Twosheds

Agreed! I have visions of taking my Stagi sailing with me and playing on the back deck with my feet up while anchored in some quiet cove. Cheers-

Hello all: I, too, am new to the concertina. I started a few months ago with a made in china knock-off that was unplayable. I was then lucky to find a Stagi 20-button Anglo on Craigslist here in Vancouver, Canada. It's been a huge improvement- easy to play, balanced sound, a warm tone, and smaller, lighter, and buttons that work smoothly. It's not a high-end instrument but I am happy with the sound and the action. At some point, I may outgrow it but that will take a while. There's no comparison with my teacher's Jeffries concertina; the action of that is remarkably faster but my fingers are still learning the keys. I think that the buttons might benefit by adding sleeves or felt bushings to reduce the wobble or stickiness that Stagi concertinas are apparently prone to and which one of my buttons seems to suffer from. I have read that Bob Tedrow sold some modified Stagis and read about one Stagi (now sold) that had Norman levers added in place of the originals. I don't think that I would go so far myself. My teacher says "Why spend $500-700 for a beginner concertina only to upgrade a year later to something costing $2,000?" From a cost-benefit point of view, that makes sense, but I didn't know what I wanted back then or even if I would like playing concertina so having paid only $100 for my Stagi, I'm out very little. Bottom line for me: half-decent concertina = greater enjoyment and more progress in playing. When I see my Stagi sitting by itself on the table, I am motivated to pick it up and play it. Caveat: I have no experience in playing similar beginner instruments such as the Rochelle, or Wren2, although I was seriously thinking of getting one when this Stagi popped up. Best, Michael