gtotani

Gary, Glad to know you are safe back home and thank you for detailed report. All the cherry blossoms are gone, and summer is coming on fast! Most of the concertina players gathered there have X (Twitter) accout and there are number of posts (tweets) related to your visit. They are all in Japanes, but I think you will enjoy. コンサーティーナの Gary Coover さんを囲む会 2024年4月7日 at お茶の水 - Togetter Totani

Hello, Paul, Wow, so your first visit to Japan was flourished (literally) by full bloom of Sakura! You are very lucky. Please do come again. Totani

On April 7, 13 Japanese concertina lovers got together to welcome Gary Coover's visit to Tokyo. As many of Japanese concertina players have learned playing concertina (especially Anglo in harmonic style) through Gary's book, everyone was so enthusiastic to see him. Some have even traveled 400 kilometers! The four-hour meet-up in a Karaoke room was quite an unusual event with different systems of concertinas (12 Anglos and 3 English) gathered in one place to play all sorts of music, along with lots of talk. Gary has brought a dozen of his books as gifts to the participants which made them even happier. We have agreed that this meeet-up was such good fun and could plan another one in a year's time. Again, thank you very much, Gary, for sparing your time with us. It has been our honour to have you with us, and it was also a great opportunity for us Japanese concertina lovers to see one another in person! Totani

I love this! I will try this on my Anglo + my chamber music friends. Totani

Thank you very much for your effort to revive the discontinued book, Gary This book by Frank was out of print when I started learning concertina. Of course, Easy Anglo 1-2-3 has been a very very good introductory book and I recommend it to everyone, but I have been longing for this Edgley's book. This book is already on sale on amazon and I have ordered one. A very good Christmas present for myself. Totani

This is lovely！ Thank you very much for sharing your arrangement. I will practice this one until I can play it by heart!

I enquired about the waiting list of Wakker Concertina last year. I was informed by mail that > The lead time (waiting time) for a Wakker concertinas currently is 48-50 months (around 4 years). > The waiting time has been pretty stable for the last 30 years, with 3 years as the shortest and 5 years > as the longest lead time. I started playing concertina 5 years ago, and one of Wakker concertinas could have been mine if I had joined the waiting list at that time! Totani

Dick, I do not have very big hands and I have never felt such concerns. I didn't even have to adapt. I think it was @gcoover who said Minstrel was not very comfortable for people with larger hands (like him). Totani

I have c Concerina Connection Minstrel, but my experience may not be "recent" as I purchased it in 2018 and there has been a major upgrade with Minstrel model. It is a good instrument and it is made in USA. I have no experience with Sherwood Marion and McNeela Phonix. These models are made in China. Totani

Thank you for your clarification, Daniel. I remember reading what you have quoted, but it was out of my memory. I made a suggestion because Wim categorizes R2 as an entry-level instrument (not intermediate) in his 'trade-in program' page. As a previous owner of R2 and a current owner of Minstrel+Wakker bellows (intermediate), the line between Concertina Connection's "entry-level" and "intermediate" is quite obvious, both in terms of pricing and specification. But you could leave the list as it is, as there is no doubt that R2 is somewhat better than original Rochelle, and some of the listed 'intermediate' instruments could be inferior to R2. Entry level reed type: hybrid keyboard: Anglo, English, Duet (Hayden) models: Jackie, Jack, Rochelle, Rochelle-2 (R2), and Elise. Intermediate reed type: hybrid keyboard: Anglo, English, Duet (Wicky/Hayden) models: Minstrel, Busker, Troubadour, Clover, Peacock and Rose. Traditional reed type: traditional concertina keyboard: Anglo, English, Duet (Wicky, Hayden, McCann) models: all Wakker models trade-in program (concertinaconnection.com)

> Concertina Connection: Rochelle 2, Clover and Minstrel Anglo, Peacock and Troubadour Hayden-Wicki duet, and Rose and Busker English I think Rochelle-2 shoud be categorized as "starter" instrument. It is described as "a standard size student model anglo" Totani

> Steve Schulteis and I are working on book of church music for the Anglo, I can't wait! (Of course, I will have to wait. I know.) Totani

I am glad to know that you are having fun. Air control is somthing you get stuck as a novice player. Almost all the tunes in the 'Harmonic Style" are playable even on starter instruments like McNeela Wren2 and CC Rochelle once you get hold of the air control on your insturment. I do not know of any concertina sellers and traders in Germany, but Jürgen Suttner makes quality concertinas in Seigen, Deutchland. Suttner Concertinas – Hand Crafted Concertinas

I do not understand why you do not stick to your Uklele, but congratulations for getting your own concertina and welcome to the Concertina world. Gary-Coover's 'Easy Anglo 1-2-3' would be a good tutor book. I started with that. Step-by-step, you wil get used to playing with 1 row, 2rows then all 3 rows. Single melody line, Oom-Pah with chords, and more complex harmonic style. The book also includes list of chords that could be played on 30 button C/G Anglo including Wren. You will get a general idea on how capable the instrument is, and you will understand the limitation as well. Happy concertina life! Totani

Which model of McNeela insturment? Wren2? Swan? Phoenix? celtonofue.com sells parts for McNeela brand concertinas (and their generic models). The website is mostly in Japanese but you could make an inquiry in English to the shopmaster, I believe. ケルトの笛屋さん | コンサーティーナの販売 (celtnofue.com)

I believe Busker comes with the same reed ad Minstrel. (I own an AC Minstrel with Wakker bellows) The sound of Minstrel is far better than that of original Rochelle or Rochelle-2, which use the same type of reed as Jack, Jackie and Elise. So, I think sound of Busker would be good enough to go anywhere with you. Busker should not be bulky like Elise which makes it easier for you to carry around. I usually recommend Wakker Bellows upgrade which is great, but you may not wish to pay extra for that since you have your main instrument and Busker would only be your travel companion. If you do not care paying extra, you might as well consider EC Rose that comes with Wakker bellows by default and equipped with 45 buttons. Totani

Hello. I purchased my Minstrel (1st generation) with Wakker Bellows upgrade in 2018. It was my first instrument and I still enjoy playing it. If you are thinking of trade-in program offered by Concertina Connection, your choice would be either Minstrel, Clover, Clover plus or Wakker Concertina. If you can afford, I strongly recommend Clover, as there is no upgrade path from Minstrel to Clover. I believe Wim Wakker wrote sometime back in this forum that the difference between Clover and Minstrel are bellows and buttons. I chose Minstrel with Wakker bellows because I liked the look of ebonized black end, I could upgrade the bellows, and I did not care about the material of the buttons. The overall total was a little bit less than Clover. Ceili of the Button Box is a very light instrument with smooth bellows action and the Button Box used to offer trade-in program from Rochelle to Ceili. Ceili is a good instrument and you will be happy with it, but the production of Ceili has already ended and the upgrade path is closed. However, Ceili appears here at reasonable price now and then on and you may have chance to buy one. It may be an idea to explore stock of Barleycorn at your budget range, as someone else has suggested, but you would need to pay S&H plus import tax from UK to US. What is more, you cannot take advantage of trade-in program of Concertina Connection. For your information, most of my YouTube videos are recorded using Minstrel+Wakker bellows and they may give you some ideas on how Minstrel sounds. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk1Kc0IbA6-25jkHSfQbpcQ Totani

Since you cannot predict the condition of the second-hand Morse and Edgley, it may cost you to have it fine-tuned. It may be a good idea to go for a brand-new hybrids. I bought a Minstrel with Wakker bellows upgrade five years ago direcly from Concertina Connection and I am still happy about my first concertina. Minstrel ($1600) + Wakker bellow upgrade ($395) comes up to $1995 as of today. Brand new AP James would fit in your price range, too. (GBP1200) I have never heard of negative impession about APJ either. Totani

"The Entertainer" in Garry Coover style tab? You can find it in this book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732612196/

I’ve got my copy! Than you Barbara Steinger and Gary! Totani

Hello, Thanks for your interest in my review. You are lucky that Wim Wakker offers a trade-in program for upgrade with full purchase price! I have no experience with standard bellows of Minstrel, but you cannot go wrong with Wakker bellows upgrade. One thing you have to have in mind is there is no trade-in path from Minstrel to Clover (or Clover plus). If you can afford, Clover might be a better choice. If you decide to buy a Minstrel, Wakker bellows upgrade is highly recommended. My Minstrel (with Wakker bellows) has been with me nearly 5 years and still makes me happy. I have no idea of letting it go. I hope this information helps. Totani

Thanks Steve, I enjoyed playing “Croissants and Coffee Waltz” by Alan Day. I agree. this piece deserves more attention. Totani

Concertina Connection has an original “pre-owned” Rochelle in stock now for USD395. Though it is bulky, it is a good starter instrument for its price. I own a Rochelle-2. It is a descent starter instrument, but eventually you may wish to upgrade to a higher grade instrument. My main concertina is Minstrel with bellows upgrade. Totani https://www.concertinaconnection.com/pre owned.htm

I have just downloaded the sheet music. I like it though I don’t know anything about “Sea of Thieves.” A minor errata.In bar 20, the button indication the second note should be “1” instead of “2”. The same on bar 68 as well. Totani