Melodeon.net Forums
Discussions => Teaching and Learning => Topic started by: Dan Gordon on April 17, 2020, 04:18:52 PM
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I'm looking for a small melodeon to play mostly Irish music with. How does the Hohner Black Dot compare to the Lilliput? I like that the Lilliput is smaller, but I don't know what kind of quality difference there is between the two, or how hard it is to learn the Lilliput's C/F key versus the B/C.
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I'd be very surprised to find anyone prepared to recommend a C/F box to play Irish music. BC on the other hand is the standard Irish tuning.
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You can of course play Irish music on any diatonic accordion, including a C/F. The problem with a C/F is that you won't be able to play tunes in the keys that everybody else plays them in. So, as Richard says, not recommended unless you want to play solo all the time.
You could get a Lilliput changed to B/C or another Irish tuning by some of the specialists who lurk here. I had one in C#/D prepared by Mike Rowbotham (for someone else, who sold it on). The small size, mainly the buttons and button spacing, took a bit of getting used to, but not much.
Another possibility for a small box is a Castagnari Lily, which you could order in B/C or another key suitable for Irish music. Very compact, but it has only a single voice, which some people find not very pleasant. Well I don't, anyway.
Both these possibilities would cost you quite a bit more than a Black Dot.
As would this intriguing possibility from makers in Switzerland: click here (http://www.akkordeonwerkstatt.ch/eigenbau.html) and then on Mediumörgeli in the picture. At the top you will see a very compact 19-button 2-voice box with the rows in a 9/10 configuration for "Irisch".
I enquired about this model a few years ago but the price, in Swiss francs, was out of my reach.
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my preferred BC box is the fairly rate hohner black dot with 12 stradella bass. 2nd choice is the double ray with 8 'melodeon ' bass. But if money was no object ( and perhaps if I played more itm a cairdin box would be very high on my list. as to having a cf Lilliput converted to bc I would think the small bellows may lead to problems of running out of air - but I am only guessing as I haven ever tried one for itm.
as to the single voice lilly in BC my only criticism of an excellent box is that playing continuously with one voice can be restrictive ( I also find ;that applies to a dg lilly)
george
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Cairdin B/C 3 voice on eBay at the moment.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cairdin-Button-Accordion-Three-Voice-B-C/202776013501?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
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Cairdin are great boxes, a friend has a 2v one in C#D and loves it.