Instrument Survey

[shipcmo]

I thought it might be interesting to do a survey of the visitors regarding their boxes.

To start off, I have:

a 38b D/G Jeffries

a 37b C/F Dipper

a 30b C/G Bastari (my second box, the first was a 20b Bastari)

a funky old 20b Scholer (long story behind it)

Let's see who has top bragging rights.

Cheers,

Geo.

[stuart estell]

Let's see who has top bragging rights.

Now then, owning concertinas isn't a competition :-)

 

I'm currently the proud owner of the following:

(1) A.C. Norman 30-key C/G anglo, which I love to bits

(2) Lachenal 20-key G/D anglo, which had its first outing yesterday since I tuned it

 

I also have a 36-key Norman G/D on the way - and in fact Andrew called me not long ago to say he'd shortly be making a start on the instrument. Very exciting

 

Stuart

[Richard Morse]

Believe it or not, I have just a single concertina, a 46-key Hayden duet Dickinson Wheatstone. Not much when it comes to bragging rights, but at least I can safely say that I'll be claiming the first of our Morse Haydens to come off the line!

[Howard Mitchell]

I currently have -

 

Norman 36b G/D

Wheatstone 40b C/G

Bastari 40b G/D

Lachenal 30b Baritone C/G - this was advertised in a newsagents window in North London for 10 pounds (about 1974). When the man selling it saw that I could play it he let me have it for 9 pounds.

 

The occasional loan of a 46b Wheatstone anglo from Neil Wayne in Bb/F old tuning. Nobody joins in when I play it. Goes down to F below the normal bottom note of Bb.

 

A Baritone English of uncertain parentage - possible Wheatstone, single action, oval shape, brass reeds, engraved CAP in entwined letters on the strap screws. Found this in a second-hand shop in East London about 1972. The action and reeds had been fully restored but the bellows were in tatters. I remade them - not very well, I ought to think about remaking them again 30 years on. I'm playing the instrument in a photograph in "Dancin' with ma Baby" entitled Where are they now?

 

I've had several lachenal 30b anglos - one given to me by a lady I met at a London bus stop whilst wearing a "Concertina Conciousness" t-shirt. She said she had two of them but she'd given one to the kids to play with and they'ed ended up kicking it round the street. It actually had 32 buttons including the whistle and the squeaker.

 

A man once gave me a Jeffries C/G (in old tuning) in a pub in Bedford. The Bedford Morris Men who I was with at the time had it fettled and I left it with them as the side's concertina when I left.

 

A colleague at work sold me a Wheatstone English, ebony ends etc. for a reasonable sum having found it in his mother loft. Needed tuning but a win-win situation for us both. Sold it recently for a modest profit.

 

A fellow member of the Manchester Morris Men had an identical Crabb anglo to one I have recently sold. He had it in his appartment in Quwait some years ago when the country was invaded. Luckily he was out of the country at the time. He lost most of his posessions as the flat was looted. But the perpetrators took the concertina case and left the concertina.

 

 

Seemed to have suffered a bit of scope creep here...sorry.

 

Howard Mitchell

[David Barnert]

I have two 46-key Hayden Duets: a Bastari and a Dickinson/Wheatstone.

 

(Neither is for sale.)

[Dave Weinstein]

I have:

 

A Lachenal 20 button G/D anglo

A brass reeded 20 button D/A anglo in much need of repair I picked up to learn maintenance on

 

And I have ordered a 31 button G/D "Drop D" anglo from Bob Tedrow.

 

--Dave

[Chris Timson]

I have:-

 

Dipper C/G baritone 30-button

Lachenal (restored by Connor) C/G 32-button including silly noise buttons

Jeffries G/D 38-button

Herrington G/D 30-button

Morse G/D 30-button

Jones G/D 26-button

Lachenal Bb/F 30-button (soon to be up for sale)

 

Anne has:-

 

Wheatstone Aeola English

Wheatstone 1850's English

Wheatstone baritone English

Morse baritone English

Lachenal Accordiaphone (very rare!)

 

Believe me - that's enough to be getting on with. You will note a certain weighting towards G/Ds in my collection.

 

Chris

[BruceB]

I currently own just one concertina, a Button Box Morse english. I actually like it *more* than the Aeola it replaced.

I also have a Maccann duet in the house, but it's not mine.

The concertina I most regret not buying was a Dipper english that George Flink had for sale at the squeeze-in some years ago. What a mistake it was to pass on it.

bruce boysen

[Eric Root]

Me: Wheatstone treble English (1930s)

Hohner/Bastari treble English (1980s)

 

Wife: Crabb treble English (1970s)

 

Us: Lachenal Baritone English (around 1900?)

[Michael Reid]

- Wheatstone Aeola treble English, ebony, c. 1902-1094, restored by Dipper.

 

- Lachenal treble English, rosewood, 1930s.

 

- Morse C/G anglo on order.

[bellowbelle]

I'm 'same as BruceB', I think -- Morse English (Albion)

[Tom Hall]

Lachenal "New Model" English system (see Avatar)

The old Trinity College English box is somewhere around the house.

 

Some of the formidable lists of instruments I've seen so far lead me to believe that some members must be incredibly wealthy, or reduced to beggary in pursuit of their musical passions -- Tom

[Jim Besser]

This thread is giving me a bad case of concertina envy.

 

Around here: a 30 button Lachenal with Dipper mechanism, a 30 button square Herrington and a 20 button no-name German/Italian/Oriental garage sale special that's actually 2 or three junky concertinas cobbled together by my unartful hands. A total piece of crap, but it's what got me started down this long and expensive road.

[Mark Stayton]

The stable currently includes:

 

Jeffries 31-b C/G (1890's)

Crabb 31-b C/G #10084 (1945) - see it here.

Rock Chidley English #1243 (1861?)

 

plus two "repair projects":

 

Lachenal 20-b #69068 (1895?)

Lachenal 39-b MacCann duet #606 (1890?) - more of a basket case, sadly

[AlexCJones]

1 cheap 20-button C/G Anglo (my first one ever) which I never play, and plan to sell soon for much less than what I paid.

 

1 Riccordi (Bastari?) 30-button C/G Anglo (my first 30-button) which I plan to sell soon. (what I am playing in my avatar image).

 

1 Stagi 48-button Tenor English which I am learning to play.

 

1 Tedrow-Modified-Stagi 30 Button C/G Anglo, which is my main squeeze. The button action on this is awesome! (What I am playing in the photo I posted in the "what we look like" thread).

 

I did own a Norman 30-button G/D Anglo which I bought from Mark Stayton, and recently sold to Connie Dugan. It has a superb sound but some of the notes did not respond fast enough on bellows-direction-changes, and the buttons were not as comfortable as those of my Tedrow-Modified-Stagi.

 

I am purchasing a Stagi 40-button G/D Anglo, and am still wondering if anyone has a 40-button Anglo C/G (or F/C or Bb/F if they exist) to sell for under $2000.

 

Also, last but not least: I have very recently (a few days ago) purchased a Lachenal 55-button MacCann Duet from Barleycorn Concertinas, but it has not yet arrived.

Edited September 2, 2003 by AlexCJones

[eleyne]

i have two:

 

Dickinson Wheatsone C/G Anglo, 31 buttons (1998, i think)

 

Lachenal C/G Anglo, 30 buttons, mahogany (c. 1900)

 

sarah

[Reto Werdenberg]

As concertina enthusiast and absolute beginner i currently have:

 

Crabb 56 b extented treble English Concertina

Crabb 40 b Anglo

Unknown 30 button Anglo (Connor/Jeffries???)

Lachenal 60 b duet edeophone

Lachenal 72 b duet edeophone

 

Regards

[Chris Timson]

As concertina enthusiast and absolute beginner i currently have:

 

I'm going to watch you with great interest. An absolute beginner with that range of top quality instruments should in the fullness of time be able to give us some interesting pointers on one person's experience of relative merits.

 

Chris