William

I have an old Wunderlich chemnitzer concertina I'm restoring. I need five replacement keys or buttons. The originals are ivory....which I doubt I'll ever find. But a reasonable facsimilie would be great. I realize that Concertina.net is primarily an anglo/english concertina site--but I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Are there any good books or internet reference sites that have chords for the left hand side of the anglo?

I OWN A NORMAN CONCERTINA PURCHASED FROM HOBGOBLIN MUSIC USA. I'VE BEEN PLEASED WITH THIS INSTRUMENT OVERALL. THE SOUND AND ACTION ARE TO MY LIKING. THIS PARTICULAR CONCERTINA IS NAMED THE "ASHDOWN" MODEL AND SELLS FOR $1475. IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME ONE TEDROW WAS SELLING FOR $1675. I KNOW ITS THE SAME BECAUSE I E-MAILED NORMAN IN ENGLAND AND HE TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE BOTH HIS "STANDARD" MODEL! HAPPY HUNTING!

I've been playing a Norman 30 button---in my opinion it's very close to the sound of several "vintage" concertinas I've heard with traditional concertina reeds---not accordian sounding. I would recommend it to anyone! I also have an old Stagi. Many people who actually hear the Stagi (that is casual listeners who themselves don't play the concertina) actually like the sound of the Stagi better. (Some describe the sound of a traditional concertina reeded instrument as a bit shrill.) I think it's because accordian reeds vibrate with more dynamics than traditional sounding concertina reeds. In any case, don't be surprised if accordan sounding concertinas aren't more pleasing to the "uninitiated." It can be a bit of a bummer when you do an A-B comparison and they like "B" better! You may want to consider a higher end Stagi---I won't tell anyone. Bill

A friend and I have been playing duets on our 30 button concertinas. I have a Norman and he has a Lachanel. Several weeks ago I had a slow to speak reed that was fixed due to the kind assistance/advice of Dave Elliot. (Reed would not speak during playing of songs at a fast clip--typical Irish music) I noticed on my friend's Lachenal, there were two reeds that "spoke" beautifully when playing "normally," that is during moderately fast playing--however, if you squeezed the bellows suddenly, from a dead stop, the reeds would choke up and no sound would come through. Neither of us are ultra fast players of Irish music and these reeds do not appear to pose a problem for him at this time. However, given my experience with my Norman, I was wondering if this is a normal variation of reed action that is of no consequence in "normal" playing of Irish music or if it would eventually present a problem as one's speed advanced. I don't want to make a mountainout of a mole hill, but I though it wouldn't hurt to put the question out to those with more experince. Thanks!

I recently purchased a Norman Conertina--I really like it--but I I've started having a problem. On row II, the G button (#10) going "in" responds well if played slowly --but if I play it quickly with some force, it chokes up----mostly no sound at all, other times the sound becomes barely audible as the concertina is near fully compressed. The leather valves at the G/A button look OK. The pad covering the air hole is fine, that is it lifts as high as the other pads and there doesn't appear to be any leakage. I've taken a dollar bill and gone through the G/A reeds--they seem clean. (They're brand new) I even got a can of compressed air and blew out the reeds. Still, after taking it apart a half dozen or more times trying to fix the darn thing, I can't. There's no air leakage, no wheezing or other extraneous sounds. All other buttons, in either direction are just fine. I'm trying to save myself the trouble of shipping it back to the store of purchase for repairs or a replacement. Any ideas? I sure would appreciate any input. Thanks, Bill

Oops--I posted on the wrong forum. Very sorry--if I could move it to general discussion I would.

Are Lachenals generally considered a 2nd class concertina? I've read more that just a few times of this or that player who owns a Lachenal to be selling that instrument because they wanted to "trade up," sometimes to an instrument that is either mid or upper mid priced. (I'm trading up from my Stagi) I believe I can now tell the difference between a newer accordian reeded intrument and a vintage concertina reeded instrument. I prefer the sound of the concertina reeded instrument. I've recently tried out a 30 button Lachenal......and I liked the sound. (Also tried out two other new concertinas--priced $1600+) The price of the Lachenal was under $1000. It had steel reeds, modern tuning and was in good shape overall. However, I still don't altogether trust by ability to assess the quality of the sound of the instrument. I'm afraid that I might not be atuned to some quality of the sound that is apparent to experienced players. Now there are those who wil rightly tell me that if it sounds good to me...that that's good enough. Afterall, if it brings me enjoyment--what's the difference?Well, I'm not disagreeing. However, I'd like to know the general impressions of concertina musicians with more experience about the general reputation of the sound, tonality etc. of these instruments. Why do some consider them a good "beginners" instrument? Why are they still relatively inexpensive even though they're concertina reeded? Thanks!

First, I want to say how much I appreciate this web site and the people who contribute...it's been a great help to me. A question.......it seems that one has to pay big bucks to get a 30 button anglo with "real" concertina reeds. My question is why doesn't everyone use them? Are concertina reeds that difficult to come by? From a business perspective, it would seem that the first guy who built a mid price concertina with concetina reeds rather than accordian reeds would take the cake. Parenthetically, I'ver read somewhere on this site that in a blind test (over the internet)....most people were not able to differeniate between accordian and true concertina reeds. Thanks.... Bill

I live in a small town, light years away from a shop that sells concertinas. I realize that what is "best" is likely to be highly subjectve......but is there any general consensus which 30 button anglo is the best "all arounder?" I've been looking at Ashdowns and the Button Box Celion model (spelling?) the latter was described as "growly" in a review...... so I'm a little hesitant. I 'd be grateful for some opinions. Thanks Bill

Has anyone played an Ashdown Aglo? What do you think of the action, the tone and general integrity of the instrument? I would appreciate any ideas/feedback!

The price of a new Triskel at Lark of the Morning Music Store is $800 not $200. Bill

Has anyone had any experience or have any opinoin about this instrument? I live in a small town and do not have ready access to a music store that sells concertinas. Hoping to do some word of mouth research......... Thanks!