Inside and Out Part 7 – The Atzarin Accordion

Well. It has been a while since I last spoke to you, hasn’t it? My apologies. Life moves on, ever more hectically and finding the time to keep up this blog gets ever more difficult. But I shall try. I always seem to have a few posts in mind, I just need to find the time to write them down!

Since last I spoke to you I have been busy. I spoke at a conference in Oxford on Musical Instruments organised by the Galpin Society and gave a poster at the Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference. This was very rewarding. Musically things are starting to pick up again (see this post if you are new to this blog) and I have an extremely exciting project starting, of which more anon.

Inside and Out Part 6 – The Shand Morino

Today we go back to Inside and Out and I’ve got one of the giants of the accordion world to take apart for your delectation and delight. For those of you who are new to the blog and don’t know what this series is about, see Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. This week I’ve been given a set of pictures by Ian Cruickshanks (the same Ian Cruickshanks who took the pictures of the Schwyzerörgeli) from one of his other accordions – his 1950s Shand Morino.

Inside and Out Part 5 – The Impiliput

Yes, it’s back! After a gap of three months, Inside and Out is back. I’ve got some exciting boxes yet to come in this series, but the subject of today is the newest addition to my collection, a Hohner Liliput. Specifically, it is a 12 Hayden-style Free Bass B/C+C# Liliput, or “Impiliput” for short.

An Inside and Out Update – Sibylla Brand G/C/F

Hello all!

Some of you may recall that back in March I did my second Inside and Out on Malcolm Woods’ Sibylla Brand G/C/F. Well, it is now the property of someone known only as “Daddy Long Les”, who has just released his version of the story of his new box. There are some interesting shots that I didn’t have, so do take a look. Take a look also at the rest of his videos on playing the melodeon, inspirational stuff for anyone starting out.

Inside and Out Part 4 – The Shruti Box

Hello everyone and welcome to yet another installment of “Inside and Out”. To those wondering if the pain will never end, fear not! This is a post rather different from the previous three, for it is not on a melodeon, nor even an accordion, but a Shruti box. It is also a short post, because it is late and I have to go to bed, and because the Shruti box is a simple instrument.

Inside and Out Part 3 – The Schwyzerörgeli

Hello everyone! I am back! I handed in my Part IIB Project today and am free as a bird until my final presentation next week. So I thought that I would indulge myself by writing a blog post, and as it happens I have a genuinely riveting topic to talk about. Yes, it is indeed, the third instalment of “Inside and Out”, the blog series for melodeon nerds and pretty much nobody else, and today’s topic is the Schwyzerörgeli.

Inside and Out Part 2 – Sibylla Brand G/C/F

Hello and welcome back to the second installment of the series which literally tens of people are waiting to read. This time, because I haven’t had time to write the long, wordy post that I was going to post, we are looking again at the inner workings of the melodeon, this time this rather lovely Sibylla Brand, a three row G/C/F 12 bass belonging to Malcolm Woods (no relation). All photos are taken by him and I’m grateful for him allowing me to use his instrument in this series. If you have an instrument that you would like to see featured here then please do get in touch.

Inside and Out Part 1 – The Super-Preciosa

This is the first in a series of posts on the workings of the melodeon.

I am very interested in the melodeon and would like to share some of the thoughts that I have on the design. I think that the best way for me to do this is to investigate the detail of how specific instruments are put together. The first of these is my own Super-Preciosa. I have 3 or 4 instruments after this one lined up, but if you have a box which you think is interesting then please do get in touch and I will write about it! Especially if you have a Lõõtspill…