Parker135

Is this single note melody or are chords annotated as well?

My Edgley Heritage Anglo weighs 1.48 Kg, which seems to be pretty heavy for an Anglo. It has a seven-fold bellows, ebony ends, and metal fretwork. My first traditional concertina after moving up from a Clover. Plays beautifully. Parker

I've used Transcibe! for several years, based on a recommendation from a former instructor. It cost $35 or so when I signed up, worth every penny. I've used Audacity for recording and editing, something it does really well. However, I find the Transcribe! user interface to be much less cumbersome for looping sections of tunes and changing speed while maintaining pitch. Of course we all get used to the tools at hand. For the one time cost, I've installed it on three or four different PC-based platforms. It's also available for Apple.

Concertina sold and shipped today; donation made to the site. Thank you for this great service! Parker

Thank you! I've enjoyed every minute with it and could continue a long time. The Edgley popped up not too far away, so I took the leap.

I recently purchased an Edgley Heritage, so it's time to let the Clover go. I bought it new in May 2022 after starting with their Rochelle 2. It's served me really well since then. It's in perfect condition with just a little finish wear on the bottom of the bellows from resting on my left knee while playing. Details: Custom model (select tone woods, French polish finish, Wakker bellows) Wheatstone layout Italian made accordion reeds traditional riveted sheet brass action traditional metal capped buttons bushed key holes and action 6-fold "Wakker" bellows English walnut ends Engelmann spruce soundboards European quarter cut Maple reed pans French polished ends Price $2500 plus shipping in original box. (new price currently $3250 with lead time 6-7 weeks)

I just checked it out, and it looks like a great time! Sadly it's a bit too far for me, but I'm happy to know about it nevertheless.

I guess Frank hasn't had time to comment on selling the concertina, but I'm proud to say I'm the new owner. I feel really fortunate to be the next owner to care for it. I hope I do it justice.

Hi Ken, That would be very helpful. My instructor, and his instructor, have both participated in Noel HIll's workshops in the Cincinnati area. Noel transitioned to an online workshop during the pandemic, and last year, at least, he was continuing that way. I'm hoping he'll return for an in-person workshop eventually. Thank you, Parker

I'm looking for the concertina equivalent of the Midwest Banjo Camp. Are there any workshops or multi-day events anticipated for 2024 that might be within a day's drive of central Ohio? The Northeast Squeeze-In is a bit far for me. My particular interest is Irish traditional music on the Anglo.

Hi Geoff. I'm on the list for a Kensington, hoping for one by spring.

Why are you showing only the end frame?

Just found it. Sorry, and thank you! I guess I was assuming some kind of notification from the site or maybe auto-forwarding to my email address. I'm not all that up-to-speed on how the site works.

Two messages sent. Is this still for sale?

Wow. If only we could see into the future! I didn't know how much I would enjoy the concertina and only recently have begun considering an upgrade from my Clover. Thanks for your info about the wait times. I won't bother emailing them.

Looking more at their website, I see an expected delivery time of 3 to 4 years for a new concertina. Maybe that's why we don't see or hear of them that often! At my age, I don't think I want to wait that long.

Frosty, how would you describe the dynamic range? If you don't necessarily want to be the loudest in a session, can you throttle back a little and still have all the playing qualities you describe? I really appreciate your comments, and I'm happy you're happy with your A4!

I think I may have a chance to compare a Wakker and a Carroll this fall. Maybe I can post something, which will be from the viewpoint of someone with just under two year's experience with the concertina. Still hoping to hear from others!

I'd love to hear from folks who own or have played Wakker Anglo concertinas, and in particular, the A4 model which is aimed at Irish playing. Any comparisons to other traditional Anglo concertinas would be interesting (Carroll, Suttner, Kensington, Edgley, etc.) I've tried posting this on social media, and I'm getting the idea that maybe there just aren't that many Wakker Anglos out there.

And now, an update, just because. Yesterday, I received my custom Clover done up in English walnut, and it's a beauty. I was able to trade the R2 in for a full refund toward the purchase price, which really worked to my advantage in spreading out the investment. I enjoyed the R2 and could have continued with it for a long time, but I was eager to trade up after getting a chance to try a Wakker concertina. Compared to the Rochelle 2, the Clover is so much more responsive. The bellows are less stiff, right out of the box, and the nicely capped buttons are easier on the fingers. The tone is wonderful. Air control is easier as well. Some folks suggested I go straight for the Clover, but the R2 proved to be the perfect stepping stone for me. Concertina Connection was great all along the way.

All very helpful replies. Good point about the Clover not being irreplaceable, but it will be the most expensive instrument I own so it's giving me a little pause. I guess if I had a Rochelle already, I'd probably take it on our trips, but I'm coming to the conclusion that the Clover will be probably fine and it's not worth the expense of buying a lesser quality instrument. Were I canoeing, I'd be looking for a Rochelle. I've done a fair bit of paddling, and I know how quickly one can transition from canoeist to swimmer.

How many have a second-tier concertina that they take along to places where their "good" concertina (whatever that may be) would be a worry? We travel quite a bit with a small (20 ft) travel trailer, and I've usually taken along a banjo, mandolin, or once upon a time, mountain dulcimer, most often one that I wouldn't worry too much about if it something minor happened to it. Now that I've taken up concertina, I'm wondering whether to pack my Clover along, or pick up a used Rochelle. The nice thing about the concertina is that it's easy to play in a small space with sufficient care not to bang it on something, and they pack nicely into a protective case. I'm not too concerned about excess heat; if it's too hot for a musical instrument, we probably won't be there anyway. I know a lot of folks have their "session" instrument, and one that seldom leaves the house. Is this common in concertinas as well?

LJ, this is exactly what I'm interested in. I will check it out in the few days. Thank you!

I've definitely had that happen, playing mandolin in a local session. I've picked up tunes there that I play along with, but I certainly wouldn't say I really know the tune outside the session.

To circle back to my original question, I'm not not getting the impression from the folks here that if the intention is to play by ear, that one retains the tune in memory better if learned by ear vs learned off notation. I do understand the importance of listening enough to be able to lilt or hum the tune before picking up an instrument, but no-one seems to be saying that I'm doing myself a disservice by using notation when it helps to learn the tune.