New Geoffrey Crabb Concertina

[Mark Davies]

After spending some time persuading my good friend Geoff Crabb to make me a new concertina I finally took delivery of the instrument yesterday when Geoff delivered it.We attended the Royal Concertinas session where various anglo afficianados played it and were favourably impressed.As I started off playing a 40 key Wheatstone anglo,the standard Wheatstone layout on a C/G anglo is what I prefer.The instrument Geoff has made is an 8 sided 40 key with finely fretted stainless steel ends and eight fold bellows.Clearly I have had a limited time to play it but the action is light and very responsive and the tone is loud without being too strident.The balance of the sound between the left and right hand sides is excellent and shows what long periof of time Geoff spent on the reed work.The reed frames are hand filed rectangular and the reed pan is that standard non radial Crabb layout.It will clearly need to be played in but meets my requirements exactly.There are a number of innovations on the instrument which are probably unique and are testimony to Geoff's inventive farm of mind and technical skills.The air button on right hand side is in fact a lever and air is released by pressing down on the side of the button rather than pressing in the end of the button.This is very easy to use.The air button/lever in fact operates two entirely separate levers and pads.Depressing the button slightly allows limited air to be released whilst depressing the lever fully operates a separate lever and a larger pad enabling a larger amount of air to be released.This idea appears to work very well.The drone button on the right hand side operates on a similar lever basis as the air button.However it has a cranked action which enables the drone button(standard drone in C)to be locked into place.Geoff made the 30 key No 1 concertina,previously reviewed on c.net, just to satisfy himslef that he was still able to make a concertina.The No 2 concertina certainly shows that is the case and suggests he is perhaps the most innovative of the current makers whilst sticking to traditional construction methods.

 

Geoff was highly amused when I showed him correspondence from his late father Harry dating from 1974.I had ordered in 1974 a Crabb 40 key anglo(identical to No 2 apart from the innovations referred to above).The price in the catalogue was I think £110.I had paid a £10 deposit.However when Harry wrote back confirming the order he said the price had gone up to £150.I was training to be a Solicitor at the time,newly married and earning £4.50 a week so I decided to cancel the order and got my £10 back!Wasn't I a silly boy.The price of No2(still a bargain)was substantially more than £150.

 

Geoff again gave a fascinating talk at the Royal Concertinas session on the history of the H.Crabb & Sons up to the closure of the business on the death of his brother Neville in 1989.He is the last living connection with the Victorian concertina through his great grandfather John Crabb and his memories of the concertian trade are thus fascinating.He has organised a data base of Crabb concertinas so is able to tell you when individual instruments were made and at a small cost is able to provide certificates of authenticity.

 

I attach a photograph of No2.

[PeterT]

Hi Mark,

 

This is good news indeed. I read the review about Geoff's No.1, and wondered whether there would be more. Perhaps when you have road-tested it (or do I mean session-tested?) for a few months, you could give us a progress report on how it has played in.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[Peter Brook]

I just like to say that I'm not jealous in any way.....okay I am totally jealous... this looks lovely! I wish I had the money and the contacts to persuade Number 3 to fall in to my hands. Oh well

[Pete Dickey]

I've got to endorse Mark's comments in that the new Crabb is a superb instrument as pleasant to play as any CG and I feel a step up on my own 40 Key 1979 CG Crabb.

 

The concertina both looks and feels terrific and as expected, Geoff's engineering and fabrication skills are to the highest standard and his innovativeness with the combined air bleed/dump lever is a work of art. Amazingly although a lever, it can also be pressed in and used like a button if desired although it is extremely easy to get the hang of the lever operation.

 

A minor correction to Mark's comments only for the sake of exactness is that the lockable drone is located on the left-hand side of the instrument (I always knew that lawyers didn't know one hand from the other - not that it mattered as both hands were in your pockets after your money )

 

I feel Geoff deserves a big pat on the back on his production of an instrument that can readily rank among the best of the vintage concertinas from the top makers.

 

Pete

[Howard Mitchell]

...Geoff's engineering and fabrication skills are to the highest standard and his innovativeness with the combined air bleed/dump lever is a work of art. Amazingly although a lever, it can also be pressed in and used like a button if desired although it is extremely easy to get the hang of the lever operation.

...

Pete

 

The Wheatstone Chemnizer which I currently have custody of has a lever air button, but not unfortunately a dual action mechanism. I can confirm that it is easy to operated, probably easier than the conventional button.

 

Howard Mitchell