ? Does anyone here have a similar instrument? Geoff. Edited July 29, 2010 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Err... sorry everybody, this topic should, I suppose, be in the general discussions forum, but I do not know how to shift it there. Geoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Coles Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Topic moved! Beautiful concertina! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Topic moved! Beautiful concertina! Ken Thanks for moving this topic Ken, much abliged and yes its a beauty alright. Geoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Drinkwater Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 It certainly sounds like an interesting instrument, Geoff. Where did you acquire it from? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 It certainly sounds like an interesting instrument, Geoff. Where did you acquire it from? Chris Ah.... well Chris... I sort of have it on loan from a very old friend... in that I have agreed to buy it but my friend won't take the money, just yet. Hmm, that sounds strange I suppose. My friend says that I sold it to him about 35 years ago and he has not played it for the last 30 years. I recall it well from that period,I had then a T.Treble that was made only one month after it. 1927 a very fine period. I like this one now and would like to buy another just like it, just in case my friend changes his mind.So, as I have not paid for it I do not want to say where I got it. cheers, Geoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Oliver Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 I would call it a Baritone-Treble - Baritone range and treble fingering. A friend of mine has an instrument with the same layout and reads music off the bass clef onto the bottom octave or so of it, so in fact he usually plays bass parts on it. Not an Aeola, though, and not such a nice instrument. Nick Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 (edited) I would call it a Baritone-Treble - Baritone range and treble fingering. A friend of mine has an instrument with the same layout and reads music off the bass clef onto the bottom octave or so of it, so in fact he usually plays bass parts on it. Not an Aeola, though, and not such a nice instrument. Nick Oliver I like the Baritone-Treble name... that is the way it feels when playing. I initially used it to provide a bridge between the Electric Bass guitar and the treble melody instruments in our local " French" traditional music group. Now I have extended its use to my more normal genre, in Irish traditional music. So, in that field it has just completed its first week long festival, playing sessions for hours on end and come out with flying colours. It is now possible to play the whole repertoire of ITM at one octave below; the fiddlers like to do this, if there are two or more fiddles then one will drop an octave but it is only possible for certain tunes within the fiddle range. Certain compromises occur with the use of a larger bellows crossection, not so quick a response to pressure changes for dynamic purposes but the huge volume of air in this seven folder, in comparison to my five fold treble, is very comforting. It will also play perfectly well at "Reel" speed even at the bottom of its range. I did recently see a 64 Key Aeola of similar range, it was quite a bit larger. This B-T is just 8 inches across the flats and so it is still a handy size. You can see from the photo that I have attached a velco strip for holding a microphone, since this photo I have added another strip diagonally opposite to pick up the bass end better. So I can move the microphones depending which range I am to play in ( this only for "big band" use of course) but ho ho it is nice to have a bit of power! Geoff. Edited July 29, 2010 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Stein Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 I have been looking for sometime for an insturment exactly like this. It is a beauty. If you don't buy it I would be willing to make a bid. rss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 I have been looking for sometime for an insturment exactly like this. It is a beauty. If you don't buy it I would be willing to make a bid. rss Ok Randy, I will keep you in mind especially as, having heard you play, I feel you are a more deserving person than I to play such an instrument. However, the deal that I have made with my friend is that when I buy it I cannot sell it on but only back to him, so it stays in the 'family'. There is, unfortunately for you, no question 'if'I will buy it, just a question of my friend changing his mind, which would mean that he will keep it. There is a similar instrument for sale by Hobgoblin in the UK; No. 31348 a model 15 (just 30 concertinas after this one) 62 keys up to the top of the usual treble range. By the look of the keyboard it should play the 'same way around', just a half an inch bigger. Should have an 8 fold bellows too. I do not know the price,YET! Have a look at their website. If I see another just like this I will let you know straightaway. best regards, Geoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Stein Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 (edited) Right, well I have just made a trawl through the Wheatstone ledgers and the price lists on Concertina.com. This is a 'Baritone- Treble' type 14. there are also B/T's type 15 (62 keys) and type 16 (64keys). The Baritones (type 20 and 20a) are one octave below at the same fingering as the trebles. Between 1920 and 1930 ( instrument numbers 28293 to 32283) the following quantities of each type produced are ; Type 14; 24 Type 15; 13 Type 16; 27 Type20+20a; 106. Conclusion; This Baritone-Treble type 14 is rare but not unique. Geoff. Edited July 29, 2010 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now