My New Concertina

[BruceB]

Hi everyone,

I really had no intention of getting another concertina, but I guess a lot of you know how that goes. Anyway, it's the Wheatstone Tenor Aeola that the Concertina Connection had for sale. There is a photo, description and sound files at the CC site. It's the first concertina (#33402 Wheatstone Tenor Aeola) listed under Vintage Concertinas For sale. I don't yet have it, but it's been shipped so I should see it next week. I think a tenor english has some advantages over a treble or even a tenor treble. Having the low notes down to C will be great, and from playing my Morse Albion I know I won't miss the high end that a treble has. I do prefer not to have more buttons than I need, just personal preference from playing a 56 button extended treble.

 

Apparently, tenor Aeolas are quite rare, which is part of the reason I bought this one. I also liked the that it has been totally rebuilt, and has those nice refinished French Polished ends. I thought it sounded wonderful when I listened to the sound files.....and yes, I realize much of that is due to Wim's playing. Both from listening to the sound files & discussing it with Wim, it's not super loud like some Aeolas (Not that loud is bad), but perhaps just a bit quieter & sweeter (relative to a really assertive Aeola) and hopefully better for stuff like the tunes in Dancing With Ma Baby. The fretwork also looks pretty closed to me. This is the second time I've seen a concertina that just felt right for me, and I've always been sorry I didn't get the first one (A Dipper English with Amboyna ends). If it sounds as wonderful as I expect, great, if not I have three days to decide if I want to keep it. Check it out at the CC site, what do you think?

 

I'll have to sell my Morse Albion (along with a Terry McGee wooden flute) to help pay for it. I'll be sorry to do that as I think the Albion is great. It's in perfect condition, maybe better than new as I think the tone has mellowed just a bit and improved. I'll probably ask 1400 for it and post it in buy & sell tomorrow. If anyone's interested, email me at b4bru@aol.com.

 

bruce boysen