DickT

A Working Jeweller would probably do the job for you.

At least it will not roll off a table!

Again, I could not resist this one: Anglo baffles me too, that's why I play EC.

Paul, I agree with you on lazy EC playing. It is partly due to button articulation and partly poor bellows control. My tendency of old was to pull to bellows full then squeeze to empty which lead to unphrased and weak bellows reversals that were very audible. I now try to reverse at the end of phrases and to fan the bellows, even if I have used linear movement up to that point. The fanning softens the change and masks the reversal. It's not yet perfect as I am battling 35yrs of bad practice. Two of our professional Scottish EC players, Wendy Stewart and Frances Wilkins, both seem to use very short bellows strokes with frequent reversals. Button articulation also helps put the bounce into the music; Alistair Anderson advises playing as if the buttons were red hot, quickly on and quickly off. This gives very crisp notes, which can sometimes be too much, but that can be easily modified as required. Re the bellows waggle; can you get it crisp? I have tried this technique but it just sounds mushy. Of late I have been trying 2 and 3 finger hits as Simon Thoumire advocates. This is OK at slow speed but breaks down at performance speed when I revert to repeated single finger strokes that are not even. Once again, long time poor technique is holding me back. Dick.

The consensus on here might well be neither. You already know that you like anglo concertina so you do not need a cheap one to see if it suits you. The money spent on either of these could go towards a better instrument that will play better, sound better and last longer, both in terms of durability and how long you will enjoy playing it before needing an upgrade. I am an English system player and have no direct experience of either of these tinas but I did have a CC Elise to try out a Duet system. Duet was not for me so it was sold on this site. The Elise was very basic in bellows and action but the tone was nicer than I was expecting. As a try-out instrument it was a low cost option but I think that its limitations would very soon have frustrated me and the same could well go for you. If you can afford it go for a higher grade tina that will last you a long time, it will be cheaper in the long run. In addition, if you do give up, a good instrument will hold its value well, should you wish to sell.. Dick.

Hi Clive, I have had aids for a few years now to correct high end loss due to exposure to industrial noise. The first ones were not very good for playing music (they were horrible!) so they went back and I upgraded to a Widex model. These are not perfect in general social situations (so have not helped for conversation) but work very well for music by putting in much of the detail that I was missing. They are still a bit too toppy so will need some more adjustment. With the these aids I can now again get a mix that is acceptable to others whereas before I was putting in too much top to compensate for my loss. Listening to music there is no distortion of any kind and no feedback. I took a concertina to the appointment when I got the new aids to make sure that they were suitable. It took a few visits to the audiologist to tweek the prescription and it still needs some work but it is acceptable. I will go back when there is no chance of getting Covid. Do your aids cause problems with other instruments and with recorded music? I got mine from Specsavers and the local service has been very good but the audiology department is an in-store franchise so support may well vary. To get affordable high-end aids I took a discontinued model that was no longer being marketed. As to what is acceptable, distortion and feedback are not noises that you have just been "missing for a while". There are aids that will work for musicians and top-end ones should do the job with correct adjustment. It took a bit of persistence to get the right units but as I was paying a lot of money I was not going to be fobbed off. Dick.

I second Wolf's endorsement.

Maarten, As a professional player in another field you will know that a cheap instrument will hold you back. A good vintage concertina will be much better to play; it will sound better and will feel better. A vintage concertina bought from a good source at a fair price will hold its value so your risk of financial loss would be a lot less should you not keep it up. My advice is always to spend as much as you can afford and avoid cheap learners instruments at all costs. Do not be frightened of old concertinas, mine are 97 and 120 years old; how old are Strads?

429 is perhaps the last three numbers of his full service number, it was (is still?) common to use only the last three digits. I was Trickey 267.

In Aberdeen (Scotland) they are known as Scaffies, which is derived from scavenger, the old name for refuse collectors. It is not gender specific although gender is implied by the make up of the workforce. Had that term been in use these songs might never have been written. Dick.

Couldn't resist this. Is that soft play indoors or on the swings outside? Max age 5yrs?

Hi Diss, I have avoided single note triplets for decades but now have come to the realisation that I just have to master them. For the low F# I use rmr as you do but do not have problems with the rest getting in the way. I practise alternating fingers at a slow speed but the pattern breaks down as I speed up and I frequently go back to trying to use a single finger which leads to a loss of rhythm. Pre-planning is also essential to maintain phrasing but it is another thing that goes as the speed rises. As an aside, last year I was introducing a concert pianist to EC and mentioned the need to use alternating fingers; she proceeded to play single finger strokes faster than would ever normally be required. Dick.

The Morse is nice but the Lachenal is brighter and more open.

Nice to hear an English playing Irish; it does not have to be an anglo. Say hello to Roger from me. As a very young lad, showing much talent, he played for our Rapper side in Yeovil back in the late sixties in the days when I bought a 38 key Jeffries for £25 and sold it to someone in Chingford Morris fo £50. Had I but known! Dick (Richard) Trickey.

Terry, I have recently used FedEx, the Post Office and Hermes in UK and to Germany . No problems with any of these although the PO is the most expensive by far. Insurance is always a problem with the PO limit being £2500 and some doubt whether they would honour a claim for an antique instrument. Theo Gibb says that he uses a major parcel carrier (I cannot remember which) and has not had a loss over many years. FedEx and Hermes have good online facilities for booking and label printing and have local drop-off points in most towns and a lot of villages. Dick.

In the past I have used a craft knife to connect the holes to make a slot for infinitely variable adjustment.

Here are the other two files PS All recordings were flat with no EQ. Stereo NT5.mp3 Stereo M2.mp3

Following a query about concertina mics posted last Summer I offered to do some tests and post the results. I have finally got around to sorting out and compressing the audio that I made last December. The tracks were simultaneously recorded playing an Edeophone into four mic arrays :- Single SM57; single Rode M2; stereo Rode M2 and stereo Rode NT5. The tune was recorded 3 times in one take, first was close miked, next at about 1.5 feet and finally about 3 feet. The gain was set the same for each array as was the output volume. I did not make any effort to stand rigidly still but neither did I move around a great deal. The recording was direct into Cubase with no PA so they are not a live stage feedback test. However, the better the volume from a mic or array in a given situation the less likelihood of feedback when live. When I have time I will do live tests with the same setup. Due to upload limits there are only two files with this post, the other two will follow. Dick. M2.mp3 Concertina SM57.mp3

When I were a lad in the 60s dots/word were streng verboten and our venues were lit by the warm, gentle glow of candles. Now it seems nearly universal that printed material and electronic devices are used and the venues glow with a blue tinge. My preference is to learn from dots (I have a rotten ear) but only perform in public from memory. I do not think it is possible to give a proper rendition, especially of a song, if your nose is stuck to a hard copy of some sort. Expression, phrasing and entertainment value are lost. Unfortunately I have upset some performers at our local session by asking them to actually learn some songs by heart. One answer was " I am too busy to learn stuff ". To my mind not bothering to learn material is disrespectful of your audience, and that applies even in a session, and is just self-indulgent. I could go on but that too would be self-indulgent. However, the worst that I saw was a lass singing to iphone backing including a long instrumental break. Back to the OP. Unfortunately, yes, yes and it depends on the session.

I would second Jack Hayward. Their rates seem competitive and a recent claim for shattered ends on a dropped concertina was handled with speed and no quibble. We have multi instrument, PA and 3rd party liability with them for a very good premium.

I have sold two concertinas this year through this site and it went well each time.

Christoph, Unfortunately it was sold some time ago. I Hope you find one elswhere. Dick.

He said trad reeds and bellows. That is despite what looks like a printed set of bellows in the article. Coming soon, perhaps. Dick.

That sounds very good. So..... what would it cost as a production-run instrument? If it comes out at a reasonable price it would be a very good starter instrument and would make the concertina much more accessible. I don't doubt that this method could be used for any type of concertina and could revolutionise the instrument by allowing easy experimentation with many variables. Dick.

With his wealth I would have expected a better tina.