chris Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 how about a pickup and a battery driven practice amp chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 how about a pickup and a battery driven practice amp chris Yes indeed. I have a set up like that which I did use with the band to boost my Wooden ended Aeola but since aquiring a loud/bright Hex 48 EC I have not had to drag this extra gear about. I am hoping to repeat this result with a nasty loud Maccann . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 did the late mr. morse himself play maccann? Nope. Hayden. And piano. And melodeon, I believe, particularly for Morris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 did the late mr. morse himself play maccann? Nope. Hayden. And piano. And melodeon, I believe, particularly for Morris. I first met Rich Morse in his pre-Hayden days (1982), and he was playing a melodeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 So, I am looking for suggestions, from Duet players (or anyboby), as to which instrument with a Maccann keyboard might produce the most volume... even if the sound is a little on the rude end of the spectrum. I know that Jeffries made a (very) few Maccanns, though I don't know of any currently for sale, much less what the price would be if they were. I think my own Jeffries-made Crane has plenty of bite, when I ask for it. I don't suppose you'd consider giving up the Maccann for a Jeffries duet, at least for band work? As someone else has suggested, size and shape themselves may not be determining factors, so much as other features that the makers tended to include with the various models. The loudest concertina I can recall experiencing was one of the Wheatstone Edeophones, those few 12-sided anglos produced after Lachenal went out of business. And my own favorite, a 48-button ebony Aeola (alas, stolen many years ago and not heard of since) could go from a whisper to out-shouting any accordion. Multiples of accordion, bagpipe, and hurdy-gurdy, on the other hand... I doubt it. Leaves me wondering why you even want to try without an amp. What does your lone fiddle player do? It occurred to me that if the problem is hearing yourself, and if you play with the instrument resting on your leg, you might try holding it at upper-chest level while playing. Too tiring? Make a stand -- an artificial "leg" -- at that height, maybe? But in the end, even if you manage to find a louder, brighter duet that you can hear, will the audience/dancers be able to hear it without amplification? Against the sound of more than a dozen other instruments, all of which are both naturally loud and (I presume) usually playing more than one note at a time, can the audience/dancers actually distinguish even your louder English without amplification? I wonder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle's cook Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Following this with interest... ...as someone who usually has the opposite problem to needing loudness - i.e. something a little more gentle and mellow for song accompaniment. Very interested to hear that the Wheatstone Edeophones are loud - I have a Lachenal 56k metal ended Edeophone which has a quite mellow, none too loud sound. I wonder if it is those Wheatstone reeds - I have an Wheatstone ebony raised ends 48kEC (model 6) from the 1920s which can cut through just about anything (walls included!), and I am told those made for the Newcastle dealer Boyd may be capable of even more volume. I wonder if any Maccans were made for this dealer - if so they might offer a solution(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 (edited) So, I am looking for suggestions, from Duet players (or anyboby), as to which instrument with a Maccann keyboard might produce the most volume... even if the sound is a little on the rude end of the spectrum. I know that Jeffries made a (very) few Maccanns, though I don't know of any currently for sale, much less what the price would be if they were. I think my own Jeffries-made Crane has plenty of bite, when I ask for it. I don't suppose you'd consider giving up the Maccann for a Jeffries duet, at least for band work? As someone else has suggested, size and shape themselves may not be determining factors, so much as other features that the makers tended to include with the various models. The loudest concertina I can recall experiencing was one of the Wheatstone Edeophones, those few 12-sided anglos produced after Lachenal went out of business. And my own favorite, a 48-button ebony Aeola (alas, stolen many years ago and not heard of since) could go from a whisper to out-shouting any accordion. Multiples of accordion, bagpipe, and hurdy-gurdy, on the other hand... I doubt it. Leaves me wondering why you even want to try without an amp. What does your lone fiddle player do? It occurred to me that if the problem is hearing yourself, and if you play with the instrument resting on your leg, you might try holding it at upper-chest level while playing. Too tiring? Make a stand -- an artificial "leg" -- at that height, maybe? But in the end, even if you manage to find a louder, brighter duet that you can hear, will the audience/dancers be able to hear it without amplification? Against the sound of more than a dozen other instruments, all of which are both naturally loud and (I presume) usually playing more than one note at a time, can the audience/dancers actually distinguish even your louder English without amplification? I wonder. Well, usually things are not quite so bad and the audience and dancers can hear my little EC coming through and I am usually playing two or three notes at once. The EC I am using is not a Boyd ( I find them a bit Painfull at full volume) but a Wheatstone 1898 'Flat Reedpan' 48 with Raised metal ends.I have written about it before. I now have a spare one of these Flat Reedpan models albeit with wooden ends( I just need top get around to restoring) and it displays the very same characteristics. Changing over to Jeffries Duet?... yes a consideration I suppose.. if a Jeffries Maccann could not be found. I guess it is an age/time thing... we invest so much time in learning to play each keyboard that the thought of changing is daunting... I made my Duet choice when I started... and I read everything I could find on the subject. Normally there is amplification on stage and normally the band is not that big. The Lone Fiddler ? She has grown up with this music and is no doubt used to the situation. Also, when playing the fiddle one ear is very close to the instrument so hearing what one is playing should not be a problem. And really that is the only problem.. that I cannot hear what is coming out of the box. Lifting a large Duet up to my ear ? Hmmm.... We have also a smaller band and I have tried to introduce the Maccann there but one of the Hurdy Gurdy players said she could not hear it, and me sitting next to her... Why I bother at all is due to having a local social/musical outlet... as well as the fact that my wife is one of the bagpipers............. PS; I don't think I really need "Jeffries playing solo outdoors for a Morris side" type of power but just more 'Cut' than my medium large Duet. With the small EC the smaller bellows cross section allows very fast changes of pressure for emphasis and Punch of the rhythm. PS 2; getting a Maccann out of the house, into public performance, is this year's aim for me because it will get me to spend more hours playing the Duet.. and as we know , the more time you put in the more natural it all becomes. Edited February 11, 2013 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceemonster Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 (edited) jeffries duet: ha, i was about to cite the jefffries duet clips on the 'tube as examples of the sound i meant... there is, or was, a metal-ended lachenal 60b EC at hobgoblin, but i'm queasy about trying assess and deal with it at that distance given all the issues lachenals (or any old concertina) can have..... plus, it may be an extended-treble rather than a TT. geoff, now you'll have to get the intel on what the metal-ended maccann at BB is like just on general principles since it would be so much fun to know just for curiosity's sake....as wim wakker and others such as the commenter above on this thread have pointed out, the edeophone capacity can vary a lot. jeffries are the same that way.... you could always check it out in person in April at their big concertina hoedown.... Edited February 12, 2013 by ceemonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) geoff, now you'll have to get the intel on what the metal-ended maccann at BB is like just on general principles since it would be so much fun to know just for curiosity's sake....as wim wakker and others such as the commenter above on this thread have pointed out, the edeophone capacity can vary a lot. jeffries are the same that way.... you could always check it out in person in April at their big concertina hoedown.... Well Ceemonster, as you so rightly say these things vary quite a bit. I sometimes wonder if this is due to overall condition and what the intervening 100 years might have done to the instruments integrity. Also how they have been restored and just how much they have been played, recently. I emailed a friend,( who lives quite a bit closer to me than " the other side of the Atlantic") and asked him to comment on the sound and tone of his Edeophone Duet in comparison to his Wheatstone Aeola... he came up with his preferences and description, and very nicely done too... but in the end it is just as inconclusive as my own value judgements, well at least from my own stand point. So much depends on the space one is playing in ; my Aeola Duet sounds best in the one room in our house where there is a carpet... so does that suggest that its tone is a little sharp (or cold)... well no I would not describe it in that way. My rocket powered EC on the other hand does not sound wonderfull in the carpeted room and really painfull in the Bathroom but give it a big space like a Dance Hall or out in the fresh air and the sound soars away. Some Concertinas do not like to be left un-played and many newly restored ones need a year of playing everyday to re-awaken after a long long sleep. So, really what I am looking for here is anybody's personal experiences with the various models of Maccann so that we might be able to short cut the selection process. It is my firm belief, after 40 years of playing and tinkering with Concertinas, that it is mighty hard to find 'the one' that might sing for you in all situations.. a Concertina for all occasions Edited February 13, 2013 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