What Concertina Is This?

[Bill the pumpkin thief]

Dear all.

My first post. I have just got hold of a Lachenal concertina. I play a Wheatstone English treble, and have a Jones anglo. But this Lachenal is different from those two types. Is it a duet? (never seen a duet in the wild). It has no air button, plays same note in and out, is same size as my English more or less, and has the looks, from a distance, of an anglo. I googled images of a duet, but they all seem to have more buttons than this one. I am very very grateful if some knowlegeable souls could tell me what it is, or in fact anything at all about it. The serial number is 1780, and the other side has the Lachenal logo of London. There is a worn thin kind of hessian inside the wooden ends. It came in the original box too, with a large metal ring on the lid. It leaks pretty badly through the reeds, although the bellows seem to be in fine shape.

Thank-you much in advance, Bill.

[John Wild]

It seems to a small MacCann system duet. 6 rows of buttons on each end. Though it is a small-range one with only 39 buttons in total.

 

Visit the www.concertina.info website, and go to the types of concertina page for information on the layout.

I expect Maccann duet players will post specific comments on the system.

 

best wishes,

 

John Wild

[Bill the pumpkin thief]

Hello John,

Thanks so much for your posting, and you are right. I hadn't even heard of the MacCann Duet. I found a lot of information on this instrument on concertina.com, in particular here: concertina.com/gaskins/chords/Gaskins-How-to-Play-Chords-on-Any-MacCann-Duet-Concertina-3.pdf. My machine, 39 button, is on page 27.

All the best,

Bill

[Robin Harrison]

Hi Bill.....( and welcome !)...don't know if you've had time to explore this great concertina web site but there's an interesting Maccann ( note spelling from www.concertina.com) currently for sale over on the Buy & Sell page.

 

http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=20181

 

It gets better, too ! This advertised in the Button Box.....see bottom of page.

 

http://www.buttonbox.com/concertinas-in-stock.html#duet

 

Let us know how you get on and for what it's worth, Mccann duets seem to me to represent absolutely incredible value-for-money.

.....Robin