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(Date Posted:02/06/2007 12:40:15)
Financial burdens and guitar purchases force me to sell my much loved box. It is a maple and walnut cased french handmade box dating from approximately 1984. The maker was well regarded and a regular at St. Chartier, however a severe road accident means there are very few of these melodeons about.
The melodeon was built for Roger Watson and has been recently overhauled and tuned by Theo Gibb. The instrument features 3 treble voices with stop and a bass stop to remove the thirds. Keyboard action is fast and the reeds are first rate - Bincis on stamped plates. This is a great box for morris, song accompaniment or tune playing - with the third voice in the top octave has a nice "one row" type sound. There are accidentals on the top of the treble row - with black buttons to highlight these, as opposed to the white pearl of all the others.
This is a first rate melodeon with solid wood construction as opposed to the laminate of many french melodeons. It featrues an open keyboard and black taped red bellows with a diamond pattern on the front. It has a failry unique sound - not quite liek a Castagnari or a Saltarelle, but perhaps somewhere between the two. Potential purchasers are welcome to try.
The melodeon is fairly heavy for a 2 row, partly because of the third voice but also because there are a number of unique technical features including a screw and rivet reed fitting system as opposed to wax - this makes the box pretty reliable in a varity of climates, but is just as easy to maintain as normal.
I'm looking for around ?50 but may consider offers. I'm also possibly amenable to a swap for a 30 key C/G concertina (e.g. Marcus or Norman)
cheers
Gav
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