gtotani

SCDITT, Tina Swift of the Irish Concertina Company is more or less equivalent to McNeela Swan, isn't it? I have an impression that It is rather a sturdy instrument. (I used to have a McNeela Swan) It would not be a bad idea buy a gig bag (or soft bag) to carry your Tina Swift on your bike. If you can spend good amount of money, Fuselli sells a well-padded softbag for concertina. http://www.manifatturefuselli.com/AccordionBagsOther.aspx A coolerbag for cans of beer could also work all right. I would not recommend putting a strap on a hardcase itself. The case doubles the weight and may end up breaking the strap or fittings, or, the case could open by accident when you carry on your bike. If I were to be on a bike, I would just put the hardcase in a backpack with tough straps. Happy busking! Totani

Or if you want to start with a simple arrangement of Bach, Rochelle would work all right.. I played this on Rochelle-2 Anglo Concertina.

I agree. That is what Wim Wakker suggested. However there are several outstanding performance of Bach played on an Anglo. Very few can reach up to this level.

Glad to know that my suggestion helped you make up your mind on what to do and what not to do. Listening to good perfomances would always be a good idea. Enjoy! When you win a Jackpot, go for Jeffries!

Hello, melasOnos, It would be difficult to buy a 30 button Lachenal "at a great deal". If a Lachenal looks like at a bargain price, you should assume that it has some defects or trouble and would cost you a lot to bring it to playable condition. 24 or 26 button Lachenal from a reliable dealer could be an option, as they tend to be lower-priced than 30 button instruments. For example, a 26 button Lachnel sold at Barleycorn is priced at 750GBP, which is competitve price to a McNeela Swan. https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/anglo-concertinas/lachenal-26-key-anglo-in-c-g-with-steel-reeds/ I used to hav a McNeela Swan. It is not a bad instrument for its price, but I am sure you would be tempted to upgrade to a better instrument in less than a year. McNeela offers trade-in program, but trade-in value is not very high. The trade-in price they offerd was not very high and I sold the Swan to my friend instead. I do not have a Rochelle, but I do not read any bad impression or rumors on the net about it, execpt for being a bit slow and very bulky. Concertina Connection offers a trade-in program for upgrading to Concertina Connection's higer grade instrument, and the trade-in value is 100% of your purchase price. That means, you can upgrade to Minstrel, Clover and Wakker Concertinas in the future without losing any money. Recently introduced Rochelle-2 is a bit pricy but about the size of satndard concertinas. Ducklings could be another option to get started cheap, but the current waiting time is something like 16 months. I started from Concertina Connection's Minstrel with Wakker Bellows upgrade. It was far beyond my expected budget, but I am quite happy that it was my first instrument. After 3 1/2 years, I still enjoy plyaing it and have no idea of letting it go. Have a happy concertina life! Totani

Hi, Martin. Thanks for the sheetmusic. I enjoy it a lot! Totani https://twitter.com/gtotani/status/1436109050232533010?s=20

Ha ha ha, Kato san found you play Ryo's work on bilibili, and shared it on Twitter. Ryo-san is now aware that you have uploaded your interpretation of his work, and he is quite happy. Keep playing!

Very, very interesting! (As a Japanese, I do recognize chinese characters)

I really want to believe that China-made McNeela instruments are adjusted in Ireland before being shipped worldwide. But let me tell you what's happened last year. A batch of instrument which a shop in Japan imported last year from McNeela had some reeds beeswaxed otherway round. The shop claimed, and the reaction of McNeela was to send back an email with instruction how to fix them, without any apology (according to the shop). Could it happen if they were adjusted in Ireland? What can an individual user do if he/she is just a beginner and not accustomed to concertinas? This is one reason I cannot trust and recommend McNeela brand concertina. Well, I would say it is not a bad experience to remove the beeswax, turn over the reed and rewax it again airtight. There is no doubt that it is good to know how to maitain and take care of your own instrument. Totani

Fifer1mr, Good luck on your mission in Antarctica! I am pretty sure that McNeela music will not sell concertina parts to users. But here is a good news. A shop in Japan sells a concertina named Furze which looks very silimar to Wren2, and the shop has recently started to sell spare parts, as well. I believe spare parts of Furze can be used for Wren2 as well. https://celtnofue.com/store/concertina.html Totani

Hi, LazyNetter, It seems that Gary has failed to answer this part. You can find "The Moon Knows My Heart" on p. 45 of Gary's Book "Anglo Concertina in the Harmonyc Style" As usual, Gary's performance is on YouTube. I have seen you play Ryo's "Elemental of Rain" on bilibil. Well played!

Thank you everyone, for responding to my trivial interest, and sorry Everett for getting off subject. My sincere apologies. All my anglos are modern hybrid ones with accordion reeds and I do not need to worry about ruining classical precious concertina reeds. I think I will try 1/4 comma meantone temperament as I tend to play harmonic stylo solo with lots of thirds. First of all, I think I will need to make a tuning table to speed up the process. Cheers! Totani

Thank you, Steve, These are the kinds of thread I wanted to read, so inspiring! I will take time to read them over and over again in depth. Totani

Richard, I am VERY curious to know about this. Most of the reeds on my concertina are within 10cents range in comparison to equal temperament. I want to fine tune the reeds for better harmony, but I have a feeling that making them closer to equal temperament may not be the right solution. It would be nice of you if you could guide me to a thread where this "separate question" has been discussed. Totani

Don, Some of my tweets could be useful (they are in Japanese, but with photos) Exterior and Action Board of Rochelle-2 Buttons are not bush-felted, but well-fit and does not make noise. Reed Pan of Rochelle-2 (through bellows) Reed blocks are screw-fixed