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[rees]

Do you mean A/D not A/B?

[Graham Spencer]

The notation can be confusing GD DG second is diatonic button talk first more concertina I am always getting them mixed up as they are the same.(OK in common parlance) I will stop digging here

Well no, they're not, quite. The convention is that the lower pitched row comes first, so "G/D" would mean the G row is lower pitched than the D row, while "D/G" means the exact reverse.

Graham

[folkloristmark]

A b is a tone are you sure this is right?

Above post were posted as I wrote
 (Thank you Gps; you are the first person to point that out and I now understand the difference ,it is a musical reference not a physical one in the past I have wondered, asked and never made the connection . Light bulb moment and you turned it on.I am  refering to gd concertina and dg melodeon ,(surley the same) rows pitched the same but with the octave shift the home buttons physically below each other are as you say. So it does have a physical relationship but I can see were the difference comes from its not just that concertina and melodeon players want to differentaite themselves)

any way Rees would be correct is it a typo or a discovery.

[Pat McInnis]

Do you mean A/D not A/B?

The stamping was very hard to read and has a crack going through it. I used a magnifying glass and flashlight but I'm almost positive that it says AB not AD.

[folkloristmark]

I will put  on it that it is AD they dont make a tone box they do make an AD and it often looks like that picture

[Pat McInnis]

I will put  on it that it is AD they dont make a tone box they do make an AD and it often looks like that picture

It's very possible but it really looks like AB. Not that it even matters since it's the wrong key for me anyways.

[Pearse Rossa]

Pat, you say you're a whistle player and your friend plays the piano.
Surely, between the pair of you, you can work out what the key is.
It's not rocket science!
If the box is unplayable, take the blocks out and blow into the reeds.
Using your instruments or a tuner, you should be able to work it out.

[Pat McInnis]

Pat, you say you're a whistle player and your friend plays the piano.
Surely, between the pair of you, you can work out what the key is.
It's not rocket science!
If the box is unplayable, take the blocks out and blow into the reeds.
Using your instruments or a tuner, you should be able to work it out.

Look up. I found the stampings on both boxes. One is a C/F and I thought the other one read A/B but it sounds like it is more likely an A/D. We're getting there. Sometimes I like to take the scenic route though. My accordion playing friend is also in Germany right now.

[folkloristmark]

The senic route is great I travel it. My first melodeon mod was to remove the thumb strap from a powkerwork with an angle grinder. Them rivits swivel and marked the box if only i had know how easy it was to remove the finger board. In the long run no harm done just a mark to remember and chuckle over, but it does matter what key it is in if you are going to use your reeds to convert so you know what reeds you have available to retune. This is above my pay grade, I think i am right in saying you can still buy blocks reeds including bc reeds from hohner for those boxes.I think you will get help and encouragement here.Enjoy and acquire more.If its is an heir loom then you may need tuning help from a fettler

Ps just to clarify.Gps If I went into a melodeon maker and asked for a GD and DG i would get two different pitched apart melodeons.
If I went to a concertina maker and asked for a GD concertina it would be pitched the same as the Dg melodeon thats the difference I was reffering to but your comment is correct and explains why the reversal in parlance and has taken me further down the senic road.Or am I just confused.com.

[Pat McInnis]

Do you mean A/D not A/B?

OK, I had my friend with way better eyes than me to look and he thinks it's A/D. Makes sense I guess.

[Pearse Rossa]

A b is a tone are you sure this is right?
...I am  refering to gd concertina and dg melodeon..

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a GD concertina. GC is common, though....

Wally Carroll offers these concertina tunings: G/D, Ab/Eb, A/E, Bb/F, B/F#, C/G, C#/G#, D/A

[Steve_freereeder]

A b is a tone are you sure this is right?
...I am  refering to gd concertina and dg melodeon..

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a GD concertina. GC is common, though. I have seen one DG that was a retune from (I think) EbAb The first fundamental quoted is the higher pitched.

Anglo concertinas in G/D are quite common - I play one myself. However, the most common tuning is C/G (not G/C, that's for melodeons). The majority of anglos were historically built in C/G but as has been mentioned, other tunings are available. The first pitch note in the designation is the lowest pitch, the second pitch note is the higher: a fifth above.

The higher pitched row of an anglo is always the inside row, nearest the wrists. The next row outwards is then the lower pitched row. This is regardless of whether the instrument is two or three rows. The outermost row of a three-row anglo consists of accidentals and reversals.

See attached layouts of G/D and C/G concertinas.

Edited to correct typos.

[Tone Dumb Greg]

A b is a tone are you sure this is right?
...I am  refering to gd concertina and dg melodeon..

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a GD concertina. GC is common, though. I have seen one DG that was a retune from (I think) EbAb The first fundamental quoted is the higher pitched.

Anglo concertinas in G/D are quite common - I play one myself. However, the most common tuning is C/G (not G/C, that's for melodeons). The majority of anglos were historically built in C/G but as has been mentioned, other tunings are available. The first pitch note in the designation is the lowest pitch, the second pitch note is the higher: a fifth above.

The higher pitched row of an anglo is always the inside row, nearest the wrists. The next row outwards is then the lower pitched row. This is regardless of whether the instrument is two or three rows. The outermost row of a three-row anglo consists of accidentals and reversals.

See attached layouts of G/D and C/G concertinas.

I was tired 

[playandteach]

If the reeds are not too far gone, there might be an interest in them from someone else here. AD is a nice low key. Then you could buy some in the key you want.

[Theo]

A friend of mine needs a set of Hohner reeds in AD.  Would you like to swap for a BC set

[Stiamh]

A friend of mine needs a set of Hohner reeds in AD.  Would you like to swap for a BC set?

Ha, that'll put Pat in a quandary.

I was trying to persuade him last night to get the box working properly as an A/D, to learn to play a bit, and then decide whether he really wanted to go the B/C route (littered as it is with the abandoned dreams of people who thought B/C would be a good idea but lasted no more than a few days, weeks or months).

[Pat McInnis]

A friend of mine needs a set of Hohner reeds in AD.  Would you like to swap for a BC set?

Ha, that'll put Pat in a quandary.

I was trying to persuade him last night to get the box working properly as an A/D, to learn to play a bit, and then decide whether he really wanted to go the B/C route (littered as it is with the abandoned dreams of people who thought B/C would be a good idea but lasted no more than a few days, weeks or months).

Oh man, this does put me in a bit of a pickle. Steve, I'm not sure if you are the angel or the devil on my shoulder at this stage. As mentioned, I am 100% new to playing at this point, so I could really go without whatever key works best with Traditional Irish music. From what I understand (very little), this is usually B/C but is harder to pick up and has a higher failure rate than an A/D or as Steve had suggested C#/D. I'll have to think on this one.

Anyways, here are the reed blocks from both systems. The one with the missing teeth is the A/D and the other is C/F.

IMG_8476 by Pat McInnis, on Flickr

IMG_8475 by Pat McInnis, on Flickr

[Theo]

Loose reeds wouldn’t be a problem for me. I’d be taking them all off and re-waxing anyway.  I think I have a spare set of C#D reeds too.

[folkloristmark]

Fantastic.If you are starting then you could take to either system as easy as the other.Whats important is what music you want to learn and what other box players that are around you play so they can help tutor. The BC system is best suited to Irish traditional music and a semitone box is most likley to be what you will come across in ITM.If thats what you want then Theos offer should be very tempting , I would join the que myself( no pressure let us know) as I have  two or three DA box but no BC and I want one.I am practicing on a g g sharp box which by coincidence was tuned by Theo. I would like D.D sharp as an ideal myself.I have no real problem with ITM on a Gd but many will point out its about the rolls, and semitone does this best . When I started Dg was the choice as i had a gd concertina . No real reason it was what arrived and it took a while to even realise Cg was the norm.
I wanted a morris box. I love them all know but am a lonley MAD addict, I am an improving beginer plus???. I am hope you appreciate advice as it seems too many Is in this post but really feel for you dialema, but only you can decide. If you get hooked it wont be your last Box i am sure.g was the norm

[Stiamh]

... I have ... no BC and I want one.

Now taking bets on how long you will stick with it after you get one, Mark.