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[David Colpitts]

Hello, All.

MAD at work, again!  Last night, I could not resist an absolutely shiny new-looking A/D Hohner Pokerwork.  The gentleman’s mother had bought it for his grandmother, who didn’t play very much, and passed it along to his mother, who didn’t either.  The mother, as these things go, passed away and the gentleman had it.  He didn’t know anything about it, but was so happy to hear it played that he took a very low offer, and now I will have a great box for Quebecois and Old Timey, and will try to figure out what to do about Irish on it.  Seeems like the accidental C at the top will let me play in G, as well as A and D.  That’s actually all I currently aspire to, as an old beginner..  And the more I try to play scales on my recently set up B/C, the more “push and pull along the rows” makes sense.  Is it Stiamh who said “B/C has defeated many an adult learner”?

So, I am interested in learning what people use the A/D for, and if in fact anyone uses it for Irish?  I am considering getting a complete reedblock setup for C# so I can swap, without any irreversible modifications to such a nice older instrument, but will certainly try to learn G on it, before I bother.  A and D do sound nice, and A isn’t a bad key for me to sing with.Maybe this is the time I learn to leave it alone and appreciate what it is!

Any suggestions or experiences to share?

Thanks, and regards,

David

[rees]

I use my A/D Paolo Soprani for playing blues and zydeco in E major and C sharp minor.
I play the A/D Castagnari more like a C#/D although my G# is in the "wrong" direction.

[Simon W]

A/D is popular in Brittany I believe and would also fit well with some Scottish fiddle music. I have an A/D pokerwork which I enjoy playing as it is less squeaky than D/G

Simon

[Rog]

The C# reed block idea is good. I had an AD for a while and swapped the A block for C# (then swapped it back when the AD box went away).

[David Colpitts]

Thanks for the replies, folks.  I thought I replied several days ago, but can’t seem to find it.  If so, please excuse repetition.....

I am enjoying the A/D, and have worked out the G scale pretty reliably using the “chincidental” note, which although a big reach, doesn’t seem illogical.  If I can get tunes in A, D and G out of the two rows, with mostly along the rows, that will serve me for the near term.  I have ordered the C# row, but will probably defer until I have spent more time in A/D.  In fact, if I can get the blocks to interchange seamlessly, I wouldn’t mind swapping twice a month, for Quebecois, Old Timey in A/D and C#/D for Irish the other sessions.  Meanwhile, my converted-to-B/C is slightly more playable in G, D, and A, but since each of them is not “native” to those rows, it is a steeper learning curve by a pretty large margin.

What fun.  I am getting more addicted weekly.

Regards,

David

[David Colpitts]

Just an update, to share my excitement:  I got a “new old stock” Hohner block with reeds for C# from my friends at ButtonBox, and the darned thing fit perfectly first try, where the A block lives.  So now, I have a totally “NOS” Pokerwork from the 60’s with an easily swappable C# and A block, all reeds Hohner “Ts” and looks and sounds swell.  Only work is to cut and install a thin leather gasket for the block bottom, since it is the kind that expected to have the gasket in the box, while the box is the kind that expects to have the gasket on the reed block.  The only symptom is very slight breathiness and slightly lower volume.  I can fix that tomorrow.  I can already tell that I am much more likely to get somewhere on this semitone box, vs. the B/C.  But, I will keep both.  They are very cool old and older instruments.

Regards,

David

[Gary P Chapin]

My first box was A/D, and though that box has gone away, I do love the A/D Erica that I bought from Helena a coupla years ago. I use mine essentially as a transposing box for G/C playing, but I also play irtrad on it, playing as if it was a one-row D box. I love irtrad on a one row D and until I get a one row of my own, this has served me well.

[David Colpitts]

And, Gary, et.al., I may end up using the newly reconfigured C#/D as you use the A/D Erica.  OTHOH, I have the amazing luxury of (from melnet, of course) a genuine Hohner one row in D, which is very responsive, sounds fantastic, and is almost as light as a concertina.  So, the goal for the C#/D is to get the other two main keys (A and G) for my sessions in my muscle memory.  I also have the recently converted Beaver Brand B/C, but much more work for my old harmonica brain.  OTOH, sweet sounding and very cool, as I have said here before.

By the way, I had a moment of doubt (or an hour) while cutting holes in the newly glued leather gasket for the base of the reed block.  I wish I had access to a laser cutter!

Regards,

David