Anglodeon?

[Smeeinit]

Hi All,
Just wondering if any concertina and box players had considered an Anglo concertina with the same note layout as a D/G (or similar) melodeon/box ?
The idea being: that a melodeon/box player could pick it up quickly as the same note sequences would be present on the Right hand side. So choices would need to be made for the left side chord notes (dominant, sub or tonic) etc,

This instrument would need to have at least 6 buttons/keys in the Right side rows. I wouldn't miss the first buttons, so could start at #2.
No I am not going to butcher a vintage "Wheatjeffcrabstoneal".

 

Any experiences? or ideas?

 

[Łukasz Martynowicz]

Take a look at this thread: http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16435&hl=

[Smeeinit]

Thanks Chatty, had a look.

It seems I am not the only one to think on this.

Cheers.

[Geoff Wooff]

You could search here for 'Franglo' . This is a concertina keyboard design by French Diatonic Accordionist Emamuel Pariselle with additional ideas by Colin Dipper.

[Stephen Chambers]

Actually, the Anglodeon already exists, only it's the opposite of what you're proposing Smeeinit (or should we call you Syouinit? ) because it's a melodeon with "three rows of 10 buttons that have the note values of a thirty button G/D Jeffries."

[John Dipper]

You might like to have a look at:

 

http://www.concertina.info/tina.faq/images/dipp.htm

 

Showing dad playing a Dipper 'Franglo'.

 

Lachenal, Jones and Crabb all made concertinas with the buttons laid out like a piano, to tempt people into the world of Squeezing!

 

In the 1850s Wheatstone also experimented with a chromatic system, somewhere close to the French accordion systems.

 

We have also made two concertinas in the 3-row French Chromatic system for Thomas Restoin.

 

Right, best get back to fitting and profiling reeds, or the master will dock my pay!

[Smeeinit]

Thank you so much to all for taking time to set me on the correct route.

It seems I am looking for (or dreaming of), a 'Franglo'.

I am ready to make a intra-family birthday request for a small Franglo.
cant wait to see their faces.

 

(It's me isn't it).

 

[Don Taylor]

When I first came to Canada I arrived in Quebec where I kept hearing about "Anglophones". I have yet to see one of these strange hybrid instruments.

[MatthewVanitas]

At first I thought you were thinking of an Anglo with the melodeon's keyboards divided across the two hands. Like the first 5-6 buttons of each row on the left, the last 5-6 buttons of each row of the right. I have something like that, a re-reed of a Stagi 20-button Anglo, set up to mimic a C/C# melodeon's right side, divided across both hands (so no bass/chord buttons). I have it up on Melodeon.net as a passsaround, where I'll send it to a few half-step melodeon players in the US for them to play around with.

 

So the "Anglodeon"/Franglo is like a more developed version of the Italian organetto-concertina? The organetto being more like a concertinization of a 1.5-row melodeon, yes?

 

For the Franglo, is there any hybrid concertina maker offering these at all? Or is it only the trad-reed makers with very long waiting lists? A re-reed of a cheaper hybrid Anglo (like I did with the Stagi) doesn't get you the minimum 6 buttons per row that Smeeinit is seeking. Unless you want to buy a small beater Chemnitzer/Carlsfelder square concertina (do they have those floating around Oz?) and convert one of those; that would get you plenty enough buttons on the right side:

 

Edited March 30, 2014 by MatthewVanitas

[JimLucas]

So the "Anglodeon"/Franglo is like a more developed version of the Italian organetto-concertina?

Chris Timson's Anglodeon and the Franglo are opposites, so your putting them together is a mistake, as was the original poster's use of the term.

 

And while in gross terms the principle may be similar, the franglo didn't develop from the organetto, but as a cross-pollination of the anglo concertina and a French button accordion.

 

For the Franglo, is there any hybrid concertina maker offering these at all?

As far as I know, Colin Dipper is the only one who has ever built a franglo. (He also plays it, excellently.)

[MatthewVanitas]

Chris Timson's Anglodeon and the Franglo are opposites, so your putting them together is a mistake, as was the original poster's use of the term.

 

And while in gross terms the principle may be similar, the franglo didn't develop from the organetto, but as a cross-pollination of the anglo concertina and a French button accordion.

 

Right, I was using "anglodeon" in the sense of the original poster's question; I recognize Timson's instrument of the same name is the other direction, a melodeon with concertina-based fingering.

 

As far as I know, Colin Dipper is the only one who has ever built a franglo. (He also plays it, excellently.)

 

And the Dippers have like a 7yr waiting list and $6k price or so, yes? Short of that, I don't know, might Edgley (or one of the other hybrid makers) consider this sort of thing, or is Tedrow one of the few folks that has a non-enormous waiting list and is willing to take on unusual commissions?

Edited March 31, 2014 by MatthewVanitas

[Wolf Molkentin]

Matthew, are you talking about a thing called "Organetto Concertina"? Otherwise I would point to the fact that "Organetto" appears to be the Italian name just for the melodeon.

 

(iPhone typo erased)

Edited March 31, 2014 by blue eyed sailor

[Lester Bailey]

And the Dippers have like a 7yr waiting list and $6k price or so, yes? Short of that, I don't know, might Edgley (or one of the other hybrid makers) consider this sort of thing, or is Tedrow one of the few folks that has a non-enormous waiting list and is willing to take on unusual commissions?

 

I played Colin's Franglo in a session in Yeovil when he visited Emmanuel's last melodeon building course and thought it wonderful. On enquiring if he would take an order for one he said either he or I would probably die before he could deliver it so No.

[twisper]

Stagi makes an Organetto in the hex shape with an 8 note scale, with 4 reversals on the right, and 4 buttons on the left that produce the tonic, fourth and fifth basses and chords, similar to the ""quattro bassi" organetto. There also was the Bandonika, which was basically a two row melodeon layout tucked into a Chemnitzer-style package. I think this was what Hans was playing in "The Book Thief"

 

 

Edited March 31, 2014 by twisper

[Smeeinit]

So the "Anglodeon"/Franglo is like a more developed version of the Italian organetto-concertina? The organetto being more like a concertinization of a 1.5-row melodeon, yes?

 

my mistake with the use of "Anglodeon" I thought I was quite clever, but the name is already in use for another beast.

 

For the Franglo, is there any hybrid concertina maker offering these at all? Or is it only the trad-reed makers with very long waiting lists? A re-reed of a cheaper hybrid Anglo (like I did with the Stagi) doesn't get you the minimum 6 buttons per row that Smeeinit is seeking. Unless you want to buy a small beater Chemnitzer/Carlsfelder square concertina (do they have those floating around Oz?) and convert one of those; that would get you plenty enough buttons on the right side:

 

I did consider a "Pearl Queen" small, square German Konzertina like in the 'Book thief' Movie only smaller. None floating around Australia, unfortunately.

I think someone could convert or put together an English style hexagonal Anglo with Melodeon, like tuning.

 

[twisper]

As for the Stagi, it has some of the attributes you are seeking. It's laid out much like a single row melodeon, with a partial row of buttons on the right that are reversals, to allow smooth scale runs, organetto style. It has bass and chords on the left. It is small, hexagonal, and the right side is voiced with medium and low reeds. But it's.....a Stagi. Here's a link to a demo:

 

http://youtu.be/2KuuXHPYzcg

 

If you are not set on the hexagonal shape, but just looking for a compact instrument, you might consider the Castagnai Giordy. It is miles ahead in build quality from the Stagi, and so easy to play, even a cow can do it:

 

http://youtu.be/pPy3nROxg20

 

I think bothof these instruments are presently in production and available via mail-order. As for the Franglo arrangement, I have no firsthand knowledge. Cheers!

[JimLucas]

I think someone could convert or put together an English style hexagonal Anglo with Melodeon, like tuning.

Undoubtedly, "someone" could, but who would want to, unless they expect to personally benefit? Since you're the person who wants one, why not give it a try yourself? Otherwise, you might pay someone else -- Bob Tedrow, perhaps? -- to make one, but it's likely to cost rather more than a standard model.

 

I suspect that redesigning the left hand might not be trivial. For a single button to play an entire chord, it would have to expose multiple reeds. At the very least, I believe that would require a radical restructuring of the chambers and reed mountings.

 

Maybe one of the alternatives twisper noted would satisfy you. If so, that would be great, but what's the probability that you'll be able to try one without first buying it?

 

A dilemma, it seems.

[MatthewVanitas]

Just one man's opinion, but there's appears to be a great supply of Chemnitzers and Karlsfelders floating around without a huge demand. I bought a great hybrid one in the US for about $300, almost fully in tune. This one (since sold): http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=morbidoni+concertina&sm=3

 

I've seen almost nothing of folks playing them other than polka bands in the US, and a few oddities like the band 16 Horsepower using one of a few tracks. If you don't need your concertina to be tiny (though some Karlsfelders aren't much bigger than an Anglo), the "big square German accordions" might be a neat thing to try.

 

Edited March 31, 2014 by MatthewVanitas