im not playing the concertina long but im planning to buy a reasonable mid range instrument. I am looking at either a marcus or a clareman. andrew norman who make the clareman said i would be waiting 14 months for his one whereas i could get a marcus in a few weeks.what are your opinions on which would be a better choice.is the clareman worth the wait?
I tried both some years ago (1999, while in Ireland) and several more examples since. At this level of box preference is very personal, you really should play them if you can. My own preference was the Norman, it was superbly done, and response was very fast, essential for ITM. You won't do better in these "mid-range" boxes if you are on the east side of the Big Pond. After owning or playing a lot of different models of concertina, I would certainly wait an extra year for the one that really suited me. Ask any guitarist, piper, etc.
So again, try them for yourself if you possibly can. You could ask over on the www.concertina.net forums if any owners of either box are near you. (Or you could ask which one to get, which will give you lots of debate but no answer!).
Early one morning in the wee hours of dawn as I lay awake looking at the ceiling, to my amazment my wife, who is known to talk in her sleep, suddenly sat up in bed, and as though addressing a large crowd in a lecture hall said, "I do believe if you trace concertina weaponry back to the early part of the last century, you'll find that's true." ...and she laid back down.
my subjective take on marcus and norman is: the marcus deluxe has amazingly beautiful & very solid, hefty construction, & high-class cosmetics. the norman has lighter construction (tho still good and very cool-looking), but faster button action for irish playing. marcus button speed is fine for learning tunes & slow practice, but harder to make that jump into hyper-space. both have beautiful tone (marcus rich & creamy-ish, norman barky and growly-ish). both have great bellows.
but more importantly----HAS anyone ever hurled a concertina at somebody, or at least, seen one thrown???? i would love to see this!!! ever since i took it up a year and a half ago, this image pops up in a cartoon balloon over my head with demented frequency.....just the thought of it is like a method acting cue for helpless giggles....
I agree with KenC - definitely try to get a chance to play them if you can. Having tried both, I personally prefer my Norman over the Marcus but a have a friend who is very happy with his Marcus preferring it to my Norman!
Yes I know that doesn't help at all However having said that, I bought a restored Lachacel from Andrew Norman which he restored for me, and he was incredibly patient and helpful with my many questions via email and the odd phonecall from Down Under.
Another great internet resource you might like to look at is the C.net Recorded Tunes page which is tun by a Marcus player. It's a great opportunity to hear many different concertinas.
clareman concertina
clareman concertina
im not playing the concertina long but im planning to buy a reasonable mid range instrument. I am looking at either a marcus or a clareman. andrew norman who make the clareman said i would be waiting 14 months for his one whereas i could get a marcus in a few weeks.what are your opinions on which would be a better choice.is the clareman worth the wait?
# Posted on April 7th 2006 by tonnta
Re: clareman concertina
I tried both some years ago (1999, while in Ireland) and several more examples since. At this level of box preference is very personal, you really should play them if you can. My own preference was the Norman, it was superbly done, and response was very fast, essential for ITM. You won't do better in these "mid-range" boxes if you are on the east side of the Big Pond. After owning or playing a lot of different models of concertina, I would certainly wait an extra year for the one that really suited me. Ask any guitarist, piper, etc.
So again, try them for yourself if you possibly can. You could ask over on the www.concertina.net forums if any owners of either box are near you. (Or you could ask which one to get, which will give you lots of debate but no answer!).
# Posted on April 7th 2006 by KenC
Re: clareman concertina
Mike,
KenC is one of *the* go-to guys when it comes to concertina info.
Those Normans sure can be set up fancy! I've got two Morse Ceilis, so I can use one in a fight and still have the other to play.
# Posted on April 7th 2006 by joesmith
Re: clareman concertina
i was just saying that concertinas need to be more weaponlike... flutes can shoot things out the ends as well as polymer flutes can act as clubs.
its good to know that it can be a weapon, i must practice more. have you met anyone who's mastered the art of not ruining a concertina in a fight?
# Posted on April 8th 2006 by daiv
Re: clareman concertina
Early one morning in the wee hours of dawn as I lay awake looking at the ceiling, to my amazment my wife, who is known to talk in her sleep, suddenly sat up in bed, and as though addressing a large crowd in a lecture hall said, "I do believe if you trace concertina weaponry back to the early part of the last century, you'll find that's true." ...and she laid back down.
# Posted on April 8th 2006 by Phantom Button
Re: clareman concertina
Mine's got eight sharp buttons, and some are a lot sharper than others!
# Posted on April 8th 2006 by joesmith
Re: clareman concertina
The trick is to pull your hand from one of the straps and use it with a shotei uke age zuki, the sharpest side outward.
# Posted on April 8th 2006 by joesmith
Re: clareman concertina
Doesn't work if the bellows is too flexible though.
# Posted on April 8th 2006 by joesmith
Re: clareman concertina
Oh, you're talking about your concertina! Jack had me distracted and for a moment I thought you were talking about your wife.
# Posted on April 9th 2006 by GaryAMartin
Re: clareman concertina
Gary. Gary. Gary
# Posted on April 9th 2006 by joesmith
Re: clareman concertina
my subjective take on marcus and norman is: the marcus deluxe has amazingly beautiful & very solid, hefty construction, & high-class cosmetics. the norman has lighter construction (tho still good and very cool-looking), but faster button action for irish playing. marcus button speed is fine for learning tunes & slow practice, but harder to make that jump into hyper-space. both have beautiful tone (marcus rich & creamy-ish, norman barky and growly-ish). both have great bellows.
but more importantly----HAS anyone ever hurled a concertina at somebody, or at least, seen one thrown???? i would love to see this!!! ever since i took it up a year and a half ago, this image pops up in a cartoon balloon over my head with demented frequency.....just the thought of it is like a method acting cue for helpless giggles....
# Posted on April 12th 2006 by ceemonster
Re: clareman concertina
I agree with KenC - definitely try to get a chance to play them if you can. Having tried both, I personally prefer my Norman over the Marcus but a have a friend who is very happy with his Marcus preferring it to my Norman!
Yes I know that doesn't help at all
However having said that, I bought a restored Lachacel from Andrew Norman which he restored for me, and he was incredibly patient and helpful with my many questions via email and the odd phonecall from Down Under.
Another great internet resource you might like to look at is the C.net Recorded Tunes page which is tun by a Marcus player. It's a great opportunity to hear many different concertinas.
You can find it at : http://www.anglo-concertina.net/links.htm
Hope his helps,
Ptollemy
# Posted on April 16th 2006 by Ptollemy