thomas concertinas

[david_boveri]

i just got the opportunity over the weekend to play two concertinas made by jeff thomas from thomas concertinas. i got to play a brand-spanking new concertina, fresh off the presses, and jeff's own, personal instrument.

 

there's a lot of neat things going on with a thomas concertinas. he has a unique quick release strap which allows for fine precision of the hand straps. this is great for someone like me, because i always end up stretching out the leather on my straps, and am very finicky about having them exactly as i like them. jeff has done some tweaks inside to make a very reliable action, and you can tell by playing the finished product that he has put a lot of time and effort into making a quality concertina.

 

i also had a lot of opportunities to hear jeff play his own instruments, and both the player and the instruments sounded great in a session. the sound of the concertina was not lost among 3 or 4 accordions. i'm really excited to see where these concertinas will go, and i think that if you're looking for a new concertina, that you should definitely give a second thought to thomas concertinas. the fellow who had commissioned jeff's newest instrument got the recommendation from edel fox, and i think that this guy made a good decision in following her advice.