seanc

Selling wheatstone model 22 sn 31505 @1927. exc player in great condition golden era of Wheatstone. asking $3500. would consider trade for a 57+ crane in mass. Prefer face to face if possible.

To me.it’s like fret noise. The squeak you hear on a guitar. It is just character. And part of the package. I would not get hung up on it. But, if it really bothers you. there are things you can do, as Theo has mentioned. I think that click, actually ADDS, to the sound and feel and in certain music can add a percussive component.

I have not had any experience with the busker. but, I think you’d be nuts to get a 36 key instrument. I would go for a 48 key. For my money, I’d go with a Lachenal or a Wheatstone. Or even a different hybrid. But, thinking in terms of functionality and resale. I would only look at 48s. As a potential buyer.. I see a 36b in the same way I’d see a 9 fret or 5 string guitar.

If it’s Amazon… easy enough to buy, try and return.

Reading his shipping comment as an unbiased reader. I see nothing negative about the maker here. Quite the opposite. As a person that has experienced catastrophic shipping issues. Having somebody that helps, or even resolves is huge.

As a person that has worked in music stores in the past. Let's just say that woking retail can really suck, generally. But, a music store specifically is another animal. Because, what it really amounts to, is it is a toy store. You might take that any way you like. But, for @ 99% of the customers. What is sold there is NOT an essential. It is Not the tools used to pay the bills. While some may make a bit here and there playing, it is not their main source of income. The Pros (the people that make their primary earning from playing). by and large, are given instruments to market their products by the mfrs. And, only rarely do you get a pro level person (or more commonly their "people") in a store. And buying products is generally limited to incidentals that were lost on the last tour stop. So, you are generally (80%) dealing with people that don't know anything about what they are looking at or for. Who generally, don't care that much. And see no value to the person they are talking to, or the store that has been there 50+ years, other than getting the information they need to put the right item into their Amazon cart. Then come back a month later to tell you that what you told them to buy was not right. and Want YOU to take back the item they bought elsewhere based on YOUR reccomendation. the 15% or so, that are reasonable players and buyers, that you can actually interact with can be nice to deal with. It depends on the pay structure. But in a down economy.. trying to make anything other than the base pay (commission) in a non essential product store is a killer. But, my experience was way pre covid. Most local music stores made a large % of they money by giving lessons. I suspect that Covid drove most of these store out of the lessons business and into being an online shops Just to survive. Those that could survive and possibly even thrive (niche and specialties like BB) maybe realized it was a heck of a lot cheaper to cut some staff, NOT play for high rent on a street level shop in the "nice" part of town. And rent a small warehouse space with no sign above and a computer with internet access and a shipping app. could be as, if not more profitable.

Devon, Where are you located?

Jacokotze, IMO.. I would NOT replate. As is it looks period correct, normal wear and tear. and perfectly acceptable for a potential buyer. With plating, you run into the possibility that it comes out worse than it went in. That could mean way too shiny. The color could just be off enough from orig to be "wrong" or unappealing. Or, potentially, for purists "why would they do THAT?' from a potential buyer. if you intend to keep it and play it. Then do what makes YOU happiest. If you are aiming to sell, I'd leave plating and patina as is.

They appear to both be Lachenal 48 button english concertinas. The first one (to me) appears to be a lower grade. The second is (what I would judge) a mid grade. Depending on where you are. It would be best to get these into the hands of a repair person to go over them and give you an idea of condition, quality, repairs needed and a ball park on value. If you are in the UK youhave a lot more options than elsewhere. Chris Algar and Theo Gibbs seem to be the accepted "go to" people in the UK. It is impossible to put a $$ on something without knowing condition and playability.

kinda neat. But,for better or worse it's still just a guitar.. Given the pattern layout of the icons, it looks like changing tunings is not practical, unless you can change the "icons" on the fretboard. Watching a few videos, I have not seen an example of being able to get a bass line plus melody (like a keyboard). or being able to play complex chords plus a melody. And I think going "down" the neck to get higher pitches would drive me insane. I have been playing around with this a bit. And it's nice that it has a lot of range, is a different approach, and it does not sound like a guitar.

In a lot of ways, I think it's a toss up as far as a trade, as is. I think the first question is, Do you intend to play it? or just flip it? if you are going to play it, I would suggest putting the money in and keeping yours. If your goal is to just sell it as quickly as possible... As far as we know, you can not give an accurate assessment (or should I better say, a professional diagnosis) of exactly what needs to be fixed. If you don't want to deal with getting yours to a competent repair person, pay them to assess, and then pay them to fix. Which is likely to take quite a bit of time, and possibly quite a lot of funds. And only then after sinking the money in will you get a reaonable estimate for value. Then having a 100% up and running instrument will be an easier quicker sale. Selling yours as is, fixer upper, basket case, may or may not get you more than the trade version. But, a close to 100% instrument is likely going to be a quiker sell.

You have something that could be worth a lot.. or nothing. I think your best bet is to try to find a competent repair person and get a diagnosis. You could find that fully restored it is potentially worth $x. But paying for those repairs will cost 2x $x. At which point posting it as a best offer, fix it yourself restoration project may be your best bet to sell it without putting in a lot of money. And a repair person should be able to give you a reasonable assessment of current value, and possible options. even if you go the basket case route and don’t find a repair person to assess. potential buyers will still want to know if all notes work. Is it in 440 pitch. Are the bellows reasonably tight. Cracks, holes, how many missing screws etc.

David, which do you use most? or how do you use them? eg. Do you use the each note sampled specifically for melody, and the perfect stretched for chords?

It’s always a catch 22. You want all of the notes to be in tune and the same volume. But that can make it sound sterile and wonky. On the flip side, sampling every note can take up a lot of memory. if you are sampling and the stretching the notes, then you want everything to be in tune. If you sample all of the notes, you want to capture those notes being off, as it can really help to capture the real sound and feel.

OMG!! I'd SO steal that and make it into a concertina case! Biohazard would be just as cool.. Er...hmm... I mean.. Ya. Nobody would ever steal THAT!