Crane Drivers ... 48 or 55?

[saguaro_squeezer]

For those of you who already play with Cranes .... which is preferable? What are the size and weight differences? Do the ABC + accidentals really matter since they're at the top of both ranges?

 

Thanks for all replys!

 

Rod in Tucson

[JimLucas]

For those of you who already play with Cranes .... which [48 or 55 buttons] is preferable?

55 is better, but 48 is pretty good. You should look up other threads on the Crane -- or Crane vs. Maccann, -- where this has been discussed in more detail.

 

What are the size and weight differences?

Depends on the individual instrument. As I've reported before, my 48-button "Crane Bros." (by Lachenal) and my 55-button Lachenal New Model have exactly the same end dimensions and exactly the same weight. I once had a 55-button Edeophone, which was both larger and heavier than the two aforementioned.

 

Do the ABC + accidentals really matter since they're at the top of both ranges?

You mean the notes that are found on the 55, but not on the 48, and specifically in the left hand. Well, it depends on what arrangements you're trying to play.

• I don't think the tenor normally goes that high in standard 4-part hymn arrangements.
  
• When playing Irish tunes in parallel octaves, that A occurs frequently and the B rather less so, and on the 48 they have to be played by "crossing over" into the right hand.
  
• I'm not sure how often those notes appear in classical viola-violin duets.
  
• For chording in the left hand, you shouldn't need those notes, but they can give you more options for chord inverions.
  

No matter what the range, the adventurous player can always find something to try that goes beyond it. E.g., classical violin music rarely goes above the highest C on the standard treble English, but I did run into a couple pieces -- by Prokofiev, if I remember correctly -- that did. And before I ever got a tenor-treble English, I often found myself reaching for low notes on the treble, on buttons that weren't there but were a continuation of the layout pattern and are there on the TT. Because its pattern is regular, I do that occasionally on the Crane, too. After all, there really "should" be a row of G#-G-B-A-A# below the C#-C-E-D-D#.