Duets Mostly...

[Dirge]

I'm having a rationalisation,  cutting back to the 3 instruments I actually use.  I'm in NZ but coming over to England in early May.  I'm planning to bring the 2 big duets with me then if not sold previously.  Please understand I DO want to sell them,  not hold out for top dollar.

 

So... I have an 81 key aeola;  No. 30398.  (What's that,  about 1930?  Certainly none of your Chidley complications).    Bought from Iris Bishop,  who,  I'm pretty sure, used to use Colin Dipper to maintain her instruments and sure enough the  very fine original leather box has his sticker inside the lid.   It's in excellent order,  windtight and in modern tune and, more than anything, needs someone to love it and play it regularly.  Wear on the plating in the usual places.  Probably £2250's worth wouldn't you say?  Come on then,  twist my arm...

 

Then I have a 50 key Lach' and YES the RH does go down to middle C.  Very neat this;  Mike Acott pulled it out of retirement and sorted it for me some years ago;  it's about the size of a normal concertina 6 sided and steel ended.  I had him put extra folds in the bellows.  No box with this one.  Theoretically a very useful GP 'box but not as subtle as the ol' long scale reeds though and I have never shaken it down and really got into the habit of playing it so it's still awaiting being run in.  What do you think?  £1500?  ... or offers...

 

A couple of tiddlers;  a bottom of range 20 key anglo Lach;  it's not windtight but the bellows look new and I suspect it's been done up and a pad has fallen off or something.  The nice thing about this is it came from a NZ family who said it had been with them from new and has a battered but very authentic looking 'satchel' to carry it to the bush dances.  £250?

Finally the 'ol Lach 39 key duet.  Unremarkable in very way but the bellows look saveable.  With the std mahogany box.  (By the way,  I think these were made as melody instruments rather than for 'true duet playing' as the 46's on were)

 

So there.  Bargains galore!  I look forward to fighting off the rush.

[Dirge]

(Can't we edit posts these days?)  Anyway it's a 56 key Lach (including air)  and I found it in one of C Algar's old docs here.  I see it would have cost you   £18 3s 6d including the nickel ends. 

[Alan Day]

Nice to hear from you Dirge.

Al

[Wolf Molkentin]

Just now, Alan Day said:

Nice to hear from you Dirge.

Al

 

+1

[Mike Acott]

Hello David , nice to hear from you again, i'm still surviving and going to a variety of sessions. I have a 72 key Lachenal McCann for sale, as I try to play my Cranes.

Keep well.

Mike

 

[maccannic]

Hi Dirge, make that "+2".

 

I met you at Kilve in about 1998/9 (I think we even shared a dorm).  I was just starting on my Maccann journey, and I think you were a few months ahead of me.  I reached peak Maccann about 2012, since when I've been going gradually backwards owing to increasingly arthritic finger joints.  So sadly, much as I would like to get my hands on the 81-key, I can't justify spending any more on concertinas.

[Geoff Wooff]

Hello  Dirge,

are you  still playing  31527  ?

Geoff.

[Dirge]

Hallo friends,  nice to hear from you all.  I am still playing 'the Caledonian' Geoff,  and always remember to be grateful to you when I do!  My playing has dropped off a lot since the Duet International days though and I need to get down to some serious practice again.  (Life has been distracting me from the important things.)  What I have been doing is playing my small aeola with a band,  so improvising bluesy sort of stuff which is taking me into another new field for me.  One day I will get the big one out and move up to this job too but for the moment the accidentals of a 50key are enough to get my head round,  especially when I'm playing standing and trying to sing some of the time too.  With a brass reeded 46 Lach that Mike swapped out the low C sharp for a D as my 'rough and tumble' concertina (gets taken on sailing holidays,  that sort of thing) that's the proposed long term stable previously mentioned.

As I said,  great to hear from you all.

[Alan Day]

We still have room for you on the Duet Recordings page and I still have your recordings for Duet International. 

Can we use them ?

Will you be around for Folk East > The last time I saw you.

If not

Take good care

Al

 

[Ken_Coles]

Happy music and good health to you, Dirge!

 

Ken

[Dirge]

Duet Recordings Page Alan?  Wossat?  But probably!  And thank you Ken and to you.

[Dirge]

Just worked it out,  Al.  Corse you can!

[wes williams]

10 hours ago, Dirge said:

Duet Recordings Page Alan?  Wossat?  But probably!  And thank you Ken and to you.

Later: Just worked it out,  Al.  Corse you can!

Look what you've missed in your absence: http://www.concertinas.org.uk/DuetAudio.htm

[Dirge]

6 hours ago, wes williams said:

Look what you've missed in your absence: http://www.concertinas.org.uk/DuetAudio.htm

Listening to the Jean Megley stuff now.  I always thought he was a bit good.

[Dirge]

Right the 81 is sold and no longer available (thank you!) and I've put another ad up for the 56.

[wes williams]

And guess who bought the beast 😁. It'll be a bit too big for standing up playing after my usual 46 Maccann and Jeffries and Lachenal Anglos 😆.
So c'mon all you folks who want a Maccann, the 56 is a very good starter that you can do a lot on!

[Dirge]

Right I'm going to keep the last two tiddlers for now rather than drag 4 concertinas round the world at one go,  so that's my business for this year.  Thanks everyone.