Oberon

The accordion reed plates are brass and aluminum respectively. I've seen some photos showing them in situ. It does sound quite different and if they're the same level/brand of reed, it's surprising. Perhaps it being a larger reed plate than a concertina reed has some kind of impact.

This is my typical resting concertina face. If I attempt to consciously change my face while playing it all just falls apart. Funny that.

Hello! I have for sale a Morse Concertina, C/G with Jeffries layout built in 2016 (I believe) for sale. I'll upload more photos soon, as well as a video. Id like $2100 usd, plus shipping. It's in very good condition, a couple small marks but nothing major, plays brilliantly fast and sounds great. I only just got this (and paid more) a month ago but needs must. I wish I could afford to keep it, it's a fantastic player. Best hybrid I've played to date! I'm in western Massachusetts if youre interested in a local transaction but I'm happy to ship anywhere.

Man, that's a deeply unfortunate and terribly common tale these days. Most mom and pop music stores have disappeared here in America too, and the only choice left standing tends to be Guitar Center, which is a miserable place. I was really terribly saddened when Button Box closed here in Massachusetts. I'd been wanting to visit the place for a long time, but I lived 3 hours away until 2020 when I moved within an hours drive of the Button Box. But by then, covid had struck, they were closed to the public and by appointment only, and things were hard. Ultimately they closed and I never even got a chance to visit the place. I was so excited to be living so 'close' finally, only for that elation to be snatched away. The Button Box is irreplaceable. There's nothing quite like that place in America anymore, let alone in the North East. There are some things I absolutely love about online shopping, but the power to move cheaper instruments on the internet, the lack of faith folks have in mechanical service from technicians, and the poor perception of value consumers have been programmed to have has ultimately made the internet the undoing of small musical instrument businesses. Not to mention that income plays a massive role in this and inflation and cost of living has risen dramatically. I hope that more music stores open again, but right now it's looking grim. I was a bicycle mechanic for small bike shops for over a decade and its the same thing in that industry as well, exactly the same.

I'd echo Simon here and suggest it's a Stagi English Concertina. It also looks like it was left in a window for far too long, or a heat source, or someone sanded one end of it (though I think this is a light/window issue) as there's some massive discoloration on one end of the instrument. The bellows too seem to be discolored. Id reckon UV exposure is the culprit, especially if it was in a music shop window for a while.

All set, found a Kensington and it's incredible. Thanks folks!

Yeah I read it as well, but I don't trust trinity college with much. You can see the internals in the fretwork and it looks exactly the same as the phoenix from McNeela, I'm fairly sure that it's going to just be the same instrument. The only way this would be proven one way or another is if someone contacts Saga Music and asks for a photo of the reeds. The only manufacturer of traditional concertina reeds for order, apart from makers themselves, seems to be Harmonikas, who are now making clamped concertina reeds and Dix concertina reeds. It's precise work and expensive work, indeed. Someone may order one of these Concertinas from Amazon or Sagas dealers, but I wouldn't jump on the buzz words for that money unless they provide a photo of the reeds for sure.

I can't seem to find it on Amazon, but I did find that they 'make' a higher price model and it has the same model name as the one you indicated. It's absolutely a Chinese concertina, the same company and production as the McNeela Phoenix or Hobgoblin's Sherwood line. They very likely have accordion reeds waxed to the reed pan. Here's a link; https://www.sagamusic.com/shop/folk-instruments/trinity-college-concertinas-bodhrans/trinity-college-ap-3530a-anglo-style-concertina-30-button-satin-black/ Do you happen to have a link to the one you're talking about? I can't imagine for that price it would have 'traditional' reeds but you never know

I'm definitely open to other suggestions as well, so long as it has a Jeffries layout. It may be that the used market is rather dry on that front lately though. I'm happy to hear ideas though! Im contemplate the ready-made Irish concertina company's vintage or Eirú as well, but I don't see much said about them beyond specs. The Vintage looks like it has continuous folds in the bellows as opposed to individually cut or hinged folds, which seems unusual for the price. Anyway, open to ideas, but mostly keen on a Kensington if it works out. If all else fails, I'll have to stick with what I have for some time.

Just to augment my other post where I was looking to trade, I’d be interested in purchasing a used C/G Kensington or something else of contemporary make with concertina reeds and a *Jeffries layout* (or modified in the context of Kensington), but within that price point. If it wasn’t for a more pressing time frame and the fact I don't have another back up concertina, I’d order direct, but needs must. I’m in Massachusetts in the US and would prefer a domestic transaction, but it’s not a hard rule. Thanks!

You should send these to @Bob Tedrow I reckon he'll be keen on these for sure

DickT, as I mentioned in the comment before yours, if you carefully look at the last photo, there is a bushing board on the buttons. It seems the screws were removed for some reason and the bushing board is just held in place by the buttons and ends covering the buttons

I've got a lovely Castagnari Roma 3v in B/C with Antonelli reeds in great shape and a very nice Morse Ceili C/G in jeffries that id trade for a Kensington C/G, Edgley Heritage or Suttner, or comparable concertina with Jeffries layout. I'm not in any kind of rush and figure this ad may be up here for a bit. I'm enjoying my Ceili and Roma, but if someone happened to be interested in trading for them, I might be keen. If I'm ever motivated to sell them, I'll amend the ad, but for now and the foreseeable future I'll be offering the two for trade.

You can see the bushing board in the last photo, on the action itself, It just isn't affixed to the end plates This definitely looks like a wheatstone Linota.

Just to comment on two brands mentioned: I really enjoyed my AC Norman C/G. It was a loud, responsive instrument and had a very nice timbre not wholly unlike traditional concertina reeds. Currently I play a Morse C/G and love it. A little bit more responsive, lightweight which has a surprisingly positive impact on my ornamentation and is still fairly loud but not imbalanced in volume.

Bob Snope told me he will temporarily be closing up at the end of May (I think) as he will be moving south. It may take a little while he finds a appropriate home and work environment, but from what it sounded like he'll be back up and running once the living situation is sorted. But yes, he will be pausing work for some period of time

He's not in the UK, but Wim Wakker sells appropriate spares and he will dialogue with you about what you need if you want to confirm anything. You can find the spares here: https://www.concertinaconnection.com/spares.htm He's always been incredibly helpful when I've ordered spares, and the costs are reasonable. Also, Sandylaneman in Ireland offers various spares. I've contacted him directly before and he was able to provide valves I needed but did not have listed on eBay at the time. You can find his profile on this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115534703391?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=pG7iC6oCQBy&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3UxLqwikRkK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thank you Theo and Łukasz, I appreciate the feedback! The numbering system is sensible, I'll just have to go through each of the reeds currently in my concertina and measure the reed plates as well, as I suspect that one companies Super Dural middle C reed may be different from a Tipo A Mano from another company. I'll start digging through Carini and see if I can sort this out Harmonikas does seem to produce some pretty great reeds, and they actually put information on their site regarding their products which is refreshing next to companies like Binci. I'm looking to upgrade my Ceili and Bob Snope told me they used Antonelli/Voci Armoniche for their TAM reeds, but I could not get dimensions or data on them beyond that. The Button Box Repair Shop will be closing in May (I think) for some time as Bob moves down south to relocate, and I was hoping to get this repair in before then (I live only an hour away), though with the wait times and order fulfillment speeds these reed companies seem to have, that'll probably be unlikely. I did ask Bob if he still had Ceili TAM sets in stock still but he does not, so I've got some leg work to do.

This subject has probably been beaten to death, but I haven't found exactly the answer I'm looking for yet so here it is: If you're not a maker or dealer, how difficult is it to aquire a single set of say, Binci professional or Voci Armoniche A Mano reeds? I know sizing of reeds is different for every company and every line, but barring that particular issue, has anyone had much success in just ordering the 30 reedplates you'd need for a C/G just once? I'm considering ordering a set but I'm not sure how things go on that end. Many a tale has been told about various Italian reed makers being massively delayed in orders or non communicative entirely, and my attempts to reach out to Binci went nowhere. Is Harmonikas better to deal with in that respect? I'd love to hear your feedback! Thanks!

That'd be a smart idea, I reckon. I think they're only 1.5 hours away from each other. It'd be another story if fferrel lived in Lubec or Machias. Maine is a pretty big state, but 1.5 hours is nothin! Worth swinging by to try it for sure!

Updated description, title and amount. Willing to go up to $2200 / £1830 / €2075 Including shipping for the right box.

Willing to go up to $1900 for a Jefferies layout

Updated the above and still looking!

That's not the same concertina. Malcolm's had 38 buttons, this eBay one has 26 buttons.

I'm looking for a used Clover or Edgley or comparable box with screwed on reeds (if Hybrid), or any concertina with 30b and Jeffries layout. Willing to go as high as $2200 or £1830 (including shipping). Must be Jeffries layout. Thank you!