Carroll On Order

[Doug Barr]

Excited, Carroll number 235 will be mine. Placed my order and now just wait....all worth it!

Edited September 20, 2014 by Doug Barr

[Doug Barr]

Carroll

Edited September 21, 2014 by Doug Barr

[Ken_Coles]

Title fixed. Hope it is not a long wait!

 

Ken

[Jim Besser]

Excited, Carroll number 235 will be mine. Placed my order and now just wait....all worth it!

Lucky you. They're fantastic instruments.

[Azalin]

What model did you order Doug?

[Doug Barr]

I have ordered the small version c/g . Probably ends made of some exotic wood. I played a similar box at Nesi and was very impressed.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Doug Barr

[Azalin]

I have ordered the small version c/g . Probably ends made of some exotic wood. I played a similar box at Nesi and was very impressed.

 

Excellent choice! I have a small Carroll Bb/F and it shares some of the same attributes I like with my C/G County Clare Dipper... small and fast! Will you keep your Suttner? I'm really eager to find out which one of the two you'll end up playing the most.

[Doug Barr]

Azalin, I had the opportunity to also play a Count clare Dipper at Nesi and it was a wonderful box too....may have to put one of those on order. Still a long wait for either box. I did wait 4 1/2 years for the Suttner. Yes I will be holding onto my Suttner...it is a great box.

[JimLucas]

I have ordered the small version c/g . Probably ends made of some exotic wood. I played a similar box at Nesi and was very impressed.

 

With regard to recent discussion of new international restrictions regarding rare woods, I suggest being careful which exotic wood you choose.

[Geoff Wooff]

 

I have ordered the small version c/g . Probably ends made of some exotic wood. I played a similar box at Nesi and was very impressed.

 

With regard to recent discussion of new international restrictions regarding rare woods, I suggest being careful which exotic wood you choose.

 

That is actually a more complex problem than one might imagine . It is going to be difficult to determine which 'exotics' might come onto the restricted lists in the near future as well as those that are currently considered endangered but might not attract attention as a finished product but only in the form of import/ export of the raw material.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Geoff Wooff

[SusanW]

WOW! Lucky you. I got to try the one that Paul (from Maine) had a t the Squeeze-In. Lovely instrument.

[felix castro]

As a owner of concertinas by the three makers quoted and about the question made by Azalin, my experience and thoughts about it are that some times playing one or other concertina is more a matter of tuning of the concertina than taste or choice if one plays along with more musicians. I have my Dipper in C#/G# that plaied a lot years ago and during the last years it is the instrument that I play less time, because I am playing less in G# or Eb and more in F, that I play better with the C/G Suttner and now with the Bb/F Carroll. When playing alone it is a different question, one can play the instrument that likes more, but tastes change also with time and I like more now low tuned instruments (and wooden ends), being the Bb/F the ideal tuning for me.

[Azalin]

As a owner of concertinas by the three makers quoted and about the question made by Azalin, my experience and thoughts about it are that some times playing one or other concertina is more a matter of tuning of the concertina than taste or choice if one plays along with more musicians. I have my Dipper in C#/G# that plaied a lot years ago and during the last years it is the instrument that I play less time, because I am playing less in G# or Eb and more in F, that I play better with the C/G Suttner and now with the Bb/F Carroll. When playing alone it is a different question, one can play the instrument that likes more, but tastes change also with time and I like more now low tuned instruments (and wooden ends), being the Bb/F the ideal tuning for me.

 

But in our specific case here we're talking about two C/G instruments, which was really what my question related to. I was curious to know which C/G Doug would end up playing the most. When you have concertinas in different keys the reasons for playing one or another are much more obvious. I personally have to play my C/G at sessions because the standard base key for Irish sessions is D and I learn my tunes on the C/G to play in those keys... I bought a Bb/F to play "C" sessions or to play lower on my own, I really prefer mellow tuning like you do.

 

The problem I have now with my Bb/F is that is has 30 buttons, and my C/G has 34 buttons. Recently I started using those extra buttons and notes and implement them in my tunes to optimize them and make some phrases easier to play. I'm not talented enough to easily be able to switch from one layout to the other. So right now I feel kind of limited playing a 30 buttons, I feel I can't play all the tunes I want the way I want to play them.

[CZ in AZ]

I know just how you feel - I bit the bullet last year and am number 205 on the list (still have a 2 year wait). I also ordered the smallest CG, but with the d drone.

 

Cheers, Claire

[MatthewVanitas]

Regarding "exotic woods", have you considered instead "uncommon woods"? Or whatever the term is for "woods we don't commonly use, but aren't endangered".

 

In the US, some smallpipes makers have taken to using native woods more and more, of types not conventionally used but which are suitable for instruments and are plentifully available. For example, I have a bellows-blown Swedish bagpipe made from mesquite wood. Mesquite is very light but very strong, has the property of swelling in perfect proportion if it does swell (holes/bores never go out of round). A good half-dozen or more North American luthiers now use it occasionally for cauld-wind (bellows-blown) bagpipes. Mesquite is practically a weed in Texas, so there's no fear of over-exploiting that!

 

 

If both the ethics of harvesting, and potential future EU import laws, are of concern, perhaps there are distinctive, concertina-suitable, and non-endangered woods you could try? I know English holly looks gorgeous as trim, almost bone-like. Maybe some plum? Or order from across the pond since the amounts/sizes are small, get some mesquite, katalox ("Mexican ebony"), persimmon, etc. There's a whole world of woods out there, so if one can use more attainable woods without sacrificing structure, there's some virtue and also distinction there.

[wayman]

"A good half-dozen or more North American luthiers now use it occasionally for cauld-wind (bellows-blown) bagpipes."

 

Really, are that many luthiers making pipes as a side-business now? A luthier is someone who makes stringed instruments, not any instrument-maker

[adrian brown]

"A good half-dozen or more North American luthiers now use it occasionally for cauld-wind (bellows-blown) bagpipes."

 

Really, are that many luthiers making pipes as a side-business now? A luthier is someone who makes stringed instruments, not any instrument-maker

 

And if we really want to split hairs, historically speaking it's a maker of lutes :)

[chas]

"A good half-dozen or more North American luthiers now use it occasionally for cauld-wind (bellows-blown) bagpipes."

 

Really, are that many luthiers making pipes as a side-business now? A luthier is someone who makes stringed instruments, not any instrument-maker

 

You might think so but in fact the French often use the word for any instrument-maker. For example, Gilles Lehart, maker of bombardes, binious and flutes, described in a radio interview:

 

Gilles Léhart est artisan luthier dans les Côtes d’Armor.