Mike in Oban

For Sale, George Case Baritone English Concertina Offers in the region of £1,500. This is a rosewood instrument with brass reeds, apparently dating from 1850s or 60s. It underwent a substantial overhaul by Nigel Sture in 2021. It has a lovely sound, though it’s not the fastest concertina in the world. I bought it for accompaniment, but I only play tunes these days, so I’m selling it to allow other projects. It comes with an unattractive modern box. I’d prefer to sell in the UK, given current admin constraints. I’m in York (despite the moniker) so anyone near would be welcome to have a look.

Ah - not mine then - I'd describe its sound as rich and mellow - but not loud.

Hi Geoff - does it have to be Wheatstone or Lachenal? Here's my nice George Case baritone, recently overhauled by Nigel Sture.

Excellent - looks a perfect fit. I'll make a contribution to concertina.net. The Jeffries case is still available - if anyone is swithering, make an offer. Mike

Hi Sandy - great. Let me sort out the shipping and get an exact cost - it will take a couple of days because of the Easter holidays. Could you send me a private message with the delivery address please? Yes - Paypal is fine with me. best, Mike

Hi Sandy - thanks for your message. Quotes for posting the case to USA from the UK are around £60 - though that only includes £50 damage cover. Re size - here's a picture of my Aeola 64 key, which is too big for the case. It measures 7-1/2" across the flats - so yours might just be a bit tight. best Mike

I have two cases to sell - both speculative purchases on my part which didn't fit the instruments I was aiming for. The Wheatstone is a really lovely case in useable condition. The leather is scuffed, and there is no key, but otherwise it's great - see pics. As a size guide, it's clearly intended for a larger instrument, but it is just too small for my 64 button Aeola. I'm asking £150 + delivery for it. The Jeffries case is less lovely. Again there is no key, and you have to open the clasp by wiggling the keyhole. The felt lining is also in poor condition, and should really be replaced. Other than that, it's fine. For size, I can confirm that it is too small for a common 48 button Wheatstone English. I'm asking £60 + delivery for that one. Happy to answer any questions, Mike Wheatstone pics: Jeffries pics

I'll second the kitty-litter suggestion. I bought an old accordion on-line that arrived so smoky it was unplayable. I tried lots of things but the kitty-litter in the case was the one that seemed to work. Even so, it's amazing how long-lasting tobacco smoke is - I still seem to catch the occasional whiff, years later.

I've found this to be a nice arrangement that works well for English Concertina. You can add more of the harmony incrementally as you learn it. https://hymnary.org/text/in_the_bleak_midwinter Mike

The Corona version is lovely, thank you for posting it. I play it more like Daniel and I picked up the arrangement for English Concertina, by Ray Chandler, from the excellent Rude Mechanicals tunes resource: http://www.rudemex.co.uk/library/RM_arrangements/01tunelib_RMarr.php

Hi, Yes that makes sense to me too - when learning tunes from a score, I've often thought that the tempo descriptions don't reflect how the tune is played in practice. This app seems to what you're after. I haven't tried it myself, but the description seems right. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/beat-mirror-detect-bpm/id1086730929?l=en

I recently picked up the guitar again after a long absence, and I've found that the inevitable development of hard skin on the finger tips costs me some sensitivty when playing the concertina. Can others play strings and buttons interchangably? I'm wondering if I have to choose. (OK - I'd choose concertina.)

Still available - anyone interested at £1750? best, Mike

A reminder that this is still availble. (It might have helped had I managed to spell 'Morse' correctly in the title. I don't know how to fix that.) More concretely, I'll reduce my aspirations to around £2000. best, Mike

Hi - standard I think - at least there's nothing in the documentation to suggest otherwise. Is there an easy way to tell? (I've never opened this concertina up, but wouldn't know what to look for as my only experience is with old Wheatstones & Lachenals.) best, Mile

For sale, Morse Geordie Baritone English Concertina. This instrument is in perfect condition. I bought it new from the Music Room in Clackheaton in 2014. I’m not sure if anyone else is selling these new in the UK anymore (now the Music Room has ceased trading). Of course, these originally come from the Button Box in Massachusetts. I never really got on with the Baritone. I’d intended to use it for accompaniment, but in practice never did, and so I’m selling it on to allow other projects. It has hardly been played, still smells of new leather, and I’ve never taken it out to play in public. It comes with the original box. Offers in the region of £2,200 would be appreciated. I’d much prefer to sell this in the UK if possible as I’m nervous about sending such a high-value instrument abroad. If anyone would like to try it, you’d be welcome to do so. I’m currently in York (despite the moniker).

Thanks to everyone for your interest. Sale is now agreed, and I'll make a donation to concertina.net once the transaction is complete. best, Mike

Hi - yes they do - 191917 in both cases. You can just about see the reed pan stamp in the photo, and that's replicated in the bellows frames. Apparently that gives a best date estimate of around 1930, but I know there's a lot on uncertainty around Lachenal dating. Mike

Thanks Don - yes, I've checked now and they're definitely brass. All of them. Given the 'steel reeds' stamp on the handrest, that seems to prove that all the reeds have been replaced, so goodness knows what key the instrument started life in. Mike

Hi Don - it turns out to be even more of an enigma than I'd originally thought. I wonder if I've misled people with the claim that the reeds are brass. To be honest, I'm now less confident that this is true. Malcolm is right, there is a stamp saying "Steel Reeds" on the right hand rest. (Depsite being right in front of my face, I'd not noticed that before.) My claim that the reeds are brass comes from the fact that this is how it was desrcibed to me as I bought it. It also sounds like a brass-reeded instrument - best suited to accompaniment. However, that's a judgement I've made from other brass and steel-reeded instruments I have - and they're all very different from this, so may not be comparable. Is there a straightforward way to distinguish brass from steel reeds? It would be nice to settle that aspect of the conundrum at least. Mike

Thanks for your responses. The chromatic idea is ingenious. I just tried to play some chromatic scales on it, and the sequence is pretty challenging. I looked at the reed shoes, and see that some of them are stamped and some aren’t. Interestingly, where I can see a note, it’s the right one – and there are examples in both rows. The Bb row is clearest, and seems like it might be a complete set, so I’m now guessing it’s the D that’s been added, and made up of spares. Mike

So they tell me ... It is wierd, isn't it? I'll check the reed shoes, but the reeds don't look to be tuned to within an inch of their lives, so I'm guessing replacement reeds have been swapped from another instrument. The best I could come up with is the observation that D and Bb are very common keys for men to sing in. Perhaps someone was aiming for an instrument that could provide very basic accompaniment in both those keys. In effect, it has created two simple instruments from a more complex one. Pure speculation, of course. Mike

For sale, a 20-button Anglo Concertina in Bb/D. Lachenal, brass reeds, in modern concert pitch, all in very good working order. This is an oddity. I confess, when I bought it from E-Bay, I assumed the Bb/D was just a misdescription, but it wasn’t. See the attached layout. It seems to have good provenance – there’s a Barleycorn stamp inside, though corresponding with Chris Algar, he has no idea how it ended up in this tuning. There’s a receipt from Worthing Hobgoblin from 2011, for five hundred pounds, correctly describing it as Bb/D. Perhaps someone else on Concertina net will be familiar with this layout, but it’s sufficiently unlike anything else that I can play, that it isn’t for me. It’s a shame, because everything else about the concertina is really lovely. It comes with a nice old (but not original) wooden box, whose condition I’d describe as ‘inexpertly restored’. Any offers in the region of £300?

Concertina now sold. Thank you for your interest. I've made a donation to the concertina.net. Mike

For sale, a Crane Duet. Brass reeds, in modern concert pitch, and with new pads and valves. I play English, and bought this to try out a different system. I couldn’t get on with it though. The instrument plays rather quietly, is somewhat breathy, and I could never get the treble to sing above chords played on the left hand. That seems to be due to the brass tongues and quite wide clearances. Anyone would be welcome to come and have a look – I’m in York, England (despite my moniker). Any offers in the region of £350?