Maccann Duet On Ebay

[Robert Gaskins]

FWIW, I bought a different Wheatstone AEola 46-key Maccann Duet last year, serial # 25457, completely restored, for £1,500. It turned out to be one of the very best values that I've ever gotten--an outstandingly responsive instrument. So £1,283 plus restoration appears to be a modest advance on that. The eBay instrument is considerably later (1928 versus 1912), but still in a good period.

 

For the eBay instrument just sold, the Ledgers (http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD02/PAGES/D2P0890S.HTM) show it as a Model 36, octagonal, with nickel plated ends. The nearest Wheatstone Pricelist from Chris Algar's collection (http://www.concertina.com/pricelists/wheatstone-duet/) lists it as selling for about 24 pounds and 15 shillings (with the extras for its shape and metal ends). Plugging that into the "price updater" (http://www.concertina.com/calculator/) gives an estimated year 2000 equivalent price of about £3,600. So the eBay price is roughly one-third of the original value. (There's clearly a lot less demand these days!)

 

It appears, impressionistically, that many Maccann Duets were made for professional Music Hall performers, who bought the high-quality instruments but usually in larger sizes (67 keys typically). There were also quite a number of 46-key instruments made, but often in the cheaper quality ranges. Thus it is fairly unusual to see an AEola Maccann with 46 keys--small size but high quality. (They are in the Ledgers, but for some reason not actually seen very often.) In any case, I'd think that 46-key AEola Maccanns are certainly rarer than 67-key Maccann AEola Maccanns.

 

As to "only a 46, no matter how swanky", different people prefer different sizes depending on what kind of music they play. If you're trying to play arrangements by Henry Stanley or David Cornell, most of those are designed for 67 keys, sometimes doable on 57 keys. If you're playing in a "faking" style (chords on both sides, or chords on the left and melody on the right, or melody on the left and chords on the right, or mostly octave melody with variations on both sides) then 46 keys may well be plenty--especially if you are playing in C or G. I've known several people to buy 81-key Maccanns, but they have all (but one) later traded for smaller instruments. I myself have found my preference changing from 67 to 57 to 46, because of the convenient small size and light weight of the 46-key instruments.

[Robin Harrison]

1200 pounds or so for a top model duet from the top maker of Mccanns is a steal.It is amazing value...........Robin

[john targosz.]

I see it sold for a reasonable price. I suspect it was one of our number that was the lucky winner too!

I was the unlucky underbidder. I did`nt go higher as condition was unknown and I was a little unsure of the seller. Ah well, back to the wheezy lachenal!!

[m3838]

Why is it Wheezy?

Is it leaking from the sealing around chamber/action board, soundboard-frame sealing, pallettes or the reeds themselves?

If anything but the reeds, you can take a razor and slightly brush the fuzzy surface of the suede, no?

Palletts are easy to replace with the sandwich of cardboard/felt/chamou leather (but it has to be smeared with thin layer of Tacky glue to be airtight first.

If the reeds, it might sound like inherent problem.

[Paul Read]

Why is it Wheezy?

 

We'll probably all be wheezy if we get to 100!