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Upgraded Elise


rlgph

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I've gotten my upgraded CC Elise back from Bob Tedrow, complete with bushed buttons. No more wobbly buttons! And, aside from user limitations, it plays wonderfully.

 

I dropped it off last Monday on my way from NC to LA, and despite this being a very busy time for his shop, he managed to get it done in time for me to pick up on my way back to NC on Friday. What a nice guy -- and very interesting to talk to!

 

elise.jpg

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Hmmm... Did Bob do anything else besides bushing the buttons?

 

CC now sells a reed upgrade kit: http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16892

 

Huh, that is interesting. I've been debating having some accordion maker in a cheaper-labor country I run across in work travels build me a small hybrid concertina, and buying a ready-made set of reeds might be convenient.

 

In particular I find interesting:

 

 

 

Complete set for a 34 key duet Concertina. $120.00

can be used for our Elise model or your own build.

If used for the Elise, the chambers need to be reduced.

Price includes reeds, reed wax, material for chamber reduction,

instructions, and shipping within the USA.

 

 

 

By "the chambers need to be reduced" I take it that means the mount for these nicer reeds is smaller? So theoretically something with the same range as the Elise could be built into a somewhat smaller body? That's another of the reasons I'd have an accordion-based custom be a square-rectangular instrument, to make it easier for an accordion-experienced guy to build, but also to try to fit Elise-type range into a smaller box, given that the Elise is a rather big piece of gear for its range, though still an instrument I'm pleased to have started out on.

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I would think something similar could be built in a much smaller format. I never really understood why Wim didn't just get the chinese connection to make a regular hybrid which packs a similar number of reeds into an approximately six inch end. Perhaps he didn't want them competing with his own hybrids which do just that. ( or at least the Geuns-Wakker ones did. I don't know if he has turned over the hybrids to some one else while he works on his concertina reeded models.) The primary failing of the Chinese instruments he designed is the large bellows area which take a lot more effort to play, otherwise they are excellent given the price. My old Bastari Hayden stuffed as many notes into a 7 inch box. I had a lot of fun with that one before I made a 63 button. I can see the reason for the size if you stick with accordion style reed blocks ( which actually use space quite efficiently in accordions which are essentially linear instruments, not radial ones.). Perhaps the company he works with wasn't interested in reworking that part of their process. Times change though. Seems like a lot of companies there are scrambling for work and will make whatever you want.

Dana

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My old Bastari Hayden stuffed as many notes into a 7 inch box. I had a lot of fun with that one before I made a 63 button.

Dana:

 

Please tell us a bit more about your 63 button box (size, reed type) and whether you would make any more of them ...

 

Thx. Don.

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As an Elise near-beginner, with about six months in, I follow any thread I see about it and will most probably upgrade, after my warranty period, as and when I am distracted by wobbly buttons (not really, yet) or entry level quality reeds. For the moment, I am quite enamored of the little (or not so little) machine. The easy transposition among the few keys, the increasingly comfortable left hand harmonies, drones, chords, the ability when needed to play up or down from side to side to increase single-note range; all these I appreciate much. But the best (sheepish confession here...) is that I think it sounds cool. Not like a vintage concertina, for sure, but not all gentle and sweet like a mellow old Bastari, either. Rather, it strikes me as loud, clear, in tune. Some notes are trumpet-like, and my acoustic session colleagues seem to like the sound. My "Walter Mitty" fantasy is to learn a set of tunes, fast and true, with modest ornamentation, to break out to the unsuspecting at the local ITM group, who have only seen my modest, unassuming "humming along" on my old, tired Anglo. I know it is counter to the mainstream, but certainly not unprecedented to hear ITM on Hayden. The bonus, of course, is that it is loud enough (and I suppose, different enough in some way, like tone, color, timbre, wave shape, who knows?) to actually be heard, not exactly "over" the two wonderful, high end concertinas and two great accordions, but rather "with" them.

 

Now, back to the "upgrade" part. The bellows, as mentioned, do seem like a bit of a chore to move, and my right hand, particularly, blew up like a winter squash, after admittedly way too many consecutive hours playing aggressively, which I have mentioned in other threads, and been appropriately advised to remediate by judicious play and a better instrument. I am thinking of switching to a CBA or small 2 row box, like a Lilly or Giordy, but am actually wondering if part of the appeal of them isn't simply that with full battle harness, they eliminate much of the yanking by the right hand, and would seem to allow more free-range fingering on the right. You see where this is going....Would it be possible/reasonable to rig a pair of straps, like melodion straps, or such, to lock the thing in and reduce the "hard work" on the right? Or, perhaps just plain silly? I wouldn't care how it looked. And, is there a reasonable bellows upgrade, like the reeds Wim offers, or the bushing job from Bob, et. al.? Or even, despite all the mixed and mostly negative reviews, would a Stagi Hayden be easier in the bellows working?

 

I have been on corticosteroid regimen since October, and as I am tapered off them, I'll see what happens. Meanwhile, any suggestions for coexistence with my Elise will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, and regards,

 

David

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Or even, despite all the mixed and mostly negative reviews, would a Stagi Hayden be easier in the bellows working?

 

 

Thanks, and regards,

 

David

 

From the couple of times I have tried a Stagi Hayden I've formed the impression that the Elise is easier to work. One thing is clear from those who have played their Elises and other CC starter models for extended periods is that they become easier to play as the bellows loosens up.

 

Good luck with your sore paw David !

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I have a well-used Elise and a relatively new Peacock. I don't find that there is much difference in the effort required to use the bellows on either of them. They are both quite easy, they could be more 'elastic' I suppose, but I don't see that as a big problem. They are both easier than a Stagi.

 

The main problem that I found on my Elise was that the hand-rest on the RHS was too low and not long enough (I have big hands). I made a new RHS hand-rest about 1 cm higher and maybe 1.5 cm longer which I find much more comfortable. Strangely, I did not feel the need to change the LHS hand-rest. Also, the hand-rests on the Peacock are not much different to the original hand-rests on the Elise and I don't feel that I need to change them.

 

I suspect that the reason that standard hand-rests work for me on the Peacock is because it has the parallel Wicki button orientation vs. the Hayden slanted orientation on the Elise. Now that I have a raised hand-rest on the Elise I really don't notice much difference in the orientations - I regularly use both boxes during the day.

 

I am somewhat puzzled by these findings - it seems that quite minor adjustments to hand-rests can make a huge difference to comfort and playability. I have read somewhere of sloping hand-rests being good, but I have not tried making one of those yet.

Edited by Don Taylor
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- it seems that quite minor adjustments to hand-rests can make a huge difference to comfort and playability.

 

I found the same. I Wickified my Elise, (removed the handrest slope), and moved the handrests down (toward my feet). This improved playability for me, particularly when standing.

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- it seems that quite minor adjustments to hand-rests can make a huge difference to comfort and playability.

 

I found the same. I Wickified my Elise, (removed the handrest slope), and moved the handrests down (toward my feet). This improved playability for me, particularly when standing.

 

Patrick,

are you saying that you changed the angle of the handrests so as to be parallel to the keyboard ?

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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are you saying that you changed the angle of the handrests so as to be parallel to the keyboard ?

 

 

Yes. That works better for me. Then the Beaumont came that way, and I'm happy with that too.

 

Ok, thanks Patrick.

I can see that it is not too difficult to make that modification on the Elise.... but it's not so easy on my Wakker 46 , though I have toyed with the idea a couple of times as my fourth fingers do stretch for those upper buttons. So it is good to read that the move was successfull.

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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Hmmm... Did Bob do anything else besides bushing the buttons?

 

 

Sorry for the late reply; i've been busy since returning.

Bob started bushing the buttons on the beginner CC instruments only recently. When i bought my Elise a few months ago he performed the following upgrades:

Harness leather hand straps

5/8" air button

Piloted and waxed end screws

Edited by rlgph
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