applegrovebard

Thanks for your suggestion, Oldnickilby- I guess it makes sense to be able to handle ongoing maintenance oneself.

Hi- does anyone know of concertina repairers (specifically fixing leaky bellows) in London (UK)? Also, what sort of cost might be involved in patching a few corners? I see new bellows are available from Concertina Spares for about £150... Thanks.

Thanks for your detailed advice, Gary. I see there's plenty of things that need to be right, that an old instrument might have issues regarding. But I've been playing around with a Lachenal duet and I do find just the raw tone very satisfying... Thanks for your message, Jake. I see the instrument you mention has now been sold- I had been considering it- sure it will be a fine instrument for its new owner. I suppose either of the kinds of instruments I'm considering would hold much of their value, so I could take a chance with either knowing I could later change it and recoup. Steve

Hi- I'm pretty new to the unexpectedly enchanting world of concertinas... A couple of questions I hope someone can help me with: first in terms of wanting to play tunes in D and G and their relative minors (such as the great majority of Irish trad tunes) is there any disadvantage to playing a 26 or 28 button anglo as opposed to the regular 30 button instrument? Would fingering patterns be different? (I understand there are alternative arrangements of the accidentals row). Secondly, I'm pondering buying either a 26 or 28 button Lachenal for something under £1000 or a used quality hybrid for a little more. I'm thinking it comes down to traditional tone v ease and speed of playing, and can't decide which means more to me... Are these the key factors? I hope someone can help inform my ruminations.