Troubadour Wicky/Hayden duet

[Little John]

18 hours ago, David Colpitts said:

FWIW, this diagram of Elise is the kind of thing that’s clear to me:

 

 

On the LHS what you show as A1 is actually the air button.

 

LJ

[Don Taylor]

1 hour ago, Little John said:

 

On the LHS what you show as A1 is actually the air button.

 

LJ

 

David's diagram is for an Elise which does have an A1 button as shown in the diagram, the Troubador has an air button instead of an A1 - see my rearranged Troubadour diagram earlier in this thread.

[Little John]

16 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

 

David's diagram is for an Elise which does have an A1 button as shown in the diagram, the Troubador has an air button instead of an A1 - see my rearranged Troubadour diagram earlier in this thread.

 

You are right, of course, Don! As a Crane player I was just skimming the thread and should have looked more closely.

 

I think the 36 buttons gives a usable range of notes. I have to say that I agree with Wim - the limitations are mostly in the mind of the player rather than in the instrument. I also agree that a small, light instrument has many attractions. My own Holden Crane is similarly a 6 1/4" instrument. Because it is has concertina reeds it manages to fit in 44 buttons, but obviously it is more expensive.

 

LJ

[ritonmousquetaire]

On 12/17/2019 at 4:39 PM, Little John said:

 

You are right, of course, Don! As a Crane player I was just skimming the thread and should have looked more closely.

 

I think the 36 buttons gives a usable range of notes. I have to say that I agree with Wim - the limitations are mostly in the mind of the player rather than in the instrument. I also agree that a small, light instrument has many attractions. My own Holden Crane is similarly a 6 1/4" instrument. Because it is has concertina reeds it manages to fit in 44 buttons, but obviously it is more expensive.

 

LJ

Have there been any attempt to use harmonica reels, which are even smaller I believe? Could that be a way to have a small instrument with a larger range?

 

About the air button : so if I’m getting it right there’s no thumb button - is that because it was more convenient to have it as a "normal" key, or does it offer an advantage for playing?

[Wolf Molkentin]

11 hours ago, ritonmousquetaire said:

Have there been any attempt to use harmonica reels, which are even smaller I believe?

 

You would need reeds on fitting plates or shoes, and brass wouldn't be preferable either. Accordion reeds are being used due to their availability and cheapness. Concertina reed shoes are requiring less space, but are quite expensive because there is no mass production, for several reasons.

 

Best wishes - ?

[JimLucas]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:24 AM, ritonmousquetaire said:

About the air button : so if I’m getting it right there’s no thumb button - is that because it was more convenient to have it as a "normal" key, or does it offer an advantage for playing?

 

I have thumb buttons with notes both on anglos and on a Crane duet.  I find it uncomfortable to use them, and not just because they're "out of pattern".  Maybe it's the shape of my thumbs?  It would be good to hear from others about that.

[Jim Bayliss]

Apparently the upper A on the left is the air button.

Edited December 28, 2019 by Jim Bayliss
misunderstood diagrams

[Little John]

On 12/25/2019 at 4:51 AM, JimLucas said:

 

I have thumb buttons with notes both on anglos and on a Crane duet.  I find it uncomfortable to use them, and not just because they're "out of pattern".  Maybe it's the shape of my thumbs?  It would be good to hear from others about that.

 

Jim - I have only an air button under the thumb on my Cranes, so I can't really comment on playing notes with my thumb. I do, however, have some "out of pattern" notes on my Cranes; about three on each instrument. For example, on one instrument where the low C#3 would be on the left I have an anglo-style Bb2/B2 and on another instrument that button is G2/B2. I use them a lot so found no problem in getting used to them. Only the same difficulty as getting used to the (rarely used) G#5 on the right.

 

So I'd suggest it's maybe more that it's odd playing notes with your thumb (or possibly the shape of them) than it is to do with being "out of pattern".

 

LJ

[JimLucas]

On 12/29/2019 at 12:07 PM, Little John said:

So I'd suggest it's maybe more that it's odd playing notes with your thumb (or possibly the shape of them) than it is to do with being "out of pattern".

 

I feel that this discussion has diverged significantly from the subject in the title of this topic, extending from one particular detail, so I've decided to continue it in a new topic, here.

[DaveRo]

On 12/15/2019 at 2:12 AM, wim wakker said:

The final addition to our hybrid duet models will be the Peacock XL, a 50+ key version of the standard Peacock. We built several proto types varying from 54 to 58 keys, but have not decided yet which one will go in production. We expect this last hybrid duet model to be available mid/late 2020.

This would fill the gap left by the end of Morse Beaumont production. I want to upgrade from a Stagi 46. (Without a 3-4 year wait!) Any news?

[Steve Morrison]

The Troubadour is available in the UK and Europe from www.redcowmusic.co.uk

https://redcowmusic.co.uk/product/troubadour-wicky-hayden-duet-concertina/

[Daniel Hersh]

On 2/24/2022 at 10:19 AM, DaveRo said:

This would fill the gap left by the end of Morse Beaumont production. I want to upgrade from a Stagi 46. (Without a 3-4 year wait!) Any news?

 

Your best bet for finding an answer would be to email Concertina Connection at info@concertinaconnection.com and ask them about it.

[DaveRo]

Since that post of mine I bought a S/H Peacock. That's good for a year or ten.

 

It would be interesting to know whether the Peacock XL is still on the stocks, though.