Melodeon.net Forums

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Welcome to the new melodeon.net forum

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4   Go Down

Author Topic: One rows  (Read 12309 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

melodeon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1732
Re: One rows
« Reply #20 on: April 07, 2018, 06:44:45 PM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmPFPMCCQlM

http://www.accordions.ie/student-accordions


This box may be another option, flush buttons and  (about time) a thumb groove.

I have no experience with the instrument but have had occasions to call and Quinn is first class.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2018, 06:48:36 PM by melodeon »
Logged

mselic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1331
Re: One rows
« Reply #21 on: April 08, 2018, 03:28:47 AM »

I may be mistaken, but I don’t think there’s a thumb-groove on that model.
Logged
C#/D Serenellini 233, Manfrini, Saltarelle Irish Bouebe, and a few HA114s

melodeon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1732
Re: One rows
« Reply #22 on: April 08, 2018, 09:56:05 PM »

I think you are correct, too bad.

Some day, one row makers will take into consideration that many players use a "shoulder" strap and prefer a thumb groove.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2018, 02:37:21 PM by melodeon »
Logged

-Y-

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 749
  • Handry 18 (G/C), Mélodie (D), Club IIb (A/D)
    • a database of 400 or more melodeons here
Re: One rows
« Reply #23 on: April 09, 2018, 09:58:40 AM »

Please forgive my ignorance but what is a thumb-groove? Is it the fact that the side of the keyboard has an inward curve? Or is it the term for the leather strap fixed mid-keyboard on many one-rows?

george garside

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5401
Re: One rows
« Reply #24 on: April 09, 2018, 10:05:59 AM »

the thumb groove is as you describe and the thumb strap is indeed the thumb strap

george
Logged
author of DG tutor book "DG Melodeon a Crash Course for Beginners".

melodeon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1732
Re: One rows
« Reply #25 on: April 09, 2018, 02:38:26 PM »

Post modified to include "shoulder" for the strap so as not to confuse this with the archaic and restrictive thumb strap.
Logged

-Y-

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 749
  • Handry 18 (G/C), Mélodie (D), Club IIb (A/D)
    • a database of 400 or more melodeons here
Re: One rows
« Reply #26 on: April 09, 2018, 02:53:22 PM »

Thanks, George, it's clearer now.

the archaic and restrictive thumb strap.

I have to say that's what worries me about the one rows, it never really felt enjoyable to have the thumb fixed like that. I guess I'll see hands on when I receive mine (although I asked to have something to buckle shoulder straps on it).

tirpous

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1086
Re: One rows
« Reply #27 on: April 09, 2018, 03:55:31 PM »

Quote
restrictive thumb strap

A well adjusted thumb strap is not all that restrictive.  Shoulder straps impose restrictions on one's playing too. 
Logged

melodeon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1732
Re: One rows
« Reply #28 on: April 10, 2018, 02:04:45 PM »

Depends on the player.

I gravitated from thumb strap to shoulder strap and never looked back.  A shoulder strap doesn't limit the hand or fingers as does a "well adjusted" thumb strap.  The addition of a thumb groove makes a considerable difference.
Logged

Mcgrooger

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 752
  • Northern Roots
Re: One rows
« Reply #29 on: April 10, 2018, 05:09:33 PM »

Hi Michael. Nice to hear from you. I'm not clear why you think a one row box will suit you better than a two row. I have a one row but it doesn't come out of it's bag very often compared with my two rows. Just wondering.
McG
Logged

Michael Montcombroux

  • Member
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19
Re: One rows
« Reply #30 on: April 11, 2018, 01:40:23 AM »

Hi Mcgrooger
Thanks for the greeting. Why a one-row? Good question. I am attracted to a lighter weight box and I admire many of the people, including some on this forum, who do play one-rows. I've owned Castagnaris before but I was unaware of the problem with the air button on the Castagnari one-row, which makes me revise my opinion on their one-row model. An earlier poster, melodeon, I believe suggested I go for a two-row GC. I was visiting my local big town today and dropped into the only music store that carries accordions. Their 'range' extended to one solitary Hohner Erica. I tried it out and found the bellows absurdly stiff. I know that one can loosen up the bellows but with this particular box you'd still have stiff bellows, only a little looser. Where I live - Manitoba, Canada, squeezeboxes of any kind are thin on the ground. I am not a fan of buying an instrument without first trying it out first. How do others manage - a leap of faith?
Michael
Logged
Castagnari Brincu G/C

tirpous

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1086
Re: One rows
« Reply #31 on: April 11, 2018, 01:43:36 AM »

Quote
Depends on the player.

I gravitated from thumb strap to shoulder strap and never looked back.  A shoulder strap doesn't limit the hand or fingers as does a "well adjusted" thumb strap.  The addition of a thumb groove makes a considerable difference.

Fully agree, it's a matter of personal preference.  Many fine players live with the limitations of the thumb strap and make great music.  Many fine players live with the limitations of the shoulder strap and make great music too !

(maybe I should have written "properly adjusted" - strangling one's thumb is not what I had in mind)
Logged

Mcgrooger

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 752
  • Northern Roots
Re: One rows
« Reply #32 on: April 11, 2018, 01:31:42 PM »

I bought my last 3 boxes (all Hohners) from Mike Rowbotham, Martyn White and Theo without having played them first. It's possible to find quite a lot out about a box if it's coming from a trusted source such as these. I guess a problem for you though might be shipping costs. Nevertheless it's always worth keeping an eye on The Buy and Sell thread here, checking out our fettlers' websites and getting in touch with any prospective seller. Good luck with your search and I'll look forward to hearing you via TOTM etc. soon.
Logged

mselic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1331
Re: One rows
« Reply #33 on: April 12, 2018, 11:43:22 PM »

Quote
restrictive thumb strap

A well adjusted thumb strap is not all that restrictive.  Shoulder straps impose restrictions on one's playing too.

Agreed. I alternate back and forth from playing with just the thumb strap to using a shoulder strap as well.  Both have advantages and disadvantages, but the thumb strap always gets used, regardless of the shoulder strap.  I find it gives an extra bit of "snapiness" for playing the kind of music that I do, although obviously there are plenty of Irish players (ie most of them) that get on just fine without it.  The key to using the thumb strap, as mentioned, is to have it properly adjusted to one's playing style and physical needs.  I've seen plenty of box players whose thumbs seem to angle backwards at the first joint to almost 90 degrees (!) but my thumb simply does not bend that way!  With a properly adjusted thumb strap, I'm right at home :)
Logged
C#/D Serenellini 233, Manfrini, Saltarelle Irish Bouebe, and a few HA114s

triskel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3290
Re: One rows
« Reply #34 on: April 13, 2018, 01:25:42 AM »

... the thumb strap always gets used, regardless of the shoulder strap.  I find it gives an extra bit of "snapiness" for playing the kind of music that I do, although obviously there are plenty of Irish players (ie most of them) that get on just fine without it.

I don't think I know any Irish players who don't use the thumb strap, whether they use a shouder strap or not... ???

mselic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1331
Re: One rows
« Reply #35 on: April 13, 2018, 02:38:14 AM »

... the thumb strap always gets used, regardless of the shoulder strap.  I find it gives an extra bit of "snapiness" for playing the kind of music that I do, although obviously there are plenty of Irish players (ie most of them) that get on just fine without it.

I don't think I know any Irish players who don't use the thumb strap, whether they use a shouder strap or not... ???

Sorry, I forgot we were talking of one-row “melodeons”. I was thinking about two-rows as well, and most Irish box players who play a two-row (semitone) box don’t even have a thumb strap to use! I can think of at least one example of an Irish melodeon player who doesn’t use the thumb strap:

https://youtu.be/qwHFmUJBiUM
Logged
C#/D Serenellini 233, Manfrini, Saltarelle Irish Bouebe, and a few HA114s

triskel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3290
Re: One rows
« Reply #36 on: April 13, 2018, 10:25:31 AM »

I don't think I know any Irish players who don't use the thumb strap, whether they use a shouder strap or not... ???

Sorry, I forgot we were talking of one-row “melodeons”. I was thinking about two-rows as well, and most Irish box players who play a two-row (semitone) box don’t even have a thumb strap to use! I can think of at least one example of an Irish melodeon player who doesn’t use the thumb strap:

https://youtu.be/qwHFmUJBiUM

Well it'd have to be "a young fella", I don't think any of us "old guys" would dream of it... ;)

But, though you'd also have got 2-row melodeons (with thumb loops) still up until WW2, the typical "Irish accordion" would be a different breed of box.

The new name "melodeon" was applied to the old "German accordion" (in Scotland) in the late 1870s, and is still used in Ireland to describe that style of instrument (with surface/exposed action/pallets, bass "growl box", stop knobs on top, a thumb loop and no shoulder strap), but 2-row "Vienna" or "Italian" style accordions became more general in use by the 1930s and the best Italian models always had shoulder straps and no thumb loop (and usually no thumb groove either in the early days).

However, over time, in Britain the name "melodeon" got applied to all forms of diatonic accordion - which is how we find ourselves here (on this forum) today...

Edited to add: (and usually no thumb groove either in the early days)

melodeon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1732
Re: One rows
« Reply #37 on: April 13, 2018, 01:51:13 PM »

Is Castagnari still supplying 2 rows (3 rows) with thumb straps?
Logged

mselic

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1331
Re: One rows
« Reply #38 on: April 13, 2018, 02:54:14 PM »

Is Castagnari still supplying 2 rows (3 rows) with thumb straps?

I thought that a thumb strap was standard on some of their 2 rows (such as the Tommy, for example).
Logged
C#/D Serenellini 233, Manfrini, Saltarelle Irish Bouebe, and a few HA114s

Gary P Chapin

  • L'Accordéonaire
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1930
  • We are all the Free Reed Liberation Orchestra
    • l'Accordéonaire
Re: One rows
« Reply #39 on: April 13, 2018, 04:15:35 PM »

I have gotten on so badly with thumb straps that I assume I am deformed in the thumb or hopelessly misinformed about how to use one. If you are using a thumb strap does the thumb sit behind the keyboard or is it in the thumb-groove, bracing the instrument?
Logged
Read the l'Accordéonaire French music blog: http://accordeonaire.com/
The Bal Folk Tune Book Project: https://accordeonaire.com/bal-folk-tune-book-project/
The Free Reed Liberation Orchestra: https://accordeonaire.com/the-free-reed-liberation-orchestra/
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4   Go Up
 


Melodeon.net - (c) Theo Gibb; Clive Williams 2010. The access and use of this website and forum featuring these terms and conditions constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal