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Need Information On Scholer Concertina Made In East Germany


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I don't play any musical instruments and have a Scholer Concertina with 10 buttons on one end and 10 buttons on the other end with a button that releases the air in the bellows. Know it is a Scholer as it has a gold metal piece with two birds on a globe. Got it from my father-in-law when he passed away. Never knew him to play it and do not know where or when he got it. It is in a 6 sided green box and look like it was never really used. The only identifying marks on the concertina are a sticker that says double organ and plate that says made in Germany East. The ends are capped in metal and have metal corner plates. It has 4 sets of bellows with three plates between each end. The outer bellows consist of 3 sections each and the two inter bellow sections have 2 bellows each. The plates and end pieces all have metal corner plates that are nailed in.

 

I have searched around on the internet and can't find any thing that can help me on the Scholer Co. Or any pictures of any concertina that looks anything like this one. Do not know if it is a junk one or a decent concertina. Any help of any kind would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 

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If you type "Scholer" into the search window at the top right of the screen, and select "Forums" from the drop down menu you will find quite a bit of info on Scholer concertinas. In a nutshell, they were made in East Germany before, and for a short time after, the fall of the Berlin Wall. They were built simply to be affordable and are not valuable or much sought after, although they can sometimes be fairly playable. I believe "double organ" means that it has 2 reeds per note which gives it a nice accordion-ish voice. I bought one here in Canada a few years ago in the same "new, old stock" condition for about $45, and had some fun with it, but it did start to fall apart after a while.

Edited by Bill N
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It sounds like you have a 20 button Anglo/German concertina. Different notes for each button on push and pull and it will be in two specific keys, e.g. C/G or D/G commonly. I have no personal experience with Scholar concertinas, but my impression is that they are not particularly sought after. In general 30 button Anglos are more desirable than 20 button models and Wheatstone and Lachenal are the two most common manufacturers which produced quality concertinas. Someone with experience with Scholars may be able to tell you what the limitation is of that instrument compared to one of the better concertinas. I'd be hesitant to call someone's instrument junk unless it was unplayable and unrepairable but you're dealing with a low end instrument.

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I guess it depends on what your'e expecting. A Scholer is not a vintage concertina and in fact not very valuable or reliable. However, they can be well playable from what I've heard, and as double-reeded instruments they would have a specific German tone which might be appreciated on its own merits.

 

I don't believe its fair to lessen a 20 button instrument either. As long as you can and will stick to one of the home keys as mentioned above, you can in fact make some nice music, even with decent accompaniment. The approach would be very basic but likable (in one of the two keys even a simple modulation would be possible).

 

Don't thus expect to make much money from selling it, give it perhaps a try yourself. Lots of advice available, search for fellow concertinist and forum member "gcoover" for a fine start.

 

Best wishes - Wolf

Edited by Wolf Molkentin
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Thanks for all the help. I did do the search on the site like suggested before I asked the question. Found it was a little confusing not knowing what I was looking for. I appreciate the answers to my question and now have a good idea of what I have and what they were talking about on the search site now. Think I will list it on Ebay and let some one else have some fun with it as I don't have time to learn how to play it.

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Thanks again for the help. Decided to sell Concertina and just listed it on E-Bay for $19.95 and got a bid right away, so at least some one who wants it will get it and be able to have some fun with it.

Edited by CapeMayRay
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Worked out very well. Concertina must of had something that a number of people wanted. Had 10 different people bid on it and winning bid was $166.57 with $19.00 shipping Hopefully that person will enjoy it. Thanks again for the information. Cape May Ray

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