TapTheForwardAssist

Did you see a Chemnitzer was posted here almost at the same time as you posted your request? Good timing!

Got an email-heads up from the owner (we'd gotten in touch since I was asking about his NOS 20-button German concertainas) that they've posted the first of what are expected to eventually be a number of basic concertina tutorials. For the first one they're doing 20b Anglo, and plan to later have 30b, English, and Duet content:

And if there is to be an Elise-2, will it be a smaller box with the same key array, or a same-size box but with added accidentals?

Note that shortly after you, a member in Wisconsin posted a Swan 30b Anglo for $600, if your budget can flex a bit to get something significantly nicer than you first intended: https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/23638-mcneela-swan-concertina-cg/

I'm really digging this Icelandic tune! It occurs to me that I should be looking more into Icelandic works since I favor drone-heavy instruments. What make of concertina are you playing in the Iceland clip?

Note there are a couple 30b Anglos in the "Buy and Sell" section of this forum, including an Edgley for US$2000. That's one good place to shop for an upgrade.

I'm baffled that people for 150+ years have been making concertina cases where you can grab the handle attached to the top and then the bottom falls out. It would make massively more sense to have the handles joined to the bottom portion on the sides.

Thanks for the Zoom endorsements, but I'm look less for a "digital camcorder" and more for a camera without standalone capability that I would for example plug into my phone or laptop, clamp it to a park bench, and film myself playing music. Less something I set up on a tripod, looking for a camera and mic that are basically cargo-pocket sized and somewhat better than the mic and camera on the phone. It may be that the camera on an iPhone 8 or 10 (haven't finalized my upgrade from 6S yet) is good enough for YouTube as it is, but I'd still want a mic probably for mic placement plugged into my phone or laptop. Does that help clarify the size/capability I'm looking for? I'm not a tech guy so I didn't quite know how to explain it.

I do note too that you see those sloping corners on some German (East German?) concertinas of the mid-1900s.

Just saw this on eBay, and while it's nothing fancy, I thought it looked interesting enough to post here:

Hey all, I've been doing a lot more recording myself playing, just using my phone and a "gooseneck" with a flexible body and seating clamp and phone clamp so I can position the phone right to record myself. Mainly doing lyre, ukulele, toy melodeon, but I got my beater English concertina back from a friend and working on re-learning how to play that. The video on my phone is quite decent (got a 6S put planning to upgrade soon), but the mic isn't great and also there are points where being able to put the mic other than right by the camera would be excellent. So I'm thinking I need at least a decent mic, and I'm open to hearing whether a standalone small camera is worth it, or if an iPhone 8 or 10 will be better camera-wise. I would be plugging these devices into my MacBook and/or phone, and I'd love for mic (and potential camera) to be relatively compact and durable since I'll be tossing them in a satchel and carrying them around downtown. I could do $100-200 for the mic (cheaper is better, if quality is good enough for YouTube), and if a ~$100 is notably better than an iPhone camera, open to that too. Thanks for any suggestions!

@John Wild, that's a bingo! Is she still actively making music these days?

I wanted to show a friend a clip of the versatility of the English concertina, and it's driving me crazy I can't find one specific player. Not sure if she deleted her account and videos are lost, or if I'm just not searching right. In the mid-late 2000s there was a young woman who posted several clips on YouTube of classical and jazz-y music on a notably larger than average concertina, irrc posed on a stool in a relatively upscale living room or such. She had several clips and seemed like a really solid player, and the recording quality was (for that time) notably better than average. And she posted it at a time when not so many concertina players were posting on YouTube, so had a bit of a head-start in popularity. Does that ring a bell for anyone? Is that artist's work still up?

Hello @Kathryn Wheeler, do you mind if I also share the link to your video on Reddit? We have both r/Concertina (which is just a landing-place to send folks to here) and the r/Wales subreddit that both might enjoy this!

Ah, my mistake. Valid point, and now I am curious too. Wasn't there some Czech concertina with metal ends that was posted on this sub in the past?

I believe the metal around the soundhole is a "grommet" and not part of the same substance as the end itself. But my gut reaction on the ends was that it looks like a casting rather than a coating. Again compare the PL-42 vs a celluloid-covered wood end, and you can note the difference there.

Kinda interesting creature, different from the more-common PL-42 20b Anglos I've sometimes seen on eBay. Listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rigoletto-Concertina/193876529361?hash=item2d23f110d1:g:ld8AAOSwWuNgELrl

Thanks for the nudge, I have updated my post to line-out the speculation that was later disproven by my emails with the owner of Liberty.

@Stuart-Sinclair, can you help us with a little clarity on what you're looking for? Like which system: Anglo, English, or Duet? If you're not sure, we have articles here you can read about the difference, and there are apps which emulate each on your phone or tablet for free or $1 or so by Michael Eskin if you want to try the different styles. And if you tell us what kind of music you intended to play, we can help advise on type. And lastly, roughly what kind of budget are you aiming for?

Gary, have you any thoughts about G/D players using materials written for G/D (or other fourth-apart) button accordions? In the "G/D for ITM" thread I linked here, I mentioned Tim Edey's video series on D/G melodeon for Irish music as a potentially applicable tutorial.

@MJGray I'm going to be a little contrarian and argue that one doesn't absolutely need a 30b C/G Anglo to play Irish. And going a different route opens up interesting possibilities beyond the mainstream tradition. A member here (don't recall which) had a post many years ago explaining that something like 50% of Irish session tunes can be played on a 20b C/G. If OP is wanting to get started inexpensively, there are some highly affordable used C/Gs by Stagi/Bastari floating around, and they can try that first and decide what they want to leap to next. And of the 50% of Irish session tunes that can't be played on a C/G at original pitch, the majority (those lacking accidentals) can be played on a 20b C/G by transposing (pretending one's C row is a D or whatnot) which is fine for solo play or playing with others willing to play a D tune in C. A 20b C/G is also advantageous because if OP can stretch budget to $600 or so, they may be able to get a vintage 20b C/G as their first concertina, so something way nicer than the normal cheapies and with "true" concertina reeds and sound. Another way to go: 20b G/D Anglo. It would be a different "along the rows" style compared to a 30b C/G, but it would be very intuitive to play and be able to cover most Irish tunes. And depending on OP's vocal range a G/D might be even better for shanties, plus lower pitch and less shrill on the higher buttons. Finding a used inexpensive G/D is a little trickier, but since OP is in the US, they could for $300-350 buy a 20b G/D from Liberty Bellows, either German or Italian made. Or again if they want to stretch, a vintage 20b G/D is a little harder to find but not hugely pricey. We had a thread just a few days ago about "G/D anglo for ITM" that OP can check out if that angle appeals to them:

Ah, I'm not an Anglo player but from what I see around, 30b Anglo you really can never go wrong with. And it does indeed seem that the Rochelle and the Wren are the most commonly-recommended student Anglos. I started on an Elise (the Duet equivalent of the Rochelle) and was overall pretty pleased for the price. This forum has a really really good list of reference materials, free or paid, for concertina, so definitely check those out. If you're interested in shanties, composer (and regular here) Gary Coover has quite a few books of concertina music, and you may want to check out his "Sailor Songs for Concertina" ($25 paperback or $9 on Kindle [or free Kindle app on whatever tablet or phone you have]). I was making a list of shanty resources on Reddit, focusing on the 20b Anglo, but if you're wanting to explore all Irish trad options at some point, get a 30b and you can always temporarily ignore one row and play it as a 20b. If you like shanties you may also like the "Australian bush concertina" site, which has a lot of free stuff. A lot of this music is in "tablature", numbers that say where your fingers go so you don't need to know how to learn music.

Hello Leo, just for context, what genre of music are you looking to start out playing?

Heard back within an hour from the owner at Liberty, and he stated the emails are "on the record" and fine to share here.

Okay, I decided to be bold and messaged Liberty the following through their site: