Paul Hurst

Sounds like an option, hope it all comes together for you.

Perhaps worth chatting with Alex above? Yes, the 48b Aeolas are great for speed, but lovely as it is there is no way I would keep mine in preference to the Crane, or my Anglos. Of course, I play mainly English and French traditional music at a slower pace than an Irish session at full steam so YMMV, horses for courses, etc. Good luck with your search.

Both, Alex, I love that, like my English, the keys are laid out in a logical pattern - even better with each end being self-contained. 51 keys is enough for me to have an octave overlap, allowing for me to play silly beggars in some tunes with exactly the same notes each side - and playing an octave apart is easy, just flip the fingering pattern. I lucked into this instrument by accident after flooding all the places I could think of with requests for a top-end Crane and expected to have a long wait until a suitable Aeola or Edeophone came up. Instead, I was contacted by someone who decided to sell me his one, as he had a new, smaller one coming - https://crane.concertina.org/details.php?indexnum=40 Playing it out at the moment with two Anglo players, busking with a set of carols to raise money for charity and will start working it into sessions and gigs gradually next year. Had for about a year, but work got in the way. For me, 51 keys turned out to be ideal, so a 55 would have be good, but a 48 somewhat restrictive. I had a huge one back in the 80's for a bit, wouldn't go down that path again - too heavy and bulky. A friend who is a brilliant Anglo player, having tried my Crane said if he had his time again that is what he would buy, and stick with it. I agree. Sorry for being a bit slow, I've just realised that I have my Crane due to you making John his new one - cheers!

It may depend on what music you want to play. I prefer an Anglo for dance music, the English (48) for accompanying a quiet singer and for portability and speed in sessions . Currently learning a Crane duet (51) which I love, and intend to play whenever possible. By far my favourite of the three.

Is anyone else thinking along the lines of pitchforks, burning torches, bundles of firewood and a stake? Just a personal reaction.

Identical to my 1922 one - a lovely little instrument. Great sound and very portable.

Thanks for the heads-up, hope it goes to a good home.

I have a Hohner four stop in D which is now available (as well as older Hohners in C and G). You don't give a location? I'm based in the UK (Kent). Let me know if you are interested and I'll work out a price.

Sell it, and you may well end up regretting it. Keep it, and you have the potential to grow into the instrument. Progress often comes in a series of steps rather that incrementally, just 'K.B.O,' (Keep Buggering On!).

Re the number of buttons - I was looking for a versatile instrument that I can explore grow into over time, so started off looking for a 48 by preference, with a suitable quality 55 as an option due to the limited availability of decent Cranes. Having ended up with a 51 (Little John's, actually), I'm well pleased - not sure if I have the reach to cope with any more, and can avoid feelings of 'if only' at a later date.

Deleted post - redundant info.

A saying about sailors, I believe - in port, it's all wine women and song, at sea, rum, bum and concertinas.

1985 51 button (55 note) Crane system duet = "85 / 092"

Thanks to everyone for your offers and advice, I've bought a 51b Dipper that has met or exceeded all my requirements. Thanks also to Chris at Barleycorn for his expert advice regarding establishing a fair value, was a great help.

Many thanks for your advice, Peter. The Wheatstone is still on approval, I realised very quickly that I wanted to take up the duet again, but with a higher quality instrument. I've been spoiled by my other boxes apparently. Yes, Chris offered to give me a full px value against another instrument later on - we both though that it could be a long time before something suitable came up. This has not proven to be the case, though, I've heard from two people on this site, as well as a couple from the Facebook group and there are two serious contenders, one as a final purchase, and another as a 'Plan B' to be getting along with if necessary. Hope to have things sorted within a couple of weeks. The Crane I had long ago was huge, forgotten how many buttons, bur the smaller size and weight appealed a lot more this time, hence the range chosen - included 55b ones to widen the choice available, but agree about 48b being a Goldilocks size, for me, anyway. Paul