News

3rd October 2011

Button Boxes & Moothies Free Reed Convention 11^th – 13^th November 2011

Aberdeen is very fortunate to be hosting another Button Box and   Moothies convention organised and directed by Professor Ian Russell of the Elphinstone Institute. This event will encompass a unique celebration of small ‘free-reed’ instruments, including mouth organs, concertinas, melodeons, diatonic button accordions, and Jaw’s harps. The convention will be just the place to attend lunchtime and evening concerts, enjoying the appealing music of these delightful instruments from some of the very best talents around, both local to Scotland and from further afield. It will be a great opportunity to find out more about the instruments and their music. You can visit a beginners’ session, join an elementary workshop, or if suitably experienced learn about style and repertoire at a players’ workshop. There are also several opportunities for informal sessions in local music-friendly pubs.

The concerts and workshops will feature guest players including Brendan Begley (Ireland), Donald Black (Scotland), Norman Chalmers (Scotland), Mary Mac Namara (Ireland)
Leo McCann (Ireland), Fred Davidson (Scotland), Pip Murphy (Ireland), Roger Digby (England), and many other well known players.

The convention will be held in Aberdeen from Friday 11^th to Sunday 13^th November 2011 and more information including programme can be viewed at: www.abdn.ac.uk/~wap001/events/reed-convention/index.shtml 

11th April 2011
The 23rd Stonehaven Folk Festival will be held from 8th - 10th July 2011. The venue for the concerts will as usual be the Stonehaven Town Hall. Flyers & further info available from the shop or email: info@stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk . There will also be sessions, workshops, aqua ceilidh,etc.
Tickets go on sale from 4th May 2011 here at the shop (collect in person only) or online via 
The Booth: www.thebooth.co.uk

27th October 2010
Our shop specialises in diatonic and chromatic squeezeboxes, and we are proud to have become the 1st Scottish dealer to stock Anglo and English concertinas designed by The Concertina Connection in the USA. The company was founded by Wim Wakker in 1993 with the objective to develop good quality entry level concertinas with a traditional design found in more expensive instruments. They have also subsequently designed and developed the Clover, an excellent intermediate level anglo concertina at an affordable price. Their instruments are considered by many to be best in class and best value. We expect to receive our 1st delivery of Jack and Jackie  English concertinas and Rochelle Anglo's beginning November, followed by the Clover intermediate anglo's mid November. 

7th July 2010
We will be at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (NAFCo) next week from 14th to 18th July. The convention is being hosted by the Elphinstone Institute in Aberdeen and if the last NAFCo held in N.E Scotland is anything to go by, promises to be an exciting and well attended musical event. The hub of NAFCo will be the Lemon Tree Theatre & Cafe Bar, Aberdeen with many daily concerts & performances at various locations. Many well known guest artists will be attending from USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales & more. There will also be several  fiddle workshops & conferences throughout the week & some great sessions to be had. You can check out the program on: www.abdn.ac.uk/nafco  

31st March 2010
Having just returned from the Frankfurt trade music fair, we were very impressed by the quality, finish and tone of Yairi guitars. They are exceptional value (circa £800 - £900) for a hand made instrument and we are pleased to have ordered our first two New Yorker 12 fret 00 models which should arrive in the shop by this weekend.  

Every "K.Yairi" guitar is given birth in Kani, a small community in the beautiful mountainside area of Honshu, Japan. In a unique, larger workshop-like guitar factory there,"K.Yairi" guitars are made under the strict supervision of Mr.Kazuo Yairi, owner of the "K.Yairi" guitar company.
The factory is staffed with carefully chosen master craftsmen, many of whom have worked there for many years.
Their skills, the calm atmosphere of the surroundings,and Mr.Yairi's attention to making the best guitars possible,are all reflected in each and every individual instrument.Mr.Yairi learned the tricks of the trade in making violins and guitars from his father,who gained international recognition for making fine instruments.

15th February 2010
We are very pleased to be the first Scottish dealer to stock Brook Guitars and took possession of a Tamar  which was sold within 24 hours of displaying in our shop. Brook Guitars run by Simon Smidmore & Andy Petherick have a lovely workshop hidden in the depths of Devon near Exeter. They learned their lutherie skills with Andy Manson many years ago and turn out a limited number of gorgeous hand made acoustic guitars (all named after Devon rivers) each year.  Delivery is normally around 9 months, however we are expecting our next guitars (Tamar, 12 fret Lyn & 12 fret Torridge) sometime in May.