supergran

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, it's really helped me make my mind up and hopefully I'll make it to some of those festivals sometime, there are certainly plenty going on which is great! So thanks again everyone, Alison

Thanks very much Ken, and apologies for going over old ground - I'll get busy reading All the best, Supergran

Hello again Thanks very much indeed for your thoughts, you've answered a lot of the things I was pondering on just from reading between the lines! Yes, from what you've said with my lack of knowledge about concertinas at the moment I should probably steer clear of ebay or similar press listings - I had been kind of considering the ebay route because my budget is very limited for a starter instrument and I would have been willing to have a go at some of the repairs, although I wouldn't have been audacious enough to consider many of the other repairs that might be required. So as you say, in more than one respect it's not a good option for me. (And at my current level I wouldn't even know about many of the things that might need done! ) So it'll be one of the other routes you've kindly suggested for me As I can't afford a restored vintage, the Jackie sounds like an interesting option - has anyone played one, and what did they think about it as a starter instrument? But the suggestion of renting from a dealer also sounds interesting - I'm based in London, UK (thanks Ken, I've amended my profile), does anyone know of a dealer in my neck of the woods who rents out concertinas? Well thanks again, your advice is really valuabe to me and I'm really looking forward to getting started! Cheers, Supergran

Hello I'm new to concertinas and have been reading up on things a little bit with a view to buying an affordable English. What are the chances of a 'vintage' concertina which doesn't appear to have been reconditioned not needing it's bellows replaced to be playable - or is it a dead cert that if it hasn't been done already it will need it? Many thanks in anticipation - there's so much to learn from this forum! Cheers, Supergran