Lachenal Excelsior 48 key Treble English concertina made around 1890

[Geoff Wooff]

Yes I agree Don,

it looks as if you have done ok and I feel sure you will not regret purchasing 'her'!

 

Happy music making,

Geoff.

[Daniel Hersh]

Congratulations from me too!

And from me. Let us know how you like it.

 

 

 

[Dirge]

And my congrats too. I'm sure it will give you great pleasure, and I think having a nice instrument encourages you to play it more, and hence practice!

 

That looks a good buy, doesn't it? Is the English market also approaching saturation? It looks like the duet market is stagnating because of the effect of the economy on the tiny group of potential purchasers. Is this happening to EC's too? A huge pool of players relative to duets of course, but still not vast in global terms.

[david robertson]

And my congrats too. I'm sure it will give you great pleasure, and I think having a nice instrument encourages you to play it more, and hence practice!

 

That looks a good buy, doesn't it? Is the English market also approaching saturation? It looks like the duet market is stagnating because of the effect of the economy on the tiny group of potential purchasers. Is this happening to EC's too? A huge pool of players relative to duets of course, but still not vast in global terms.

Maybe the problem is just with the economy of Europe. Of the last 6 concertinas I've sold, 4 have gone to America. Anglos have been badly hit by the state of the Irish economy, of course, but the English market in the UK seems pretty sluggish too. Still, it's an ill wind, and it does mean that there are bargains to be had for buyers like Don.

[Don Taylor]

And my congrats too. I'm sure it will give you great pleasure, and I think having a nice instrument encourages you to play it more, and hence practice!

 

That looks a good buy, doesn't it? Is the English market also approaching saturation? It looks like the duet market is stagnating because of the effect of the economy on the tiny group of potential purchasers. Is this happening to EC's too? A huge pool of players relative to duets of course, but still not vast in global terms.

Thanks everyone.

 

I was bidding against one other bidder but, as far as I could tell by looking at his previous purchases, he was an antique collector rather than a player. So I felt good about 'winning'.

[Don Taylor]

After a fairly long delay caused by the DHL brokerage service I finally received my new to me Excelsior a couple of weeks ago. I have delayed reporting on my reactions until now because I was initially taken aback by the smell when I opened the box.

 

The concertina looks interesting and beautiful - better than in Chris's photographs. She sounds very sweetly and can be played softly - which for me is a good thing as I live in an open plan bungalow where the other occupants have to tolerate my attempts to play.

 

The initial smell was a really strong mixture of mildew/mould and, I now think, cigar smoke although that may be a strong smelling leather treatment that was used on the bellows. Maybe somebody in the UK knows of such a polish that could be mistaken for cigar smoke? Anyway, the mildew smell dissipated over a day or two and the other smell has now faded to the point where I don't notice it unless I take a deliberate sniff of the bellows. I am no longer worried about her odour, but she does not smell like a lady!

 

It took me quite some time to get used to the buttons. The grouping felt a lot smaller (although it is not) than on my Jack and I kept missing buttons for the first week or two until I gradually became accustomed to the smaller, flatter glass buttons and things have been fine since then. The buttons sound on the lightest touch which means that I can now slide my fingers down a fifth without having to lift them up and down - something I could not do on the Jack. Very little pressure is need to sound a dyad or a chord, indeed I have to be aware of not resting my fingers on keys that I don't want to play. My Jack now feels quite big and and a bit clumsy in comparison, but I still like the Jack.

 

The lower notes are a bit slow to sound unless I 'boot' it a little. Chris told me that she does not have cross walls in the reed chambers of the lower notes. Geoff mentioned that some folks used bits of cork to make their own cross walls. I wonder if it is worth experimenting with this?

 

Anyway, overall I am very happy,

 

 

Don.