Ive asked my parents to get me my first concertina for my 20th birthday, but Im still working out the balance between cost and quality. It seems a 20 button Anglo is the best way to go, and Ive noticed that the Hohner D40 is much cheaper than a Stagi. Can anyone tell me why?

if mine was any indication, the difference in price is definitely linked to a difference in quality. My Hohner was unplayable after 5 months of medium-hard use.

I don't regret starting on a 20-button, though.

I picked up a D40 a short while ago to try to teach myself to play. The price was definitely right, as I didn't know at the time how successful I'd be. However, I'm already looking longingly at 30b instruments. My last trip to the House of Musical Traditions had me experimenting with one of Mr. Tedrow's constructions, with a little voice in my head telling me 'someday....'

My advice as an admitted total beginner is to recognize the fact that the D40 /is/ a lower quality instrument, but it remains playable and an acceptable introductory instrument, especially if it's a gift and you don't know how well you'll take to playing it. Five to six months seems a reasonable lifespan for this particular instrument, and by then you'll have a very clear idea of your intentions. In addition, that's five to six months to budget for a higher quality instrument, and instead of having no practice, you've had six months to familiarize yourself with basic concertina concepts, which I think would be key to getting the most out of a better instrument.

Hey!
I asked the same question about a month ago. Check out the forum http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=972

Everyone I talked to said that I should pretty much avoid the hohner and spend the little extra and get a Stagi.
I searched around and found a guy selling several brand new Stagi B1's on Ebay for around $150 which was cheaper than some places selling the D40!!! He even gave me free shipping!!!

The B1 is just like the D40 that it's a 20 button anglo. It sounds good (to my untrained ears) and plays really well. The only complaint that I have is the buttons like to stick in at a slight angle and wont pop back out unless I pry them out. I've talked to a lot of people about this and I guess it's really common on the "student" models like these.

I'm really happy with my Stagi knowing it will last a long time.

As for 20 buttons vs 30 buttons, it's only been 2 weeks since my B1 arrived and I'm already wishing I picked up a 30 button. I don't regret getting a 20 button, it would just be nice to hit those notes that I keep searching for.

Congrats and good luck! Keep shopping around, you'll definately find a good Stagi cheap. Oh yeah and welcome to the group! The people here are awesome. So helpful, I don't know if I would have made it this far without their encouragement!

Sean Kelly

Personally I would go for a good 20 key Lachenal any day, no more expensive and (in my opinion) fundanmentally a better instrument. They are always coming up on E-bay, but of course getting to try the one your going to buy is aleays recomended.

Clive.

I agree that a good 20 button Lachenal is better than a 20 button Hohner 40D. The Lachenal will however be more expensive. I have seen prices on e-Bay between $500 and $800,-. On top of that, buying concertina's on e-Bay can be very tricky with respect to "quality". There might be a big difference between the quality as experienced by a seller that never played a concertina (all buttons make a sound) and as expected by the buyer .

I cannot believe that the lifetime of a Hohner is about half a year as Rhomylly reports. I am really curious to know what her definition is of "medium-hard" use. My Hohner 40D survived 15 years of "medium-soft" use. This includes grandchildren trying to push buttons very deep, drooling over the bellows or trying to penetrate the bellows with their little fingers (see this photo).

On the other hand.. looking at her career.. everything seems to go very fast with Rhomylly

Ah well, there you have it, Henk.

Baby drool protected your Hohner.

Helen

Yup, Henk, must have been the baby drool

What I mean by medium-hard use is an average of 9-10 hours a week of pretty hard playing from early August (when it arrived) to late January (when it developed the problem).

The problem that developed: one of the pads, the F#/G, bottom row first button right hand (used a LOT in the Irish music I'm playing), developed a terminal pad leak. As in, push the button and the note doesn't stop for quite some time when the button is released. Nothing I or a *noted* American concertina maker/repairperson (who has asked to remain anonymous in order to avoid a flood of repair requests in the middle of a busy concertina construction season, but was kind enough to try to fix mine after a near-hysterical phone call from me) could think to do fixed this problem for more than oh, three or four songs' worth of play.

Oh Rhomylly,

If only you had known about baby drool. NO NO, borrow a baby.

Helen

Yes, I will borrow a baby! Dogs don't want to learn how to drive someday!

If only they could talk!
... (Have you checked your odometer, lately?)