gabury

Thank you all for your advise. Now to sift and research! Geoff

My wife Amy and I recently moved from Utah to Bonney Lake, Washington and we are having lots of fun getting to know and play with some of the musicians through the Tacoma Celtic players. As a relatively new player of the English concertina I would like to ask for advise about electronic amplification. I have been playing with others musicians who plug in. (fiddle, mandolin, bodran, whistle, guitars.) When I play with a mike I don't get much amplification on the instrument. I'm thinking there must be a way to install a pick-up and run it through a pre-amp to a portable amp that will make the instrument be heard (at-times not a good thing.) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Geoff and Amy Bury

I am playing my Wheatstone (English) with some folks in coffee houses and pubs every now and then and I get drowned out by the whistles, fiddle, bodran, guitars and mandolin. They are not plugged in but I need to be. When I have played with a mike I have to hold the instrument very close to the mike. If I hold it below the mike it doesn't pick up much of the sound and if I hold it beside the mike then it picks up only the right or left side of the concertina and only half the notes are heard. I've been puzzling about what to do. I'm thinking maybe I can attach a small pick up on each end and run it through a pre-amp and then to a small portable battery operated amp so I can turn up the volume to the level of the instruments around me. Anyone out there with suggestions? Geoff Bury Bonney Lake, WA

Hello Tug. I started playing last January and I purchased a "Jackie" from the concertinaconnection.com Wim Wakker. It's a great starter instrument and now I am stepping up to a better one. The Jackie was very reasonably priced and from what I've read is a better instrument than the Hohners and less money than a Stagi. Good luck on your adventure. Geoff

Both excellent instruments. Thanks Jim.

Hello. I bought a Jackie English concertina last December and now I'm hooked. I am pleased with the instrument given the budget price. I had a problem with a slow responding note and emailed Mr. Wim Wakker. He replied immediatly with repair instructions and I was able to solve the problem. My wife plays folk and Celtic music (fiddle), and told me I need to accompany her if I want to eat well, so now I am looking at the Guens-Wakker 48 button treble instrument or the English 48 button Morse. Any insights regarding the merits of either instrument? Any other advise? How would an older Lachenal in decent shape compare? Very happy to have found this site. Thanks, Geoff Bury Pleasant Grove, Ut