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WTB: Jeffries Duet


saguaro_squeezer

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Centered on C seems to be the convention although I think it's rather arbitrary for the Jeff duet.  The mid C octave is split between left and right for a standard 51 key instrument so you must switch hands at some point when playing most melodies.  This seems to complicate harmonies, although the center overlap allows some options in this regard.  Playing in F or B flat is actually easier than C as complete octaves fall to either hand in the mid range,  however you find yourself yearning for a base note in either of these keys.  In fact my 53 button Wheatstone example drops the low G in favor of B and B flat.  There are several variations of low note configurations by different makers and of different sizes, presumably to facilitate play in certain keys on an otherwise chromatic instrument.  Much of this may apply to other duet systems but I have no experience with these.

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Thanks, Wunks!  Sounds similar to looking for Cranes with the desired low notes ... actually almost any Duet, right?  Are Jeffries Duets fairly standard to a point before they begin varying ... similar to the base 55 key Crane vs larger ones?

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On 6/12/2019 at 7:44 PM, saguaro_squeezer said:

I’m looking to add a Jeffries Duet to the family, preferably based around C ... is that the way to catagorize them?  

 

I'd say yes, that's the way to categorize, since two adjacent rows are essentially the push and pull notes of the buttons of a single-row/single-key anglo.  The additional buttons provide the notes missing from that key, distributed not entirely randomly, but much less "regularly"... conceptually not all that different from the additional row on a 30-button anglo and additional buttons on anglos with more than 30 buttons.

 

My own small Jeffries duet has a central key of Bb.

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