Looking for options...

[rockie12us]

Hi all

New here.  I have been playing a piano accordion 120 bass buttons for years.  I like the same sound on push and pull.  My accordion is 19 lbs.  My lower back doesn't like it anymore.

So...

I have looked at Duet Concertinas like the Hayden.  Is this a good option?

 

Or are there lighter piano accordions I can look into?

 

Thanks in advance for your time

Dean-O

[David Barnert]

41 minutes ago, rockie12us said:

I have looked at Duet Concertinas like the Hayden.  Is this a good option?

 

Or are there lighter piano accordions I can look into?

 

I know nothing about what is available in the accordion market, but I have been playing Hayden for about 35 years and would definitely call it “a good option.”

[rockie12us]

I am in the Ohio, where are these sold?  Is there a means to try it and possibly return it if it doesn't work for me?

[Jim2010]

10 hours ago, rockie12us said:

I have looked at Duet Concertinas like the Hayden.  Is this a good option?

 

Or are there lighter piano accordions I can look into?

 

If your preference would be to stick with accordion if you can find one light enough, accordionists.info is a great site for information about all things accordion. Very friendly and helpful people.

 

Smythes Accordion Center and Liberty Bellows sell accordions of all sizes and sometimes have Hayden duets in stock.

Smythes currently have a Concertina Connection (concertinaconnection.com) Troubador Hayden duet in stock. Liberty Bellows currently has a Concertina Connection (concertinaconnection.com) Elise Hayden duet in stock.

 

http://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/

 

https://www.libertybellows.com/

 

 

 

[David Barnert]

11 hours ago, rockie12us said:

I am in the Ohio, where are these sold?  Is there a means to try it and possibly return it if it doesn't work for me?

 

There are several people making them and others selling used ones. They are spread over the US, England, and perhaps a few other places, but there aren’t many of them. They cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to many thousands. You might start here: http://www.concertinaconnection.com

[Jim2010]

 

12 hours ago, rockie12us said:

I have looked at Duet Concertinas like the Hayden.  Is this a good option?

 

Something that might be of additional interest to you is that the Concertina Connection offers the option of Hayden Duets with mirrored left hands, with accordionists in mind.

[rockie12us]

6 hours ago, Jim2010 said:

 

If your preference would be to stick with accordion if you can find one light enough, accordionists.info is a great site for information about all things accordion. Very friendly and helpful people.

 

Smythes Accordion Center and Liberty Bellows sell accordions of all sizes and sometimes have Hayden duets in stock.

Smythes currently have a Concertina Connection (concertinaconnection.com) Troubador Hayden duet in stock. Liberty Bellows currently has a Concertina Connection (concertinaconnection.com) Elise Hayden duet in stock.

 

http://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/

 

https://www.libertybellows.com/

 

 

 

Hi Jim

Thanks

I checked those two out but they are missing notes. Not chromatic.

 

Does a chromatic Duet concertina exist?

 

[David Barnert]

15 minutes ago, rockie12us said:

Does a chromatic Duet concertina exist?

 

Except for the very bottom and top of its range, the Hayden is chromatic.

[rockie12us]

5 minutes ago, David Barnert said:

 

Except for the very bottom and top of its range, the Hayden is chromatic.

looking at the button layouts

right hand

C D E F ...

Missing Eb

 

same with left hand

 

I had an Elise Hayden but the limitations of the 30 button unit were limiting in what keys I could play.  Not what I wanted.

 

Is there such a thing as a chromatic duet  concertina?

 

 

[Jim2010]

Did you look at the Peacock Hayden Duet by the Concertina Connection?

http://www.concertinaconnection.com/peacock.htm

 

You might also look at Crane Duets (a different fingering pattern than Hayden) that have 48 or more buttons. Harder to find, but you could ask people here on concertina.net.

 

 

 

 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Firstly, welcome to concertina net.

Now I will throw  a" spanner in the works".   And say why not try a different system for free reed like Anglo concertina? Only difference is one note in on bellows and different note when pulled out ( or 2 notes for each button)! 

If you can handle all those basses and buttons then I think you will eventually be able to adapt. ( To fewer buttons) and challenges that there will be with a different system to try out 

[John Wild]

3 hours ago, rockie12us said:

looking at the button layouts

right hand

C D E F ...

Missing Eb

 

You have to find and use the alternative accidental D#.

[David Barnert]

7 hours ago, rockie12us said:

looking at the button layouts

right hand

C D E F ...

Missing Eb

 

same with left hand

4 hours ago, John Wild said:

You have to find and use the alternative accidental D#.

 

This is me playing a 46-key Hayden. The tune is in G minor, so it has Eb’s all over the place. As John said, you have to use the D#, which is not where you’d expect an Eb to be (you can see me reaching for them with my right pinkie and left index finger).

 

 

[maccannic]

Does a chromatic Duet concertina exist?

 

Just to put another spanner in, my Maccann duet is fully chromatic over 4-and-a-half octaves.  You just have to try and find one.

[Jim2010]

The advice that is often given when people ask "What kind or concertina should I get?" (English, Anglo, or Duet) is listen to concertina recordings/performances, decide what inspires you the most, and get the type of concertina used in the performance. In your case, it seems like you are essentially looking for a smaller lighter instrument to substitute for your accordion. If I am correct about that, duet concertinas seem like the logical starting point. But which type, Hayden, Crane, Maccann)? There is a website that presents recordings of all three types of duets:

 

http://www.concertinas.org.uk/DuetAudio.htm

Youtube is another good place to hear various types of concertinas.

 

After listening to some of the recordings, you might be in a better position to decide which or IF any of them sound the way you would hope them to sound if you went to the trouble of finding one and learning how to play it. Just finding an instrument that has the notes you need is just one aspect of it. Do concertinas (any type) have the sound you are looking for?

[Theo]

Also worth knowing is what is available.   Maccann duets are the most numerous, Crane less so, Hayden is a relatively recent innovation and it is easy to find a small version designed for beginners, but larger, better quality examples are rare, and you might need to commission one from a maker.

[Theo]

You might also like to consider Edward Jay’s Tritone concertina.