Michael Eskin Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 (edited) I know, I know, make up your mind already... :-) Too many instruments, not enough time! I bought this less than a year ago, it really is an amazing wireless controller. Feels like an acoustic Anglo instrument because, well, it is essentially internally an acoustic instrument with no reeds. It connects wirelessly to its control box, so there are no wires to get in your way. I made two modifications that were recommended by Wim Wakker to have it respond more like my acoustic instruments: 1) Disabled the MIDI "All Notes Off" message sent when pressing the air button. This is done just by bending the contact for the button so it doesn't close the circuit when pressing the button. 2) Removed the small air-restriction foam inserts in the reed pan holes (where there would normally be reeds) so it would move air more like my acoustic instruments. I found the default configuration with them in place a bit too restrictive, like to feel the air going through the instrument. Its as new, played really only a few hours. I do very occasionally have to open it up to clean or adjust a contact or two to insure no switch bounce, but its extremely simple to do, the design is very elegant. Each button lever is one side of a switch, the other is a small "L" post that makes contact with the lever when the button is pressed. Its important that there be a solid clean contact between the two to insure there is no switch bounce. It's just a two-channel MIDI controller, (i.e. it can simultaneously generate a MIDI data stream on two different MIDI channels), not a sound module. Puts out MIDI note on/off messages and volume control (correlates to bellows pressure), so you need to plug the MIDI out from the wireless controller box into a hardware synth module or software synth on a PC to produce sound. Here's photos of my system (the infamous Frankenstina), note that just the concertina and its controller are for sale, not the laptop or MBOX2: http://www.pbase.com/eskin/frankenstina Full info on the Wakker site at: http://www.concertinaconnection.com/wakker%20midi.htm As you can see, it has all sorts of options for keyboard layout, transposition, etc. I'm crazy for selling it! Includes the concertina, the wireless controller, all cables and power supply. New price on the Wakker site is $3750.00, I'm asking $3250.00 plus insured shipping for mine. Please email if you have any questions. Cheers, Michael eskin@cox.net Edited April 29, 2008 by eskin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Eskin Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 Reducing the price to $3000.00 to help fund some badly needed household maintenance work.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Eskin Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Reducing the price to $2850.00 to help fund some badly needed household maintenance work.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Levine Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I am not in the market for this - but I am wondering about its application. Is it that you can hook it up and play amplified without worrying about feedback? Does it sound like a reeded instrument? If so, could you tell what instrument it sounds like? Does it sound like an electric concertina -- as an electric keyboard sounds electric rather than "real"? Like a real concertina reeded instrument --i.e., Dipper, Jeffries, Wheatstone -- or something more electronic? I'd think for somebody who plays blues or rock this would be ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I am not in the market for this - but I am wondering about its application. If it's MIDI, it can sound (kind-of, almost) like anything you like. There are clips of this instrument on YouTube: TradLessons.com - MIDI Anglo Concertina Demos, - The Drunken Gauger (MIDI Anglo Concertina), - MIDI Concertina as Saltarelle B/C Box, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Levine Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks. That is amazing. You could make it sound like a saxophone and play in At the Racket.... Or like an organ and play wedding gigs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks. That is amazing. You could make it sound like a saxophone and play in At the Racket.... Or like an organ and play wedding gigs.... Or even like a cocus flute? You could switch from Rudall & Rose, to Pratten, to Sam Murray etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David S Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks. That is amazing. You could make it sound like a saxophone and play in At the Racket.... Or like an organ and play wedding gigs.... Or even like a cocus flute? You could switch from Rudall & Rose, to Pratten, to Sam Murray etc... .... provided that you have the right sample library. However, is there is really good Wheatstone / Jeffries sample library available? I know that top quality orchestral sound sample sets for MIDI are very expensive and I missed any mention of a sound library included in the sale. I did find a set available for a Stagi, but one might not want to emulate that on the Wakker???? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 (edited) All I can say, as the happy owner of a Lachenal/Whiteley MIDI conversion, is that it never occurred to me to try to make it sound like a concertina. If I want a concertina sound I pick up a concertina. However if I want to sound like a cathedral organ or a string section or, yes, a cocus flute, then I pick up the MIDI box. If you really want a MIDI concertina to sound like a concertina (and there are people who have valid reasons for wanting this) probably your best bet is to make the samples yourself. I just think it's not worth the effort, myself. Accept the thing for what it is, which is a good deal of fun. Chris Edited July 29, 2008 by Chris Timson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Drinkwater Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thanks. That is amazing. You could make it sound like a saxophone and play in At the Racket.... Or like an organ and play wedding gigs.... Or even like a cocus flute? You could switch from Rudall & Rose, to Pratten, to Sam Murray etc... Or even play à la Carte! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Eskin Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Would anyone perhaps be interested in trading a nice Bb/F anglo for my MIDI instrument? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Eskin Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Would anyone perhaps be interested in trading a nice Bb/F or A/E anglo for my MIDI instrument? I'm also open to any other offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ducky Raley Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Did this Wakker ever get exchanged or sold ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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