ConcertinaCoveter Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 So, the Clover has been available for over a year now and I have not seen many reviews with the exception of one person who built his from a kit and another person who made the leap from a humble Hohner. I'd really appreciate reviews or comments from more experienced concertinists who might own an Edgley, Morse, Herrington or Tedrow - who have tried a non-kit Clover somewhere or purchased one for themselves. How do you like the action, tone, bellows, etc.? Where would you rank it with other concertinas you've played? Thanks! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ducky Raley Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I've got one coming in shortly as a backup instrument, will be able to do side by side with the Morse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Coles Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I built one of the very first ones from a kit over the summer of 2010, and it turned out great (but took me a long time!). I owe this site a full report and photo essay on the effort. Once I got all the leaks sorted it has turned into a really fine instrument. The design is clearly worthy of being considered with the other hybrids on the market - no surprise considering that Wim Wakker designed it. If I made another I would get some sort of power sander; sanding all those tiny wood parts by hand was rather endless. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConcertinaCoveter Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 I've got one coming in shortly as a backup instrument, will be able to do side by side with the Morse. Look forward to reading your side-by-side review, MDR! I built one of the very first ones from a kit over the summer of 2010, and it turned out great (but took me a long time!). I owe this site a full report and photo essay on the effort. Once I got all the leaks sorted it has turned into a really fine instrument. The design is clearly worthy of being considered with the other hybrids on the market - no surprise considering that Wim Wakker designed it. Ken, were you pleased with the pitch of the reeds right away - or was supplementary tuning necessary? I'm generally pretty handy, but I'm not sure I would make that large an investment in a kit when an extra $500 will pay for expert workmanship ... Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ducky Raley Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 First Impressions Ebony Clover Serial #37 I got through the button box. Next to it Morse Ceili #672 with Cherry finish 1. Clover feels solid, but is a bit rough on the outside. The endbolts and thumb screws particularly. The Ceili is much more polished, though I understand there was a lot of complaints with the finish on the earlier models too... Leather on the Wrist Straps is about the same thickness , but fuzzy feel on the inside. Of course maybe I forgot how much I have worn the Ceili's down... There are more adjustment stops in the Wristap on the Clover so it can probally fit smaller hand sizes. On the Clover the 2cnd stop was set out of the box and I didn't need to change it. The metal jacket buttons on the clover feel skinny compared to the Ceili and you can see the difference . They are both slightly rounded, felt bushed, and the travel height is nearly the same, but more surface area from the Cieli acts on the skin on my finger tips , so the pressue I apply is perceived to be less even though it may be the same... So perhaps the feel on the Clover is crisper... Brass Riveted levers - The Clover's levers are flat depth wise , the Ceili's are round like thick wire and look more hand shaped. Not sure if that affects the sound except by possibly imparted resonance ... Weight- I cant really tell right now Fully closed The Clover is maybe a half cenitmeter shorter across the bellows. Fully open the Morse gives me almost an inch more stretch Negatives - The soft gig bag shipped with The standard Clover - basic black vinyl like, It's lined with a red velvet material, but also way too roomy. You don't want the bellows opening up in there and then being slammed. I suggest using one of those Bungee Cords with the plastic ball end to keep the Bellows locked tight while carrying this thing around, and also hang onto the bubble wrap that it shipped with. I'll do some reference recoding and run the samples through Zeloscope later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ransom Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I think it would be appropriate to point out a relatively new thing about the Clover: If you don't like the bellows, don't like the case, or even don't like the ends, you can order up a "special" or a "custom" model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConcertinaCoveter Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Ebony Clover Serial #37 I got through the button box. Next to it Morse Ceili #672 with Cherry finish ... Very useful comparisons, Ducky! I'll be interested to learn what else you discover as you play the Clover more. The picture, though a little out of focus, does seem to indicate a coarser finish on the Clover ... I look forward to hearing the audio samples! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Coles Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Paul, Ken, were you pleased with the pitch of the reeds right away - or was supplementary tuning necessary? I'm generally pretty handy, but I'm not sure I would make that large an investment in a kit when an extra $500 will pay for expert workmanship ... It is uncanny how close to spot on the reeds were. Three or four sound sour to me, but my S.O. (for whom I made this box) won't relinquish it long enough for a tuning! Soon enough. I gather Wim set them up to be real close right away, but you will want to touch up the tuning. I learned with an accordion maker and it's nothing to be afraid of, or you can pay someone to do it - if it is like mine it won't need much. I'll say the finish is very good on mine - I spent 17 hours total sanding the outside parts by hand! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ducky Raley Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 apologies , technical difficulties with the recording setup. Another Morse player tried out my Clover , we both agreed the reeds on it sound more focused, less broad and mellow than the Morse The low end has a decent startup & with more growl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Van Donsel Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 apologies , technical difficulties with the recording setup. Another Morse player tried out my Clover , we both agreed the reeds on it sound more focused, less broad and mellow than the Morse The low end has a decent startup & with more growl Michael, any chance you could post a more lengthy comparison after having your Clover for a bit now? BTW, I'm the guy from Boston who ran into you in Poulsbo recently and tried out your Clover on the street. My quick impression was that Irish ornaments spoke much better on the Clover - they sounded crisper than on the Morse. Would you agree? -jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ducky Raley Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 [qoute] Michael, any chance you could post a more lengthy comparison after having your Clover for a bit now? BTW, I'm the guy from Boston who ran into you in Poulsbo recently and tried out your Clover on the street. My quick impression was that Irish ornaments spoke much better on the Clover - they sounded crisper than on the Morse. Would you agree? -jim That was very recent. only 4 beers ago or so. Thanks for stopping by. I agree that your statement follows with what I described as the crispness on the button action and the 'focus' of the reeds. As a side note, I had went to see a freind perform friday night, at Myrtle-edwards park in Seattle, at the very north end. This was during Hempfest, traffic was very tied up, so I walked about four miles back to the ferry dock playing morris like tunes along the way, to discover at the end my fingers had turned very black from rubbing against the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ducky Raley Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I do a run through both instruments back to back on the same recording session here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDoubles Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I do a run through both instruments back to back on the same recording session here Hi Michael,i have a Connor Jeffries with the thin metal buttons and get black finger ends all the time,if anybody out there has got any ideas to stop it i'd like to know.On theClover i had a listen on you tube and personally i prefer the sound of the Clover.shaun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearfeasog Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Hey Michael, I checked out your video, but I have to say that I found it very difficult to get a real sense of the differences. Skipping back and forth in the vid kinda helped, but is there a chance you'd play the same tune twice back-to-back--once on the Clover and again on the Morse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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