david fabre Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Hello all, :rolleyes: :rolleyes: After what has appeared to me as an eternity, my beloved 40-button "pre-Linota" eventually came back from the Dippers' "west end" house !!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: They have done a full refurbishing, including new bellows, valves, pads, bushings, cleaning and retuning the reeds to A440, a few layout modifications on my request, repairing a crack in the action board, redesigning of the air button, new raised hand bars, new handles, etc... The result is miraculous and I beleive it is as close as possible as it was in 1907 when getting out from the Wheatstone factory. It looks and sound great and I cannot leave it for a minute ! After a few days of re-discovery, I can say that the best surprise is the bellows. The previous one was full of duct tape, both inside and outside to fix the leaks, and I was used to fighting against it when playing, ending up with painful shoulders, often reaching the end of the bellows and lacking air, etc... The "poor" Stagi I was forced to leave with during the separation was no better with that respect. Now I discover the pleasure of playing with a good bellows. The one made by Rosalie (her stamp is inside) is incredibly light and really plays effortless, even at very fast tempos. Moreover i upgraded to 7 folds so I have more reserve for long chords. As for the action, thanks to the new bushings the keys now stand up right and I do not slip on them anymore (some of them were very loose). The keys also feel more even than previously, in terms of height, pressure, travel length (they changed some of the springs). As for the sound, well, it is still that crisp and "honky" sound of a vintage instrument, but has lost all parasite noises, such as buzzings, valve noises at bellows reversal, etc... As far as I can tell I also feel that the sound has became more even along the range, in terms of tone and volume. The new A440 tuning will also allow me to bring it to session without getting bad glances ( At least I hope so ...) To conclude, it is just a dream to play, I will now have to work hard to really deserve playing in it. I may post pictures & sound files if one is interested. I hope I will find here folks who share my happiness : my wife does not see the difference (except on the bank account) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 We demand photos ...... & sound files! Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david fabre Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 I started a "myspace" and have put photos. http://www.myspace.com/486930304 I'm new to myspace so I don't know how this should look for users. You may have to click on "photos" ; you may also have to register. I'll put sound files as soon as I understant how to do it. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik Müller Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 ...I'm new to myspace so I don't know how this should look for users. ... Looks good to this user /Henrik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david fabre Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 I have now updated my "myspace" and changed the url : http://www.myspace.com/erbaffdavid I posted three tunes : an irish reel, a Carolan tune, a French bourée. This is my first attempt at recording and I did only one take for each tune. I'm not very satisfied, so please forgive the missing notes, wrong chords, hesitations, messed up ornementations, etc... I hope that at least you can appreciate the instrument, the player knows he still has to work a lot. I have learned completely on my own so any comment or advice would be appreciated. NB The recording chain is : singer's mike / 8-track compact mixer / Edirol mini-soundcard / Dell laptop / Audacity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I have now updated my "myspace" and changed the url : http://www.myspace.com/erbaffdavid I posted three tunes : an irish reel, a Carolan tune, a French bourée. This is my first attempt at recording and I did only one take for each tune. I'm not very satisfied, so please forgive the missing notes, wrong chords, hesitations, messed up ornementations, etc... I hope that at least you can appreciate the instrument, the player knows he still has to work a lot. I have learned completely on my own so any comment or advice would be appreciated. NB The recording chain is : singer's mike / 8-track compact mixer / Edirol mini-soundcard / Dell laptop / Audacity Thanks David. I loved your playing and believe that spirit in music makes up for the other stuff you mentioned (not that that was so noticeable to me). Imagine how good you will be soon. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Stout Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I have now updated my "myspace" and changed the url : http://www.myspace.com/erbaffdavid I posted three tunes : an irish reel, a Carolan tune, a French bourée. My wife stopped in to my study as the bouree was playing and commented on how much she liked it. Any chance of an abc file or a link to where the music can be found? I'd like to give it a try and I'm not good at picking things up by ear. I thought all three were lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david fabre Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 Thanks for the encouragements. The bourée is a common one in my area, although there is some controversy regarding if it's a bourée or a mazurka. Not sure what dancers would find more convenient for my version. I learned it by ear but there is an arangement on the website of a C-net member ("ratface") http://www.rowlhouse.co.uk/concertina/music/index.html It's in a different key (Dm, while I play in Am), and intended for EC. On the other hand I listened again to my recording of "Fanny Power". A disaster. I'm ashamed of publishing it in this state and will do a better recording asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david fabre Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 My wife stopped in to my study as the bouree was playing and commented on how much she liked it. I'm still waiting for the day when my own wife says something of this kind.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Drinkwater Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 (edited) My wife stopped in to my study as the bouree was playing and commented on how much she liked it. I'm still waiting for the day when my own wife says something of this kind.... I'm still waiting for the day when I have a wife. Chris Edited August 13, 2009 by Chris Drinkwater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I'm still waiting for the day when I have a wife. ... or the day I have a real girlfriend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_boveri Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I'm still waiting for the day when I have a wife. ... or the day I have a real girlfriend! i was under the impression that everyone here was in committed relationships with their concertinas. my concertina would become very jealous if i even had FRIENDS, never mind a girlfriend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenM Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 (edited) The bourée is a common one in my area, although there is some controversy regardingif it's a bourée or a mazurka. Not sure what dancers would find more convenient for my version Not an expert but go to trad dance classses (I'm in the Aveyron) so tried a bit of hopping round the sitting room, it works fine for a mazurka! Bourees have a slightly different emphasis, we're always told, they should be 'a terre.' ( and as if wearing clogs) Thankyou,I enjoyed listening, (I think you must be the nearest concertina player to me.) Edited August 13, 2009 by HelenM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 (edited) Thanks, I especially like that shot of the "left hand side disassembled". Looking at how little there actually is, in any end of a Concertina, it makes you wonder why they are so expensive, doesn't it? As for the tunes, I'd forgotten about that Bourée, it's a great wee tune. Thanks for posting it, I'm going to give that a run through on a couple of instruments today. i was under the impression that everyone here was in committed relationships with their concertinas. Hey David, I don't think they believe in that kind of thing ............. in France! Cheers Dick Edited August 13, 2009 by Ptarmigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cplayer Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 (edited) hi david sounds great ,can I ask what you mean by "pre linota" I have a linota thats s/n 23703 I am just intrested. cplayer Edited August 13, 2009 by cplayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB-R Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Nice photos and playing David, glad you're "reunited" with your Wheatstone. The bourree "Les Poules Huppees" (aka "Crested Hens") is a great tune indeed and Gilles Chabenat deserves recognition for having written it. Apparently he was about 15 when he wrote it and the title was a joke. Some say it's a double meaning, but my French isn't good enough to tell! Putting the third-fourth bars of the tune (and repeats) into two rather than three is a fun rhythmic variation. Like any wonderful tune, it's in a bit of danger of over-exposure, but that's no reason not to play it. When I play it in public for dancers people ask about that tune more often than all the others put together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 i was under the impression that everyone here was in committed relationships with their concertinas. my concertina would become very jealous if i even had FRIENDS, never mind a girlfriend. A commited relationship with my dippers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david fabre Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Hello and thanks for comments. I'm comming back from holiday and try to answer everybody. sounds great ,can I ask what you mean by "pre linota" I have a linota thats s/n 23703 My instrument has all the caracteristics of a "linota" but does not have a "linota" mark on it, whereas I beleive more recent instrument do. Moreover pricelists of this period do not mention the name "linota". So I'm assuming the trademark was created subsequently. Your instrument must be very similar to mine, is it ? The bourree "Les Poules Huppees" (aka "Crested Hens") is a great tune indeed and Gilles Chabenat deserves recognition for having written it. Thanks for indicating me the origin of the tune, I was not aware of it. Did he compose other tunes ? i was under the impression that everyone here was in committed relationships with their concertinas. Hey David, I don't think they believe in that kind of thing ............. in France! laugh.gif I'm not sure how to translate the expression "commited relationship" in french. So it may not exist in France indeed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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