Jump to content

Trade Crane For English?


BruceB

Recommended Posts

Hi Folks,

I've had this Crane Duet for about a year that I'm not really playing anymore. It was reconditioned by Barleycorn Concertinas. Retuned, new bellows, etc. It plays great in every way, excellent action, responsive reeds and great tone. It's very pretty, with almost no wear on the wooden ends. Metal buttons. A sweetheart concertina. It's something I should probably hold on to as it's pretty hard to find a Crane this nice, but even though I "want" to play duet, I just enjoy the english system more.

Anyway, unless someone offers me significantly more than what I think it's worth, I don't really want to sell it. I will consider a trade for a nice english, modern maker or vintage. If someone has a Dipper english I'll trade the crane AND my daughter for it. I'd love to get a nice smaller english with a reduced button count. I play a 37b Morse and consider the fact it has "only" 37 buttons to be an advantage over a 48b. If someone has something REALLY nice, a Dipper or very sweet Aeola or Edeophone, I could sweeten the pot, perhaps with another concertina, nice wooden flute (another interest) or maybe cash.

bruce boysen......send replies to b4bru@aol.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Everyone,

Well, I've had three offers of cash for this. Thanks. Perhaps in the future I'll consider it as I might be moving within a year or so and maybe cash will become a priority then.

 

I do like the crane system. It's logical, it's easy to play, and contrary to what some have written, it has excellent flow. When playing melodies with the right hand you only occasionally have to be careful not to run out of fingers. With just a bit of planning you never have to use the same finger for two consecutive buttons.

 

Anyway, and this isn't a good idea, IMO, I'm playing both english and crane at the moment. The problem with this is that I barely have the time and energy to play one system, and playing two just slows any progress I might make too much. I should just concentrate on english, but the crane is sitting there calling to me, and it's so nice.

 

As some of you know, music and concertinas are very much a secondary interest for me, which is why I can't devote the time I should to playing. I have always spent way too much time riding bicycles, which is my primary passion. Just for kicks, I'm seriously considering doing a little race next summer if I can work out the details. Here's a link for the curious. http://greatdividerace.com/

 

bruce boysen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As some of you know, music and concertinas are very much a secondary interest for me, which is why I can't devote the time I should to playing. I have always spent way too much time riding bicycles, which is my primary passion. Just for kicks, I'm seriously considering doing a little race next summer if I can work out the details. Here's a link for the curious. http://greatdividerace.com/

Hi Bruce,

 

I'm impressed. Puts my modest Time Trial exploits in the shade!

 

Regards,

Peter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I used to do some amateur road racing. Gave that up for family and...concertina playing (among other instruments). My advice, if you're into mountain biking: get out of NJ and go west..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

English players are ten a penny, but duet players, well, we're a scarce commodity.
What, do you suppose, are the reasons for that?
The same reason as for why there aren't more Einsteins, Paganinis and Steinbecks... simply a question of the normal distribution of the genius curve!

As if anything these days could be considered "normal"! :wacko: :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Everyone,

 

I just noticed that there are more replies. I've been playing the crane lots and I'm glad it didn't go in a trade.

 

There is a very good chance I'll be moving out of (Morris County) New Jersey, USA. Right now, Arcata, California is the prime destination. Check it out sometime on the web. It's one of my favorite places that I've been to. Picture the Forest Moon of Endor from Star Wars to get an idea of the area. This is also my favorite coastline in the USA, amazingly beautiful and in places very secluded.

 

LaGrande, Oregon is another possibility. Very different than Arcata. It's more high desert than rainforest. Much colder in winter, it never gets cold in Arcata. There are palm trees in Arcata. Several MILLION acres of preserved land in the La Grande area.

 

Both are small, College towns. This is a requirement. Arcata is progressive, hip, pro environment, anti Bush & war. All these are important to me.

 

About mountain biking. NW New Jersey is a surprisingly good place to ride if you're a local and know where to go. Some great singletrack. Still, compared to places out west, riding is limited and it's way too developed to feel like you're in the middle of nowhere.

 

bruce boysen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dirge wrote.....

>>I understand. you're going to concentrate on the Crane, aren't you? Wise man. Don't be shy.<<

 

I'm going to split my time between the Butterworth duet and the english. I love the rich full sound that comes so easily on a duet, but I also love the quick, expressive, endlessly agile feel of the english. I know many don't agree, but I personally am never going to be able to play fast Itrad (among other things) on crane as expressively and effortlessly as it's possible to do on an english. The Butterworth opens up the universe of counterpoint, fistfulls of chords in one hand and melody in the other, the world of complex harmony that's hard on the english. They compliment each other and I'm going to find the time to play both.

 

bruce boysen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...