FS: Wheatstone 56 key extended treble

[SteveS]

I'm selling another instrument from my collection.

 

This time a Wheatstone 56 key extended treble.  It is a magnificent player - very fast action and bright responsive rivetted reeds.

 

I guess, this instrument could be from 1880s.  No serial number.

 

This one used to be my regular squeeze until I got my first Aeola.  I used to play this in sessions and in a ceilidh band when I lived in Edinburgh during 1990s.

 

Some history of the instrument:

 

I acquired it around 1992, and Colin Dipper did some maintenance work on it shortly afterwards.

 

An apparent historic professional repair has fixed damaged bolt holes - presumably, Wheatstone did this work.

 

I have serviced the instrument.  I have repaired recently the severely cracked ends, and refinished them - these look as good as new now.  When finishing the ends I stripped back the old shellac - which looked like it was brown button shellac, and refinished using a lighter amber shellac which I think accentuates the grain nicely, and improves the appearance of the ends.

 

Tuned to A=440Hz

 

One modification from standard - the low G# on the right-hand side is tuned to a low F.

 

Ready to play and enjoy.

 

There is no original case - but I'll see if I can find a suitable case to put it in.

 

I'm asking €2500.

 

Located in Piemonte, Italy.

Edited July 14, 2023 by SteveS

[Little John]

3 hours ago, SteveS said:

One modification from standard - the low G# on the right-hand side is tuned to a low F.

 

Severely off-topic, but why is it so common for the G# to be replaced with F rather than the Ab on the LHS? The latter seems much more natural for three reasons. Firstly the F then appears on the LHS which is where it would be if the scale was extended downwards (as on a tenor-treble). Secondly the note falls easily under the ring finger of the left hand, rather than having to stretch the index finger of the right hand across to reach it. Thirdly to form an F-C fifth or an F-A-C triad is easier as all notes fall on the same hand, as one expects on an English concertina.

 

Just asking ...

[Wolf Molkentin]

4 hours ago, Little John said:

 

Severely off-topic, but why is it so common for the G# to be replaced with F rather than the Ab on the LHS? The latter seems much more natural for three reasons. Firstly the F then appears on the LHS which is where it would be if the scale was extended downwards (as on a tenor-treble). Secondly the note falls easily under the ring finger of the left hand, rather than having to stretch the index finger of the right hand across to reach it. Thirdly to form an F-C fifth or an F-A-C triad is easier as all notes fall on the same hand, as one expects on an English concertina.

 

Just asking ...

I ask myself the same question any time this is brought up - I altered all of my EC treble concertinas (apart from one tuned to meantone) the way you‘re suggesting. The baritone already had solder attached to the G#, and all I had to do then was swap the reed with the Ab one - and that’s how your OT remark can be transformed into supporting the sale: Buyer wouldn’t need to apply solder him- or herself, as this had already been done, so leave it as is or just swap the two reeds with (almost certainly) identical reed shows.

 

Good luck with the sale! 🐺
 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Wolf Molkentin
(inexcusable) typo

[SteveS]

I was tuning a baritone earlier today and I encountered for the first time an interesting variation on the low F in the place of the G#2 on the RHS.

This one has F2 on bellows pull and E2 on bellows push.

[Wolf Molkentin]

1 hour ago, SteveS said:

I was tuning a baritone earlier today and I encountered for the first time an interesting variation on the low F in the place of the G#2 on the RHS.

This one has F2 on bellows pull and E2 on bellows push.

I was musing about that (or adding a F#), albeit on the LHS - however I couldn’t fully convince myself of this concept as yet (for my TT I chose the B natural instead of Bb) - and the E (resp. A for the TT) would be quite nice too

[Little John]

13 hours ago, Wolf Molkentin said:

The baritone already had solder attached to the G#, and all I had to do then was swap the reed with the Ab one ...

 

That's exactly what I did with my baritone, but it doesn't answer the question of why the G# seems to be the default choice rather than the more obvious Ab if you want to add a low F.

 

11 hours ago, SteveS said:

... I encountered for the first time an interesting variation on the low F in the place of the G#2 on the RHS.

This one has F2 on bellows pull and E2 on bellows push.

 

So in this instance at least the E2 is on the 'natural' side. 

 

Steve Turner's English (something like a bass-baritone I think, though it defies convention) has about five low buttons with 'Anglo' action. However these are tuned (I think) a fifth apart; giving an incomplete octave extension below the expected compass. I played with it for a few minutes once, but couldn't entirely understand the logic behind it.

[Wolf Molkentin]

3 hours ago, Little John said:

 

That's exactly what I did with my baritone, but it doesn't answer the question of why the G# seems to be the default choice rather than the more obvious Ab if you want to add a low F.

For obvious I reasons I‘m not the one to solve this, however this choice might indicate that Ab is deemed more important than G#, for some reason

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Wolf Molkentin

[SteveS]

reduced to €2200

 

any interest?

[SteveS]

Here's a video of this instrument in action.

Edited August 13, 2023 by SteveS