Wakker Midi Anglo On Ebay (Close 15 Mar 2014 15:25Pdt, Not Mine)

[MatthewVanitas]

I'm always loath to post eBay stuff that's not mine, but this is unusual enough to take note, and since I've been pestering folks about Hayden MIDI concertinas it's in my bailiwick.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Midi-Concertina-Wakker-AMC-30-Anglo-/281281821549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417db3fb6d

 

 

 

Midi Concertina (Wakker AMC-30 Anglo)

Item location: Olympia, Washington, United States

 

The full product description is here: http://www.concertinaconnection.com/wakker%20midi.htm
Here's a link to the user manual: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw4FMV99M9JdOGdweGZDeUdYWGc/edit?usp=sharing

THESE ARE CURRENTLY OUT OF PRODUCTION! The maker is not currently making these, so the only way you can get one is to buy one used or to wait a few years until he starts making them again.

This is a MIDI Anglo Concertina. I am the original owner. I bought it directly from the maker (Wim Wakker) in 2006 or 2007. I had a custom case made for it by Greg Jowaisas (holds both the controller and the wireless hardware. It's a little longer than a standard concertina case)

THIS IS JUST A MIDI CONTROLLER. IT MAKES NO SOUND ON ITS OWN. YOU NEED A SYNTHESIZER TO PLUG IT INTO

I have used this very little since I bought it, and I've never used it in a live performance. It's in new condition. Everything works. I've used it successfully with a pair of Dave Smith Evolvers, and the MIDI interface on a Synthesizers.com modular.

 

 

 

Do note thought that the seller has very little eBay feedback, so were it me I would establish positive communications with him prior to bidding just to ensure this is a bonafide concertinist and not a scammer with a hacked account (nothing personal against the seller). Just bringing this item up since it is so unusual and out of production (and btw if anyone else is interested in MIDI Hayden concertinas, ping me to compare notes).

 

[jggunn]

I wish it was the English version. Anyone out there have one?

[Chris Allert]

Hi everyone,

 

Yes, that's my listing. I posted it for sale here a year and a half ago, but didn't get much interest. Sorry about the weird unholy ebay account (but we all suspected ebay was the work of the Devil right?) I created that ebay account for another art project, but ended up using etsy for that instead. (have lots more sales there…)

 

Anyway, you'll see that I've sold a few other electronic music related items on that ebay account. Anyway, now that the item has a couple bids, i'm stuck selling it there and paying ebay's outrageous 10% commission.

 

Someone wrote in to the ebay account to suggest that there may be a few design flaws with the instrument. I didn't really play it enough to discover these, though I will comment here on what I noticed:

 

1. It sends a MIDI "all notes off" message with every bellows change. I used to filter it out with a MIDI Solutions Event Processor (I'll include one of these with the item if you want it. You need a windows computer to edit it and use it)

 

2. It doesn't feel quite the same as a real concertina. Pressing the air button doesn't really let you squeeze or draw the bellows any faster than just pressing one note. that's because all air passes through a single hole in the piece of wood inside the instrument that is there instead of a reed pan. This hole is the right size to let in about the same amount of air as a reed would. You can get used to it, and if you play the concertina, you'll be able to play this, but it won't ever quite feel the same, and you *really* need to manage your air flow more than you would with a standard concertina.

 

3. I tried hooking this instrument up to an iPad with GarageBand using a midi->usb->ipod dock interface and it did not work well. I could have probably fixed the problems with the event processor mentioned in #1, but had better things to do with my time.

 

4. It still worked well with my Dave Smith Evolvers last time i tried it, so i suspect there's something weird with the ios midi implementation, and it should work well with any real synthesizer.

 

5. I have a couple midi->usb interfaces lying around collecting dust. I'll include one with the instrument.

 

6. THIS IS BEING SOLD AS IS! It works, but I can't promise it's going to work well for you. Everyone who has owned one of these is aware of the issues with this instrument and you should be able to get it to work for you with help from other owners on this list. BUT THERE ARE NO RETURNS. I'm selling all my electronic music gear because my girlfriend and I are having a baby and i'm focusing on other projects. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE OWNED ONE OF THESE BEFORE BIDDING!

 

7. Sorry about the all caps in the previous item.

 

8. The custom case from Greg Jowaisas is very excellent. He made two other cases for my other two instruments (both sold now). He does really great work and I hope he's still making these.

 

9. I don't know why Wim Wakker stopped making these. He probably got busy filling orders. If you want one now you have to buy a used one and put up with any design issues it has.

 

10. I've added a link from the ebay listing to this thread so this is probably the best place for people to talk about it.

[MatthewVanitas]

I wish it was the English version. Anyone out there have one?

The main English option that I'm aware of is the S-Wave MIDI, 64b English. It's £1600, but from what few mentions I've seen on Cnet it's supposed to be a real quality piece of gear: http://www.s-wave.co.uk/

 

I pinged him a week or so back to ask about Haydens, and he's just making English these days. But I hold out some hope that I can find some other potential buyers and maybe talk him into doing a run of MIDI 64b Haydens someday...