Geraghty

Ah, thank you. I did a forum search before posting but that thread did not come up in the results.

I was on the order list for a Duckling concertina from Flying Ducks. I received a message this morning from the executor of his estate. Sadly, Paul died this past May. That's all the information I have, but I wanted to let you all know. His email is being forwarded to the executor, so if you had a deposit in for anything and need to settle any transactions you can connect through that.

This was posted for sale last year and was taken down due to a pending potential trade, but the trade fell through and I never relisted it. For sale in Oregon USA. I purchased this mini concertina from Chris Algar of Barleycorn Concertinas in February 2021. It was made by David Leggett in England, a player and silversmith who made a few small concertinas before his passing. This one is about 4 inches across the ends. It has 16 buttons and contains the complete G row for a normal C/G Anglo plus half the C row and an F/C# button on the right hand side which enables playing in D. Based on the labels I believe it was made in 2009. It comes with a custom hard case. Chris Algar's description is as follows: "It is unique - there is no other one made with this configuration in the World. It is a cut down C/G 20 key with the whole G row and bits of the C row+ an accidental. Like all miniatures its weakness is the size of the bellows which make it quite hard to play anything other than single note tunes as there is so little air that holding notes is hard. You can just about play a tune with an odd chord but the bellows wobble a bit and you have to develop a technique. Having said that - I just sold a genuine Wheatstone miniature and that was smaller - but way higher in pitch and you could only just manage a single note tune. This is way, way more useful. It was made by an amateur concertina maker who was a skilled silversmith so it is quite a decent instrument." It was worked on by Greg Jowaisas in July 2022. He repaired all identifiable mini-leaks in the bellows, replaced some valves, replaced four of the original reeds, and tuned the instrument. Leggett was not a professional concertina maker, though his work is well regarded by those who I have talked to about him. This tiny concertina was surely a challenge to make. After his work on it, Greg stated "I believe [David] selected Lachenal reed frames to match the available space in this smaller concertina. The cramped quarters made it necessary to select shorter frames from higher pitched reeds. Then he made (poorly in a number of cases) thicker tongues that would sound a lower pitch than what was originally in the frames. A clever reed maker could, through trial and error, come up with a shorter reed that would sound the lower pitch and still react and respond as a good concertina reed." Greg replaced and reset four of the reeds from his supply of parts that would fit the smaller space available. His post-work summary stated: "Please understand that even with my careful work this instrument has a number of built in limitations. One is not going to confuse it with even a better Lachenal semi-miniature instrument, but... I believe where we presently stand with the bellows patched, the best of Leggett's reeds properly set, and his 4 worst responding ones replaced, is an instrument that is very playable and only in need of fine tuning." We did go ahead with the fine tuning. The final comment before completing the transaction was "I spent some extra time making sure everything was working as well as I could make it (given the instrument and its limitations). I'm confident you will notice a marked difference particularly in the air supply and to a degree in the response." If you have particularly large hands you may have difficulty with the strap size, but they could be changed out for larger ones. Please note that one of the handstrap bolt nuts needs replacing as the nut is stripped. Greg discovered this and taped it in place for the repair work. I haven't gotten around to sourcing a replacement yet since the tape is working well. It's shown in one of the photos. Is this mini comparable with those from high end makers like Dipper? Of course not, not even close. Is it capable of keeping up in a session? Likely, depending on your skill and whether your playing style requires a lot of air or not. The reed response time is very good for most reeds and slightly slower for some of the left hand ones. Playing without chords and/or playing reasonably fast to conserve air is your best bet. Is it fun, unique, and a conversation piece? Absolutely. Barleycorn had never seen another one like it. I am asking $3,750 plus insured shipping from Eugene, Oregon and the usual Cnet donation will apply. I can also meet within an hour's drive of Eugene, or in Portland for a delivery gas/time fee. I am happy to send additional photos or a video, or hold a Zoom demo/Q&A. Feel free to ask me questions!

This instrument is still available, mainly because I haven't gotten around to updating the advertising anywhere.

This instrument is still available. Zoom calls to demonstrate it are possible! Here is a note map:

Will do. Haven't had much time to do comparisons yet but I'm curious as well. Initial thoughts are they are very much on par with one another in terms of responsiveness. I plan to but I need to do a lot of practicing first! I've gotten a bit rusty with some other things going on lately. Must rectify that.

Isn't it? I just realised the photo suggests it might be square. It isn't - it is hexagonal and perfectly fitted. Here's another view.

Ten months ago I got on the list for a Carroll. It arrived on Monday, World Concertina Day. It's lovely! Even the case is a work of art. It's so easy to play, and sounds exquisite. Even with the larger low reeds of a G/D the notes respond quickly. The quality is top notch, as one would expect. I highly recommend getting on the Carroll list if you're at all considering it. I had thought long and hard about what I wanted to get for a G/D...I looked at Marcus, secondhand Morse, a Dipper that Barleycorn was selling, and several others. I have no regrets. Now I have to get practicing again to do it justice.

Edit - still available! I purchased this 26-button Bb/F anglo concertina from Barleycorn in January 2021. I like it, but I am on a waiting list for a Carroll now and am selling this one to raise funds. It is located in Eugene, Oregon, USA and I am asking $1,650 plus shipping. Insurance is optional but recommended and is at buyer's expense. I am also willing to consider trades or partial trades involving an anglo in keys other than C/G, but I prefer selling outright. I am most interested in smaller and/or quieter modern instruments. This video that I made last year features this instrument as the first of the three. I was still learning the tune, which shows. Additional sound files - pardon my errors. B/F concertina - jig recording - the mic was set too loud and crackles a little at the loudest parts, this is a fault of the mic, not the concertina. B/F concertina - reel recording Here is the original description from Barleycorn's website: It could be said that this concertina "has character". When I enquired about it, Barleycorn said: The leaning buttons are a cosmetic issue only and do not affect play. They are on the left side and are angled slightly down when the instrument is in playing position. It's very hard to spot it except at certain angles. Here is a photo of the repaired crack on one end: Let me know if you have any questions, thank you!

I had to travel for a bit but am back now, and the concertina is still for sale.

Glad to hear it! Enjoy!

Yes, that will be my backup, but the prices in the UK were much better even after accounting for exchange rate. It's just as well; I haven't gotten around to assessing my two salvaged boxes to see exactly what is needed anyway.

Thanks for your post, Ruairi. I had been planning to place an order timed to arrive during my trip to the UK that is coming up. Looks like I better not plan it that way.

Hi Scott, yes it is. I have one other person interested who is waiting on me to send a note map, which I am hoping to get a chance to do to tonight. When I've made the map I can post it here too.

Hello all, a group based in Eugene Oregon is slowly starting up; there is a FB page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/528842671412674 .

I purchased this 26-button Bb/F anglo concertina from Barleycorn in January 2021. I like it, but I am on a waiting list for a Carroll now and am selling this one to raise funds. It is located in Eugene, Oregon, USA and I am asking $1,650 plus shipping. Insurance is optional but recommended and is at buyer's expense. Sound files - pardon my errors. Bb/F concertina - jig recording - the mic was set too loud and crackles a little at the loudest parts, this is a fault of the mic, not the concertina. Bb/F concertina - reel recording Here is the original description from Barleycorn's website: It could be said that this concertina "has character". When I enquired about it, Barleycorn said: The leaning buttons are a cosmetic issue only and do not affect play. They are on the left side and are angled slightly down when the instrument is in playing position. It's very hard to spot it except at certain angles. Here is a photo of the repaired crack on one end: Let me know if you have any questions, thank you!

I know of two Morse Ceili G/Ds for sale as of last month, one in Bermuda and one in Wales. Let me know and I can put you in touch to see if they are still available.

Thanks all! After more thought I have decided to get on the list for a Flying Ducks Duckling, 24 button with a drone (because I've never had a drone and it sounds fun). It'll be a little over a year before it is ready but should be robust enough for kids and double as a travel instrument, and I've seen very good reviews about using them with kids.

I've sent you a message but as a new member I am not sure if you can access private messages yet.

Oops. I had better check that I am learning the correct version.

I gave a rochelle 1 to a kid I used to mentor, he was probably 12 or so at the time. He did learn to play a few things! Yes, it was big and stiff and I don't think I'd get one for the younger kids, but I'd heard the rochelle 2 was better. Maybe not so much as I'd hoped?

That's a thought too. There's a music shop in town that *might* sell that level of concertina, and it'd be a chance to see if their hands were strong enough to work those models. I don't want to get something that is so frustrating/difficult to use that they don't want to try anymore. Edit - yes, that was a good thought. The local shop sells the Trinity College brand and has one of the red plastic Chinese ones too. We could hypothetically go along and see what they think of them, and how they sound.

I have a 7 year old and a 10 year old. Both are showing very mild interest in the concertina (they don't want to 'learn to play' anything yet but enjoy playing with the buttons and seeing how it works) but are nervous handling an expensive instrument. I am considering getting either a Wren or a Rochelle 2 for them to use - something that I won't be heartbroken if they drop/break it. Does anyone have experience with young children/small hands and budget concertinas? Are there models that work better for them?

Thank you very much. I wasn't able to play it well/fast enough for Tunepal to recognize it.

I was practicing tonight and this tune popped into my head. I know I've heard it before but have no idea where. Does anyone recognize it? Link to MP3 of tune