RobSay Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 OK - So I'm looking at a Wheatstone Aeola and my immediate reaction is to check out the ledger: http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD01/PAGES/D1P1150S.HTM It's #27864 and the entry starts off easy: "May 8th, No 17, Octo Black 48 keys" and then comes: "81 ????" Can anyone help interpret? thanks Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Rob, The word is "Frets", so the comment is in connection with the fretwork in the endplates. It may be that it has been given the fretwork of another instrument? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 In my experience the 81 frets designation is for fretwork that includes openings between the buttons. The effect is quite similar to to the Edeophone treatment in the same area. I have a dim memory of someone speculating that this *might* be an indication of cooperation between Wheatstone and Lachenal decades before their merger. Comments from the experts, please! The two 81 fret instruments I have played (Aeola and hex) had great reeds and were quite loud. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSay Posted December 3, 2007 Author Share Posted December 3, 2007 Thanks guys - v. helpful. In my experience the 81 frets designation is for fretwork that includes openings between the buttons.The effect is quite similar to to the Edeophone treatment in the same area. .. The two 81 fret instruments I have played (Aeola and hex) had great reeds and were quite loud. And the instrument has just this type of open fretwork between the buttons - bonus points to you. cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Harrison Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 In my experience the 81 frets designation is for fretwork that includes openings between the buttons. Interesting, Greg...........how did you figure this out. I posted a question her a couple of years ago about the open fretwork between the keys. My Tenor Treble (1914) has this open fretwork but no mention of "81 frets" in the Ledgers......................I tried to access all my posts to find the previous thread but can't.............is it a function of this site ? Regards Robin (I recently sent you a pic, in a PM,of the finish on this T/T.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 (edited) In my experience the 81 frets designation is for fretwork that includes openings between the buttons. Interesting, Greg...........how did you figure this out. I posted a question her a couple of years ago about the open fretwork between the keys. My Tenor Treble (1914) has this open fretwork but no mention of "81 frets" in the Ledgers......................I tried to access all my posts to find the previous thread but can't.............is it a function of this site ? Regards Robin (I recently sent you a pic, in a PM,of the finish on this T/T.) I am guessing from limited experience and false information. ("Fools rush in where....") After Robin's inquiry I went back to the ledgers and discovered that, contary to my memory, my Aeola #26063 does NOT have an 81 fret designation. I scanned the ledgers back to #25000 and saw no 81 fret annotations. I then went forward in the ledgers and found an 81 fret designation for #26238, which in my quick scan was the chronologically first 81 fret designation I saw. So my supposition of the 81 fret annotation indicating fretwork between the buttons begs for corraboration or refutation. (I will ask Chris algar if he has any insight.) I can stand by my statement that this limited sampling of two with fretwork between the buttons did possess outstanding reeds with great response and volume. Greg Edited December 3, 2007 by Greg Jowaisas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Chris Algar could shed no light on the "81 fret" annotation. He promised to note any instruments with fretwork between the buttons and see if there was a ledger correlation. In the meantime perhaps it is up to us. Does anyone have a Wheatstone english made after 1913 with fretwork between the buttons? Do the Wheatstone ledgers have an 81 fret designation for your instrument? Data input appreciated. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 (edited) Aha, very interesting! Sometimes the only way of knowing what something means in the ledgers is to look at the actual instrument(s), if and when they obligingly present themselves for inspection... I think you could be onto something here Greg, though why "81 Frets" I wonder - could it have anything to do with the figure-of-eight shape of the fretwork around adjacent buttons, or what? It has been suggested that this fretwork (and likewise the occasional use of rivetted actions in Edeophones) point to collaboration between Wheatstone's and Lachenal's, though the Wheatstone cutout between the buttons is simpler and I don't see any hard evidence. However, though the two firms tended to protest their independance, their respective owners do seem to have been on amicable terms, seeing that I have in my possession a post card from the Ballinger family (owners of Lachenal's) to the Chidleys (owners of Wheatstone's). Perhaps sometimes the same people carried out work for both? Edited December 4, 2007 by Stephen Chambers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now