Alun

This is certainly the best place to ask. Hopefully many will be along shortly to help. I have a Rochelle and at first, 4 years ago as a complete beginner and ignorant of reading music, I was not able to get along with it. I moved to a D/G melodeon and loved it, still learning. About a year after starting the melodeon I picked up the Rochelle and found I could destroy a few of the Morris tunes I had learned, then they started to sound better. So now I play melodeon for the dancers and the Rochelle in sessions. So you certainly can play Morris tunes on a C/G as well as shanties. I have seen and heard Irish on the C/G. I hope to upgrade shortly to a Marcus. Having tried one the action is so so so much better and of course it is physically smaller than the Rochelle. If this helps, great, if not - Oh well. Alun

Hi I have been playing my Rochelle for the past 4 plus years. Bought secondhand for £200. I don't think I will sell it. I have tried other concertinas, Marcus - very nice, old Lachenal in very good order - which I didn't like. I may buy a Marcus in the near future. Al

Also very interested as I want to upgrade from my 3 year Rochelle. Al

PM sent.

Many thanks. I have been keeping a daily watch on all the stockists websites for months but they don't seem to get updated. I also watch e-bay every day but the couple of times I saw something desirable they shot right out of my price range, shame. I have been reluctant to email/phone to find out what people have in stock as I may overstep what I can afford at the moment. So, maybe I will wait a few months to save more. That would put me into a different league of instrument, the question then is - does my playing ability match the quality of instrument. I guess it's the same quandary for most of us, the desire for something better at a price we can afford in the hope of making better music. Again thanks, and I will post again when I have made the decision. Alun

Hi all, I'm looking to move up from the Rochelle Anglo to get a quicker response with less pressure and, hopefully, to be able to play a little quieter at home whilst still able to join in with our Thursday sessions after Morris practice. I have done a lot reading over the last few months and the instruments within my budget appear to be the Marcus or Norman. There doesn't seem to be any about s/hand so I wondered what the delivery times for a new one are now in February 2016. Yes I know I should get on the phone and ask but I would prefer to hear from purchasers what their experiences have been recently. No slight intended to the makers I have mentioned, by the way. Many thanks Alun

Follow the advice given in the replies above. I started at age 68 with no musical experience at all. I bought a C/G Rochelle 30 button anglo off e-bay for a very good price. Got disillusioned after a month and then bought a Honer G/D melodeon which I got on very well with and still do, Morris tunes. Picked up the concertina again about a year ago and haven't looked back. The melodeon and concertina go very well together. I practise every day, sometimes for odd moments, doodling the buttons to find out which buttons made what sounds, but always at least half an hour practising a few bars of one or two tunes; Very slowly until muscle memory took over and I could hit the right buttons and pull or push correctly every time for at least three run throughs, then tried speeding up. Always, always, slow enough to make sure all notes are correctly played then the speed comes naturally. I have started to read simple musical scores as well but the best thing ever is Utube. It has come to my mind recently to look for a replacement for the Rochelle. A move up market to an instrument with concertina reeds is my aim, although finance may be a problem as the wife wants the bedroom redone completely. I will get there. As mentioned, I play for my local Morris team at Wickham in Hampshire and take both instruments with me, the melodeon for dancing outside and the concertina for the session in the pub afterwards. Never too old, never too broke, never too dim. Al