David Bradford

I have an Irish Concertina Company "Vintage" model with a Jeffries layout. I love the instrument; it's solid and fast and sounds great. I think you could probably get either a Jeffires or a Wheatstone from them if you're having it built. They usually have a few "prêt-à-jouer" (as it were) - though in that case you'd be limited to the layouts they've made on spec.

Hello, Next week I’ll be in Doolin with a group of 7 academics. During the daytime, we'll of course be on the prowl for interesting things to do around Doolin (beyond the obvious Cliffs of Moher and the Burren). But, I’m a new-ish concertina player, so in the evenings music is the number one priority for me. I’d be particularly interested in any pointers folks here might have to sessions that might be more distinctively local than what I suspect is on offer to the typical tourist (like me, I suppose) in the main pubs. Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Evangeline, I recently upgraded from a Wren to a one-year-old ICC Vintage that was purchased directly from ICC. Sean Garvey at ICC will honor the remainder of the 5 year warranty. I’ve had it for a couple of months now and I’m extremely happy with it. There is just no comparison to the Wren, and it just seems wrong to classify them as the same instrument honestly. The Vintage buttons are so precise and the reeds speak immediately. I love the sound. I don’t have to contort my fingers to reach the first (G) row of buttons any more. When I was learning on the Wren (the only concertina I’d ever held at the time) I couldn’t understand how people could do cuts, grace notes, and rolls so quickly. Once I held the Vintage it was obvious that the Wren is very limited; it was the right choice to start on because I’d have never paid for a more expensive concertina without knowing if I would take to the instrument, but I outgrew the Wren pretty quickly. Anyway, the long and short of it is I bought a Vintage and couldn’t be happier - for whatever that’s worth. I would encourage you to correspond with or call Sean. He was very quick to respond, and he seems to have a few used instruments that are in excellent shape and that he’s gone over. They’re priced very competitively, and may well be in the price range you mentioned.

Thanks everybody for this information and the suggestions for how to limp along with my current concertina until I can get an upgrade. There does seem to be a reasonable variation in spacing (and I agree with HansQ that it would be a nice innovation on modern concertinas to have some way to adjust the handbar). My main lesson here is that I should try before I buy!

Richard, Thank you! That gives me hope that I'll be able to find a better fit with a standard intermediate-to-good instrument. David

Hi folks, I hope this is the right sub-forum to post this question. I currently have a starter Angle C/G concertina (McNeela Wren) and want to move up to a next level instrument. While it's been a great place to start, I've got a few growing pains with the Wren (e.g. it takes a lot to get the reeds speaking). My biggest one is the distance between the hand rest and the first row buttons. It's so close that I really have to contort my fingers to bend them far enough back to reach the buttons while still being in a position to press them. Cuts, rolls, and grace notes on the first row are very difficult (even allowing for my lack of skill - I've only been playing a year). I live in a "concertina desert" in the US so I can't just pop over to a shop and try several options. The closest shop to me that has several options is Homewood Music in Birmingham Alabama owned by Bob Tedrow and that's a 3.5 hour drive. Bob has been helpful with discussing his stock (as you would expect from someone as passionate about instruments and as skilled a maker as he is) - but he said something that has me worried: namely, the spacing between the hand rest and first row buttons is standard. If this really is standard, then I'm going to have to figure out some other solution... maybe I can chop off a bit of each finger? But, before I resort to surgery, I thought I'd gather a little empirical evidence if I can. For the Wren that I have, the distance between the edge of the hand rest and the center of the B3/A3 LHS button is 35 mm and the distance between the edge of the hand rest and the center of the G4/A4 LHS button is 40 mm. Is this consistent with the distancing on your Anglo concertina or other concertinas you've had? Thanks for any help you can provide! I'm hopeful there are instruments out there that will fit my hands better since I really do otherwise enjoy the concertina. Best, David Bradford

That looks like it. Thanks!

Hello folks! I recently picked up a squeezebox of some type at a local auction for $30. It needs a lot of work, but the reeds (mostly) sound and for $30 it seemed like a neat project with little down-side risk if I mess it up. My first question though is how to identify it. My initial guess is that it's either a Chemnitzer or a Bandoneon, but I'm not sure. There are no maker's marks that I can tell. That said, I have confidence that the combined wisdom of the Board can point me in the right direction. I'm attaching pictures of each side. If anybody knows of common repair pitfalls or has any resources for how to work on these specific instruments before I try to open it up, I'd also love to hear that. Thanks in advance!

Thanks! I'll give that video (and channel) a watch.

Thanks very much. That's helpful - and reassuring!

Hello folks! I'm a brand new concertina student (10 days in) and I have a question that I haven't seen addressed in the beginner book I have or by the online (prerecorded) lessons I'm taking. My question is: How are you supposed to differentiate between the same note played repeatedly? For example, in Skye Boat Song, there's a sequence of G, E, G, G, G. Should I separate the repeated Gs by holding in the button and stopping and starting the push on my bellows, or should I separate the notes by continuing to push on the bellows and alternately pressing and releasing the button? Does it even matter? I know it's a simple question, but I hate to learn bad habits from the start. Thanks!