Want To Buy Smaller Duet

[cwoods]

Hello,

I'm new to the list and am looking for a small duet. (Paul Groff suggested that I look here.) I'm a total newbie in the concertina realm, but as a piano player, this set-up makes the most sense to my brain. I've been fascinated with these for ages but only recently learned their proper name. And now I'm totally obsessed with getting one!

 

I don't want to waste my time and money on a new, cheap model. I've been playing around with instruments long enough to appreciate the advantages of buying better quality right from the start. It doesn't have to be "perfect," but I do want a decent one.

 

Buying on ebay scares me to death because I have no idea what I'm doing. Even still, I tried my darndest to buy the one that ended yesterday (39 key Lachenal MacCann duet). I got my butt kicked in the last seconds.

 

So, anybody got one just lying around collecting dust that you'd be willing to sell? Come on, help save a newbie from buying a piece of junk that will just discourage her.

 

I live in Middletown, OH. Anybody near to me? Middletown is between Dayton and Cincinnati on I-75.

Connie

[Dirge]

Have a dig about in the Cnet archives. In particular there is an article by Ivan Viehoff about duet concertinas which is required reading; it's in the Buying advice section, and a really good overview.

 

There's lots of other stuff to be found, just be wary that lots of it is written by non-players!

 

If you are going to aim towards piano music you don't want a small one, you'll just get frustrated with the lack of range, and you certainly don't need a 39 key, so think yourself lucky. If you want to play by ear only a 46 might do, but even then I'd say get a 56 at least; you won't end up struggling with the instrument's limitations. There is a reason why 46 keys are hugely cheaper than all the others....

 

It's a pricey instrument to commit to but it's got truly amazing potential if you can get to grips with it.

[cwoods]

Have a dig about in the Cnet archives. In particular there is an article by Ivan Viehoff about duet concertinas which is required reading; it's in the Buying advice section, and a really good overview.

 

If you are going to aim towards piano music you don't want a small one, you'll just get frustrated with the lack of range, and you certainly don't need a 39 key, so think yourself lucky. If you want to play by ear only a 46 might do, but even then I'd say get a 56 at least; you won't end up struggling with the instrument's limitations. There is a reason why 46 keys are hugely cheaper than all the others....

 

 

 

I can't thank you enough, Dirge! That was an excellent article, and after having read it, I'm totally convinced that I want a duet. ;o) I play *mostly* by ear anyway, so the lack of written music isn't a big issue for me. It seems to me that I would be fine with a 46 key Lachenal. I'm more interested in "song tues" than "dance tunes," so the G/G range would work fine. I'm pretty sure that this would keep me busy for a very long time. vbg Of course, if something incredible were to come along, I'd not pass it up! lol

 

I'd love to find one here in the states as the exchange rates and shipping costs are pretty high for overseas purchases, but that's not a must.

Thanks again for your help,

Connie

[Dirge]

Why not have look a through the trade links here and on Concertina FAQ and ring a few; the serious dealers in the concertina world are really genuine people and want to leave a trail of happy customers behind them. Yes you'll pay a bit of a premium but having a decent trader behind you might not hurt for your first instrument.

[m3838]

In my about a year-long fiddling with Crane Duet, I found that smallish duets are poorly made, don't have enough air in the bellows, and have bad balance between left and right. The range is barely OK, but workable, however the "duetness" is compromized, as you have to forsake accompaniment in favor of playing melody on the left as well.

I don't play the duet, as I got frustrated with my Crane, but remember concluding that a Duet must be of good size to begin to be useful, and the price range seemed steep at the time. Silly me

[Paul Read]

In my about a year-long fiddling with Crane Duet, I found that smallish duets are poorly made, don't have enough air in the bellows, and have bad balance between left and right. The range is barely OK, but workable, however the "duetness" is compromized, as you have to forsake accompaniment in favor of playing melody on the left as well.

I don't play the duet, as I got frustrated with my Crane, but remember concluding that a Duet must be of good size to begin to be useful, and the price range seemed steep at the time. Silly me

I don't think you can generalize on this. Perhaps your instrument needed work to make it more air-efficient. Most old instruments do.

[m3838]

In my about a year-long fiddling with Crane Duet, I found that smallish duets are poorly made, don't have enough air in the bellows, and have bad balance between left and right. The range is barely OK, but workable, however the "duetness" is compromized, as you have to forsake accompaniment in favor of playing melody on the left as well.

I don't play the duet, as I got frustrated with my Crane, but remember concluding that a Duet must be of good size to begin to be useful, and the price range seemed steep at the time. Silly me

I don't think you can generalize on this. Perhaps your instrument needed work to make it more air-efficient. Most old instruments do.

You may be right.

But sometimes I suspect we live in very different universes.

I had my hands on a few concertinas, three of which were freshly overhauled by Concertina Connection, and 5 were new. All had issues with bellows been too small and reeds not responcive in comparison with accordions. All had unsatisfactory airtightness.

To the point, that I don't buy "it's completely airtight" from a concertina owner.

They don't know what they are talking about. I heard this phrase addressing spongy instruments.

So my conclusion is this:

Concertinas are not airtight. They are not fast. They are small and don't have enough air. And all of the above must be taken in consideration, when you choose, given the chance. A duet in this regard is the worst. English comes second, and the best is Anglo, where a player has control over the air button.

My second rate Weltmeister CBA had far better reed response and airtightness, than the best concertina I held in my hands.

Perhaps my price range is some $5000 less than satisfactory level.

[Dirge]

From personal experience 46's are straining once you start to play several notes at once; you end up pumping like Billy oh. The bellows size of a 56 key is really nice. Bigger than that is harder work.

 

I dispute the balance comment though; that's something all concertinas are potentially prone to and it's down to technique to deal with it.

[m3838]

I dispute the balance comment though

 

Examples please?

[Dirge]

Wodjer mean?

[m3838]

Wodjer mean?

 

Oh, I mean examples of playing the middle size duet, where the balance is good, dealt with nicely, and the music is complex, with accompaniment.

No Prince please, because those guys of yesteryear played very large instruments, and many things were done to them for the right balance.

I find all the duet playing I saw/heard from today's players suffer from issue of balance between left and right.

You are correct, it has to be dealt with, but a newcomer has to be informed and aware of that. It's not a piano, there is very little control over the left-right dynamics.

I feel like all is said, opinions expressed. It's time for playing and showing.

[Dirge]

I'm sorry matey, haven't got anything. All I know is that if you blast away with 3 notes in the accompaniment and one in the tune, the tune is going to tend to sink below the waves so you ALWAYS have a problem to deal with. I suspect organ players have the same problem. Perhaps there's some hints to be found on www.organ.net? Do we dare look?

 

I'm sure a Prince concertina would play evenly across the range because a fundamental technique is to supply the odd melody note from the bass and the occasional chord note with your right hand. They'd stand out like sore thumbs if you actually set the instrument up like that.

[Theo]

I'm not a duet player, but without hesitation I nominate Tim Laycock as an example of how good duet playing can be. Can't find any examples of his playing on the web.

[tony]

As Dirg has said, “just be wary that lots of it is written by non-players!” A lot of rubbish/garbage is talked by non-players.

[JimLucas]

As Dirg has said, “just be wary that lots of it is written by non-players!” A lot of rubbish/garbage is talked by non-players.

And that's not just true of stuff written about duets.

[Hooves]

From personal experience 46's are straining once you start to play several notes at once; you end up pumping like Billy oh. The bellows size of a 56 key is really nice. Bigger than that is harder work.

 

I dispute the balance comment though; that's something all concertinas are potentially prone to and it's down to technique to deal with it.

 

 

I have 2 small duets, Crane 48K and MacCaan 46K. On both the 3 note chord has the described affect on the single melody line -

 

However - I put it to you duet players : Its called a "Duet" not a "Chordette", the intent was to play two melody lines simultaenously, not an oompa chord accopnianment with melody.

 

I find I mostly use the bass side for simple bass lines and drones, not so much chords unless I'm not playing melody.

 

also, if you chord on the right instead of the left, it doesn't take as much air and youc an play a bass line to chords asoppsoed to chords to melody line.

 

I can see though why bigger would be better, for more air.

[KerryFrank]

Hello,

I'm new to the list and am looking for a small duet. (Paul Groff suggested that I look here.) I'm a total newbie in the concertina realm, but as a piano player, this set-up makes the most sense to my brain. I've been fascinated with these for ages but only recently learned their proper name. And now I'm totally obsessed with getting one!

 

I don't want to waste my time and money on a new, cheap model. I've been playing around with instruments long enough to appreciate the advantages of buying better quality right from the start. It doesn't have to be "perfect," but I do want a decent one.

 

Buying on ebay scares me to death because I have no idea what I'm doing. Even still, I tried my darndest to buy the one that ended yesterday (39 key Lachenal MacCann duet). I got my butt kicked in the last seconds.

 

So, anybody got one just lying around collecting dust that you'd be willing to sell? Come on, help save a newbie from buying a piece of junk that will just discourage her.

 

I live in Middletown, OH. Anybody near to me? Middletown is between Dayton and Cincinnati on I-75.

Connie

 

When I received notice about you looking for a duet, I answered thru my e-mail address. I don't see it posted here, so I can only presume it never got posted on the forum.

I collect, play and restore vintage concertinas from my home. Being a disabled vet, I sometimes sell ones from my collection to suppliment my fixed income. This would be a sale from private owner to private owner. At this time I have 4 Lachenal (McCann) duets available. 2-39-button models and 2-46-button models. A metal-ended and an ebony-ended of each size. If memory serves, I believe we're only about 2-3 hours driving time from each other. I live in North Adams, MI, which is about 25 miles, due north, of Fayette, OH. Rather than messing with shipping and payment methods, I could come down and let you see and play the concertinas, before you decide if or which one you'd like to buy. I have cases for them all and some are the old leather design. If you're interested, we could discuss details. Cordially, Kerry

Edited April 23, 2008 by KerryFrank