Azalin Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Finally, the *big* day arrived. The nice Fedex people delivered my Dipper at work. I think I must have refreshed the Fedex Tracking system a thousand times over the past few days, from the moment the concertina left London, to the moment it landed in Memphis, Tennessee, flew again to Mirabel, Quebec, where a truck picked it up and brought it to me in Montreal after custom clearance. Well, I took the afternoon off to "test drive" the Dipper. It's a 34 buttons, and the wood is some african Thuya wood, lovely dark-orange color with dark spots. It's a real beauty. But beauty isnt the most important, is it? I played it today for about three hours, and the quality of the reeds and the action left me speechless. I was expecting a period of adaptation, new reeds, new bellows... but it did fit right away in my hands as if the whole blueprint had been made for me. Everything is effortless, everything fits perfectly, the handstraps, location of the buttons, etc. I've relearned all of my technique in july when I took lessons with Tim Collins, and went through most of my tunes relearning the 'right way'. I've been practicing for three hours a day at least since july, and I'm slowly getting there. I'm happy with the progress, and it's nice to be able to play the Dipper with a redefined technique. It's still a much better instrument than I am, but it would have been even more wasted with my old technique. Now I'll need to make this concertina proud and less ashamed of it's owner by working hard, very hard to improve. Here's a couple of pictures and a clip I recorded. There's not much more I can say right now because I am still having a hard time to realize I really have a Dipper, a brand new one, that works much better than I would have dreamt of. Here's the clip, a hornpipe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceemonster Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 (edited) ! ! Edited October 22, 2008 by ceemonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Congratulations, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 There's not much more I can say right now because I am still having a hard time to realize I really have a Dipper, a brand new one, that works much better than I would have dreamt of. Another beauty from the Dipper stable . Your recording sounds good; just imagine how the instrument will sound after it is fully played in. Regards, Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiton1 Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 It looks great, obviously Dipper knows his trade (but I am kicking in an open door - as we are saying in the Netherlands...). It looks so great I would almost want to play an Anglo myself (not any Anglo, yours of course!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 It looks so great I would almost want to play an Anglo myself (not any Anglo, yours of course!) Of course, Colin and Rosalie don't just make anglos, you know Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Congratulations! She is a beauty. I am sure you will be inspired to work and practice very hard to deserve her. (I'm not sure where all this female identification is coming from, but if "she" turns out to be a "he" I'm sure your parental concertina instincts will guide you. Perhaps baritones are males?) Gorgious! I hope your association is long and mutuually beneficial. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Thanks all. 'tina and I are thinking of going on honeymoon, still not sure where though. 'She' likes humid places, 55% humidity if possible, she said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwinterfield Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Outstanding. Your happiness is an inspiration to all of us waiting on Colin & Rosalie's list. How long I wonder, were you a neighbor of mine on the list? I'm a relative new arrival, having resided there for about a year now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Outstanding. Your happiness is an inspiration to all of us waiting on Colin & Rosalie's list. How long I wonder, were you a neighbor of mine on the list? I'm a relative new arrival, having resided there for about a year now. Sorry, we werent really neighbors... I was on the list for about three years, having sent the deposit/check in 2005. But the wait is worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Weinstein Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 The arrival of a Dipper in the household is a cause of great rejoicing. (It can also be the cause of "late for work" when playing for a bit before leaving keeps having "one more tune" occur) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Well, I had my Dipper for close to a year now, and I promised someone a video clip a while ago. Well, here it is, for the Dipper curious! As usual, I'm playing twice as fast as I'd like, recording makes me nervous and I'm messing up a few times but it should give you a good idea of the instrument and sound anyway. I'm playing a few reels I've learned from a great clip on Youtube. Video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saguaro_squeezer Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 You are most fortunate. The gentleman that I bought my Morse from had almost mortgaged all for a lovely Dipper Baritone EC with keys down to low E!!!!!! He played it for me when I picked up my purchase and I realized how far my journey had to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jileha Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Nice!! Both playing and instrument! As usual, I'm playing twice as fast as I'd like, recording makes me nervous and I'm messing up a few times but it should give you a good idea of the instrument and sound anyway. I'm playing a few reels I've learned from a great clip on Youtube. Video You're not the only one suffering from that affliction! I've also noticed that sometimes, although I feel like I'm playing at a nice, relaxed tempo, when I listen to the recording, it's much faster than I intended it to be. I guess the only cure is to practice recording oneself and to play deliberately slow - then the outcome should be just right. I particularly like the second tune. Do you have a name for it? Who played it in the youtube clip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted September 7, 2009 Author Share Posted September 7, 2009 Nice!! Both playing and instrument! As usual, I'm playing twice as fast as I'd like, recording makes me nervous and I'm messing up a few times but it should give you a good idea of the instrument and sound anyway. I'm playing a few reels I've learned from a great clip on Youtube. Video You're not the only one suffering from that affliction! I've also noticed that sometimes, although I feel like I'm playing at a nice, relaxed tempo, when I listen to the recording, it's much faster than I intended it to be. I guess the only cure is to practice recording oneself and to play deliberately slow - then the outcome should be just right. I particularly like the second tune. Do you have a name for it? Who played it in the youtube clip? Yeah, and sometimes I have the same problem in sessions, not so much on the whistle because I feel I'm much more in control on the whistle and less stressed about making mistakes! The concertina is a darn beast! I debated removing my videos or re-recording but I just decided to live with my mistakes :-) It sounds so rushed, like a race, I hate it. I love the tunes though, the second one was composed by Tommy Peoples! Here's a link to the real source, I love it. Put that in HQ to get the best sound! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Well, I had my Dipper for close to a year now, and I promised someone a video clip a while ago. Well, here it is, for the Dipper curious! As usual, I'm playing twice as fast as I'd like, recording makes me nervous and I'm messing up a few times but it should give you a good idea of the instrument and sound anyway. I'm playing a few reels I've learned from a great clip on Youtube. Video Azalin, if, as you confess, you were playing at twice the speed that you would have wished I would now be interested to hear you play the same thing at half that speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jileha Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I love the tunes though, the second one was composed by Tommy Peoples! Here's a link to the real source, I love it. Put that in HQ to get the best sound! Wow, what absolutely lovely playing of those two! I had to order their CD (Fonnchaoi) immediately... And there's definitely no reason to hate your recording! I'm glad you posted it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted September 7, 2009 Author Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) I love the tunes though, the second one was composed by Tommy Peoples! Here's a link to the real source, I love it. Put that in HQ to get the best sound! Wow, what absolutely lovely playing of those two! I had to order their CD (Fonnchaoi) immediately... And there's definitely no reason to hate your recording! I'm glad you posted it! Thanks but Rod gave me the little 'push' I needed to go back and re-record the first two tunes the way I'm more happy with. ~92 bpm compared to ~108 bpm, makes all the difference to me. Here's take two! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dmz8I0NH8I I will buy their CD too when I get a chance, I'm sure it's hella great! Edited September 7, 2009 by Azalin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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