Quality Difference Between Morse And Concertina Connection English Con

[koeter]

Is there a quality difference between Morse and Concertina Connection English Concertinas like the Rose English Concertina?

[Ken_Coles]

Not in my experience with anglos. I own one of each (a Ceili and a Clover - well, OK the Clover is my wife's!). As many other threads here testify, hybrids vary in ways that are primarily matters of taste and personal experience. Perhaps there is a festival (in Germany?) where you can try several for yourself. Have fun!

 

Ken

[Jim Cush]

I currently have a Morse Baritone English and had a Rose. The quality of both is very good although the ends on the Rose are not as smoothly finished which may lead to a negative perception. There is a difference in feel that is attributable to the different types of reeds rather than quality. The plastic like buttons on the Morse also have a different feel than the more traditional metal buttons on the Rose. These differences, again, are not quality related. As Ken Coles noted earlier you really need to get your hands on both and see which is most enjoyable for you. You will not have buyers remorse in either case. You should also decide if you hope to upgrade to a more expensive concertina in the future. The upgrade programs are significant. Enjoy your choice. Jim

[linrose]

I tried both a Morse Albion and a Rose before deciding to buy a Morse Albion. They are both wonderful concertinas made by expert craftsmen with many,many satisfied customers. I got the Albion because the sound it made spoke to me and every time I pick it up - I fall in love with it all over again.

[Dana Johnson]

This is a lucky choice to have to make. Both makers primary concern is quality and playability, not making a buck. The people who build these instruments are long time musicians who are invested in sharing their love of the music through their concertinas. The late Rich Morse was an inspirational dreamer who gathered people around him to help realize those dreams. And we are lucky to have those people carrying that dream on. On the back cover of Pete Seeger's book on reading music, Henscratches and Fly Specks, there was an old Peanuts cartoon with Linus declaiming that when born, every child should be issued a banjo. Rich would have substituted Concertina for banjo. I'd vote for both. It is all about making a joyful noise. Both these enterprises are about giving you the best instrument they can make for the money they ask.

Dana

[Steve Mansfield]

I'm a very happy Morse owner; and while I've had the opportunity to play a couple of CC boxes,a and they're lovely instruments, there's been nothing there that has made me want to swap.

 

And I suspect if I'd played a CC first, I'd feel exactly the same about 'my' CC when I played Morses.

[ceemonster]

Unless things have changed recently, the CC hybrids come stock with a premium grade of accordion reed that has two different names that indicate the same reed grade in accordion-geek land: "hand-type" aka "hand-finished." Sometimes these reeds are nicknamed "TAM," short for the Italian iteration of "hand-type," or "tipo a mano."

 

The Morse comes stock with so-called "factory" reeds. Factory reeds themselves come in grades, and Morse uses the best factory reeds, often called "Durall," or "Super Durall" factor reeds. In the last year or 2, Morse has begun to offer a reed upgrade option to TAM reeds for a not-bad extra $100 or so.

 

Everything else being equal, TAM reeds usually (not always, but generally) respond and speak a bit more quickly than factory reeds. Everything else being equal, TAM reeds OFTEN, but NOT ALWAYS, have a brighter, squawkier sound than factory reeds, which is not to say they are always louder. Best-quality factory reeds such as Super Durall, can be just as loud, but with a rounder, less-bright personality.

 

I personally always want the fastest-responding reed grade I can get, and only purchased a Morse EC after they instituted the TAM option. However ther are people who actually prefer Morse instruments (with the stock Super Durall reeds) precisely because they like the tone personality of those reeds better than the TAM sound. Some folks dislike the way TAM reeds sound on the high range. In 2-row bisonoric accordion-ville, it is kinda like the personality difference between the Saltarelle sound (Super-Durall) and the TAM Castagnari sound.

 

You might want to double-check whether CC still uses TAM reeds stock, and try to listen to samples of TAM versus stock Morse Super-Dural reeds. You might have a sound preference, or a response-speed preference.

 

Otherwise, these instruments are par in quality, meaning, very good quality.

[bboxm]

In 2-row bisonoric accordion-ville, it is kinda like the personality difference between the Saltarelle sound (Super-Durall) and the TAM Castagnari sound.

 

(I know this is parenthetical and not specifically relevant to this discussion, but it seems worth noting that Saltarelle and Castagnari both make accordions with different reed grades. A Saltarelle Iroise has a mano/handmade reeds; a Castagnari Nik has super durall reeds.) Taking my pedant hat off now.

 

More generally speaking, the CC website only specifies that the Rose has "Italian accordion reeds" on the Rose's spec page: http://www.concertinaconnection.com/rose.htm

The Clover and Peacock both specify "Italian hand made accordion reeds." I'd suggest asking Wim for clarification if you're particularly concerned about reed grade.

 

As ceemonster states, we use super durall reeds in our R. Morse & Co. line, unless you specifically order tipo a mano/hand-finished/TAM reeds.

 

(At present, we've got 2 used treble Albions on the shelf, and a new tenor Geordie, all with super durall reeds. The Geordie and the other used Albion will be on our website in the next day or two.)

 

-m