For sale now
Reserved
64-key tenor-treble Wheatstone Aeola
The extra 8 buttons at the top end of a 64-key TT are rather like a sunroof on a car. You may only use it half a dozen times a year, but it's nice to have! And if the car salesman says you can have it for free, why would you turn it down?
But leaving extra buttons (and dodgy analogies) aside, this is a cracking tenor-treble. The serial number is 25935, which means it has recently celebrated its 111th birthday. Fast, responsive, and beautifully balanced right across its range, it's a delight to play, and one of the best TT's to pass through my hands in more than 20 years.
As usual, it has had new pads, valves, dampers, bushes and straps fitted, the woodwork has been refinished in French polish, and the reeds have been tuned to modern concert pitch. It also comes with a modern fitted flight case.
Price: £3450
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8-sided Crabb 64-key tenor-extended treble
Made in 1931, this is a rare example of a Crabb "Aeola", made even rarer by the amboyna veneers, gold-plated buttons and fittings, and tan leather bellows and straps.
It offers a range of four and a half octaves, which includes the bottom end from a tenor-treble, and the top end from an extended treble, and it is every bit as fast and responsive as you would expect of a top-quality vintage Crabb,
It has been the subject of a comprehensive restoration, with new pads, valves, bushes and springs. New wrist and thumb-straps have been fitted, the bellows have had a cosmetic re-bind, and the woodwork has been refinished in French polish. Finally, it has, of course, been tuned to Modern Concert Pitch (A=440Hz).
On the minus side, the left-hand end has had some slightly agricultural repairs to the fretwork, but it is sound and solid, and I thought it better to leave honest repairs visible than to try to disguise them. (And these imperfections are reflected in the price.)
It plays beautifully, and it could well be many years before you see another one like it offered for sale.
Price: NOW ONLY £2850
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REDUCED
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A gorgeous metal-ended tenor/treble which I restored for its owner around 2 years ago, at which time it was fitted with new pads, valves, bushes, thumb-straps and wrist-straps. The bellows were given a cosmetic re-bind, and it was tuned to modern concert pitch. In the interim, he has decided that he hasn't got the time to improve his performance on both the concertina and the fiddle, and incomprehensibly, he has chosen the latter. Still, it's an ill wind... he offered it to me, and I snapped it up.
The serial number is 31957. Now, I have heard it claimed, by someone who knows far more about Aeolas than I do (and, incidentally, has a spectacular collection of them) that Wheatstone invested in new tooling at around the 31XXX mark, and consequently, instruments in the 31000 series are among the best of the best. I can't confirm the history, but I can confirm that this one is a superb player - fast, loud and well-balanced throughout its range.
One slight curiosity is that where you would normally find a low D# on the left hand, this one goes right down to Bb. It's not a common arrangement, though I have seen it before... and I love it!
Price: £3350
Wheatstone Aeola 56-key tenor-treble
SOLD
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