Wolf Molkentin

How about a good model 6? (mine is not for sale 🙂)

if considering a New Model, you shouldn't roule out a Wheatstone Model 21 ff. (22/24 in particular) either IMO

one octave above usual - but you may be aware of that already

it should be noted that „hybrid“ is supposed to indicate being halfway between cheap’n’nasty and vintage, hence a quality instrument in any case

are you sure it has the original bellows?

but it's not a tenor then - model 21 is a treble

quite a good price, you should grab the chance (if there are no further downsides)!

Hi John, here's the layout as accurately provided by Geoffrey Crabb. Best wishes - 🐺 61b Crabb Crane - Type B.pdf

so my beautiful (and not exactly smallish) 61b Crabb appears to be right in the middle of the spectrum 🤩

re Hohner „Student“, they tend to be piano accordions AFAIK - is yours really a melodeon (or is „student“ just meant to indicate that it’s a beginner‘s instrument)? good luck with the sale and your inquiries! 🐺

That's what I meant to say by referring to Neil Wayne... 🙂

it‘s absolutely up to you Kathryn, and I fully understand your reasons for preferring the „tunes“ section with this one

welcome to the forums Kathryn, and I like your style and take too. it appears to me that a question you raised has not been yet answered: where to share a video like this. Some people repeatedly chose the "Tunes/Songs" forum for that, but I think most (including myself) are posting their resp. content in the "Concertina Videos & Music" forum. best wishes - 🐺

just stumbled over your post - I reckon you're right: it's (Anglo) concertina and Melodeon, most likely both played by the talented Mr Brian Peters 🙂

I received my copy (as part of a larger collection) from Neil Wayne, many years ago

no connection and no personal experience, but I deem it appropriate to add Theo Gibb in Newcastle, as he might have something to offer as well and I have no doubt about his reliability either. best wishes - 🐺

Maarten, apart from Brexit (which may complicate things considerably) there are some reliable dealers in the UK which would be willing to send you an instrument for a week or so in order to try it and make up your mind, such as (in chronological order re my personal experiences, and as well the quantity of instrument I bought from them): Chris Algar / Barleycorn Concertinas A. C. Norman David Robertson In my experience, there would be a pretty good chance that you'd be happy to buy and keep (and then play) the instrument of your choice... Best wishes - 🐺

re the Jackie - there's some room for doubt here since some will say go for it and some (including myself) will say you shouldn't - it's in fact debatable, I really love the feel and sound of traditional ("vintage") concertinas, and luckily there are some makers - such as @alex_holden - who are currently making instruments in that style (as opposed to using accordion reeds asf.) to the entire satisfaction of their customers - of course you might go for one of those, but if you're after a regular English treble, it would be easier to find an instrument about 100 years old like so many of us.

Very fine since it has prompted you to take up the concertina - as to "room for doubt", I reckon nobody here would leave any; at best it will be good enough to serve you for, say, another year... - get a vintage instrument, preferably a Wheatstone with metal buttons (as the bellows will suply you with sufficient air, and the metal buttons would indicate a better make) - of course, if and only if the instrument is (or can be transformed into) good shape... Feel free to ask - best wishes, 🐺

we used to play them one after the after, but just on a yearly basis 🥳

got it: "The Sligo Fancy"

can't identify the 2nd either, but it's more than familiar...

- and individuals are different anyway - my dog used to love my playing any of my concertinas (in the manner of a quiet listener, mind you), even begging for more...

Geoff, I perfectly agree. Quite a lot can be done in this - as you are saying: subtle - way, including shaping the attack and (even more important as for me) "release" parameter of a note. I find it very useful to at times increase the applied force just when (if not slightly before) releasing a key. In fact, it will not be "release" in the common notion, the tone will die not with a whimper but a bang (or rather a louder cry), so to speak. Of course, again not in a spectecular way (despite my dramatic description), but quite effectice too. Best wishes - 🐺

That's perfectly true and strictly required - however the next step might be to deliberately interrupt a certain indifference in order to inspirit the flow of the music. edited to add: Therefore it should not be the only goal to expand one's capacities playing on one bellows but also to subdivide and structure the playing into smaller units... (which is the point where even a technically inferior instrument might help to develop certain skills - because it forces the player to inevitably change the direction more often). Best wishes - 🐺