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I shall be picking up my new custom made Anglo Concertina in a few weeks.I've been recommended by the maker to purchase a new concertina case rather than using my present softshell gig bag.What does anybody recommend?Not too pricey please.I live in the UK.The cases that Hobgoblin sell are they any good?

Thanks.

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I bought a Marcus Music case after being told of a concertina in a cheap box, which had a jolt and hit the side of the case hard - breaking several buttons,

 

The Marcus box has four corner stops which hold the concertina snugly in place with buttons clear of the sides. I don't know if the Hobgoblin cases have these.

 

Given the cost of the concertina inside it, I thought an extra twenty quid or so for a solid box was worth while.

 

Malcolm

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I shall be picking up my new custom made Anglo Concertina in a few weeks.I've been recommended by the maker to purchase a new concertina case rather than using my present softshell gig bag.What does anybody recommend?Not too pricey please.I live in the UK.The cases that Hobgoblin sell are they any good?

Thanks.

 

I have one of the larger hobgoblin boxes .... pretty sturdy, but I had to construct my own blocking. It was good since I arranged with a partition at one end which had room for quite a few odds and ends.

It wasn't lockable, and with the the handle on the lid I was always a bit worried that the catch would open and spill out tthe concertina (never happened since the catch was reasonable , but I did add a strap)

 

I've moved on to a large leather(ette) camera case now, which is excellent. You'll see if you look at threads about cases that people use all sorts of boxes ... if you can get a hard shell vanity case from a sale or charity shop, they make very good protection. And you get a free mirror :-)

Edited by spindizzy
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I speak from experience: get the good, hardshell case. The gig bag is nothing but a dust cover. I dropped my concertina, in its gig bag, and although it only went about 2 feet to the sidewalk it was enough to cause problems. It was "only" an inexpensive Rochelle, but at the time it was my only concertina. For my new, expensive concertina, I got the Pelican case recommended by the maker and fitted for my instrument.

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Another option is to contact Frank Edgley on this side of the pond. He now makes the fine cases previously made by Sean Fallon. It will be made specifically to fit your instrument and is strong enough to withstand rough treatment. Give him a call or send him an e-mail.

 

Ross Schlabach

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Another possibility on this side of the pond: Greg Jowasis. Does lovely work and will match to your dimensions. He's a frequent contributor here, so can speak for himself...

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Oh goodness, and I should have mentioned Greg too since he has made fine cases for me in the past. If you decide to e-mail him, be patient. He may still be out of town a while longer. But he's worth the wait!

 

Ross Schlabach

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Definition:

Concertina Hard Case: Anyone with more than 500 posts on this website.

 

Isn't that a Heavyweight Boxer?

 

(291 posts to go, and just as literal-minded as ever--when it suits me...)

 

jdms

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It will be made specifically to fit your instrument and is strong enough to withstand rough treatment.

 

 

That's an interesting way to put it. I have no doubt that an Edgley case (or any other quality brand) would easily survive a drop off a 5 story building, it's built like a bank vault. But what about the concertina inside?

 

None of these cases have any padding to speak of. The Edgley has a very thin layer of foam covered with cloth and then hard foam corner blocks, and that seems to be typical. Wouldn't any shock the case suffers transfer directly through to the concertina? I'm not an engineer, and I have no idea about the physics involved, but the lack of padding really troubles me.

 

It seems to me that the design standard should be to protect the instrument in case of a 4 foot (table or stage height) drop onto concrete. If that happens, an old suitcase with the concertina wrapped in some beach towels would seem to offer as much or more protection than any of the cases on the market. Don't you want some padding? Wouldn't 3 inches of foam all around offer better protection than even the best of the custom fitted cases?

 

(Please understand, I'm not picking of Frank, Greg, or any of the custom case builders, and if there is a reason why a custom fitted but un-padded case is better, I'm all ears.)

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(Please understand, I'm not picking of Frank, Greg, or any of the custom case builders, and if there is a reason why a custom fitted but un-padded case is better, I'm all ears.)

 

Possibly a best compromise. The box will take the damage that would otherwise result in smashed corners, scratches, broken buttons etc. So it helps straight away.

The concertina must not move inside the box, otherwise it can still suffer damage from hitting the box. With it rigidly held, shock will pass through it but if nothing can move, it won't suffer damage. The only bits that can move are buttons, levers etc but these are relatively light and anyway can't move far. The bellows might flex a little but again not far.

Padding it would achieve a similar effect, depending on how firm. Soft padding would still allow a sharp acceleration but slow down the deceleration, but the concertina is still moving around.

However, decent padding material is relatively expensive and adds a lot of bulk to the case. By the time you've got some decent woodwork around it, you've got a much bulkier, heavier, more expensive case to cart around. And a lot more weight to hit the ground if you do drop it...

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I shall be picking up my new custom made Anglo Concertina in a few weeks.I've been recommended by the maker to purchase a new concertina case rather than using my present softshell gig bag.What does anybody recommend?Not too pricey please.I live in the UK.The cases that Hobgoblin sell are they any good?

 

 

This is an endless discussion, and in my own case I go back and forth on cases. I have hard cases by Fallon, Savage and Jowaisas; all are outstanding for their durability and appearance.

 

But they're all heavy; as a Morris player I frequently carry two concertinas on all-day walking music tours, and I end up with a sore back and shoulders.

 

And as someone else pointed out: the hard cases don't protect all that much against the severe jarring that can occur when you stumble into door frames, etc.

 

I also have M-Rock soft camera cases with hard plastic inserts that provide a modicum of rigidity. And I have filled these with dense foam rubber; these provide superior protection against what is the most common accident in MY experience - banging into things. But you can't get the snug fit you get in a custom blocked hard case, they're not as waterproof (a significant issue for Morris musicians) and they give me a bad case of angst when my instrument ends up at the bottom of a pile of backpacks in the pub

 

As I said, I go back and forth. I carry the M-ROck cases on some Morris tours when I'm pretty sure it's not going to rain; they're lighter, more jostle and crash resistant and easy to carry. I use the hard cases for relatively stationary gigs, when the added weight isn't a problem and I don't bang into as many doors (do I sound like a klutz? Don't answer that...). The instruments reside in the hard cases at home.

 

But be aware: there is no universal or perfect solution.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hard to imagine a custom maker who would not supply a case.

 

The case is the future of the concertina. People tend to concentrate on protection from damage if the concertina is dropped, and hard blocked cases are quite good at making sure the concertina will be OK, but a good hard blocked case will probably be damaged in the fall itself and need replacement or repair. A hard case which has soft blocks will also be damaged but the consequences to the concertina will be less. However soft blocking is almost always synthetic. No-one knows how long synthetic foams, plastics and fabrics will last before they turn into some sort of friable or gooey mess we wouldn't want near our concertinas.

 

Then there is Insidious Bellows Creep (IBC). Cases also need to keep the bellows compressed. Not under a lot of comprression, just closed. Without this the bellows will slowly creep open a little and then adopt this as a home position, leading to that frustrating feeling of resistance as the bellows near closed. Soft cases, gig bags etc, often neglect this, leading to IBC. The fabrics in them are sometimes not really soft and they can rasp at the finish on the woodwork.

 

I think the best solution is a cautious aware owner with a hard case with firm but not hard blocks, which, if they are synthetic, are changed at least every 20 years. Anything that touches the concertina should be non-synthetic. I am not sure I am capable of this myself, 20 years is a hard length of time to get a feeling for, and you can't set an alarm to remind you.

 

I find a hard case cumbersome at festivals and usually take a semi-rigid padded camerabag with a good shoulder strap, ie. Lowepro Nova 3. After the festival it can go back in the hard case.

 

If you think about the future, take a thought from the past. All of those concertinas that have survived the last 100+ years, how many survived without a good hard case? If any did, they will be easy to spot by the damage.

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I shall be picking up my new custom made Anglo Concertina in a few weeks.

Excellent news.

 

Who is the maker?

 

Any plans to post pics so we can all have a look?

 

A.C.Norman now based at Paddock ,Halfway House,Shrewsbury SY5 9EL

 

Picture

 

http://www.btinterne....c.normanandco/

 

Click on our products and it's the concertina on the top left.

 

Picked it up on Mon. 14th May.It's wonderful so receptive.

Edited by celtictiger
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