Bill N

A word of caution- an instrument that can be supplied that quickly and cheaply is likely to be very bulky and stiff playing, if it ever gets delivered. See other threads here re: Concertine Italia, Stagi and Bastari woes.

A duet would probably be the best choice for the music you want to play. I think the most important consideration would be a good set of bellows, which would mean a vintage instrument in good condition, or at a minimum an intermediate level instrument by a modern maker such as Wim Wakker. Entry level instruments like the Concertina Connection Elise have very stiff bellows which are hard work.

Just had another look through the fretwork, and the coil on mine moves about 1 mm outwards when the button is depressed.

Is this helpful? Noel Hill Model- November 2019.

I recently bought a double-reeded, octave tuned 20 button concertina in G/D from David Jenkins (Qadasi Music) in Pretoria, South Africa. It's very well made, and lacks the many shortcomings of the typical German style instrument. Bellows are leather bound, and there are individual pivot posts and springs for each button. The button action and response are very good. It's nicely in tune at modern pitch, with a full, rich voice. For mine he used a combination of new and vintage Hohner reeds. I have been using it for a particular musical project, and have enjoyed playing very much, with non of the frustrations associated with the Hohners, Frontalinis, Stagis, etc. David is building these to respond to a shortage of decent instruments for the Boer and Maskandi concertina traditions. They are available in both western and Maskandi button layouts.

I have owned one of Frank's "Professional" hybrid models, and played several other of his hybrids. The action is superb- you would be hard pressed to find another instrument at any cost that plays easier or faster. They are very well designed and built. Mine was entirely trouble free for the 3 or 4 years of daily playing that I owned it , including lots of hard, outdoor performances with a Morris dancing side. They are also very attractive, with some nice wood choices. I haven't yet seen examples of his premium "Heritage" and "New Model" concertinas, but can only imagine that his excellent build quality and action paired with concertina reeds would make for an excellent instrument. The finest player I know here in Canada, Fergus Brown-O'Byrne, has used an Edgily Professional hybrid exclusively for many years and swears by it. The question that remains is, do you like how they sound? My experience with the hybrids is that they come very close to sounding like a box with traditional reeds.

The Anglo is very much like a pair of harmonicas powered by the bellows rather than your lungs. They play a different note on the push and pull, just like blowing and drawing on the harmonica. In fact the push pull -pattern up the diatonic scale is the same as the blow-draw for a 10 hole harmonica. The third row of a 30 button (or greater) instrument has extra notes so that you can play chromatically. Reaching into the third row for a sharp or flat is a lot like pushing the slide on a chromatic harmonica. I played harmonica (diatonic only) before I picked up a concertina, and found that the experience was a huge benefit when learning Anglo. The only downside?- I tended to breathe in concert with the bellows, and had to be careful not to hyperventilate!

He is, and is largely responsible for me playing due to his mentorship over the years. I should have perhaps specified that I'm looking for a reed in its shoe. I can tune and set a reed, and use shims or a bit of filing on the shoe to make it fit without tampering with the slot. I have an old, brass Lachenal reed and shoe in there at the moment, which I tuned up to old pitch, and lightly filed the sides of the shoe to make it slide in easily. It's OK for now, but its sound quality and response are quite different than the rest of the reeds!

An incredibly generous friend recently gifted me with a lovely 38 button C. Jeffries Maker Bb/F concertina, which I am enjoying immensely. The 3rd row is a little eccentric, and not what I'm used to playing- looks like there were a few reeds swapped around by a previous owner, and there was one reed missing. I've swapped things back to where I think they belong, but I'd like to get my hands on a spare reed- either a B4 ( ideally in old high pitch) or C5- so I can make it compatible with my Carroll and Kensington. The box is in old pitch, about 38 cents sharp, so I can tune up or down as required. I've put a brass Lachenal reed in the hole for now, but that just ain't right!

Sorry, just seeing this. In the end, the Boveda system didn't prove to be a practical solution for me. I have 3 instruments , and the best I could manage during our heating season with the in-case packs was in the low 30%s. I've since installed an Aprilaire whole house by-pass evaporative humidifier which gets the RH to about 34%, and use an evaporative room humidifier with filtered water in the space where I keep and play my instruments ( a Carroll, a Kensington and a Jeffries). RH is running in the low to mid 40%s, and I haven't had any of the problems I used to have when it was much drier. They travel once a week to a friend's place for a play-date, but his is a modern, well-built house where I expect the RH is pretty good. They also go to various pubs several times per week, but the brief exposures don't seem to harm them.

Do you mean his Heritage model? I'm not aware of a "New Model". There are some pictures of the reeds and reed pan of a Heritage model on the Construction and Repair Forum (B6 reed not sounding). Looks like I reed per frame. I haven't seen or played a Heritage model myself, but have owned and played several of his hybrid instruments, and they were all top notch.

Hi Jenny- send me an e-mail address in the Private Messages and I'll send some MP3s to you.

Bumped- new price.

Is this only a problem on one end? If so, is there a similar board glued to the back-side of the fretwork on the other end, and do the buttons pass freely through it?

SOLD A recent acquisition renders this sweet little Jones surplus to my requirements, so I’m passing it along. I have been using it for voice accompaniment, for which it is well suited, but it is also a decent player, with good button and bellows action and reasonable response. Not super fast or loud, but very enjoyable to play. ( sound file available on request ) The 3rd row is a modified Jeffries set-up (Carroll and Kensington) as shown: P/D Left B3/C#3 G4/F4 F#4/G#4 Right B4/B4 B4/C#4 B5/F5 It’s tidy and clean, and in nice condition, although there are a few stable cracks in the fretwork on the left hand side. (shown in photo) The buttons are bushed. Bellows and hand straps are green. Greg Jowaisas overhauled this instrument in 2010- his description is quoted below. It’s in the same condition now as it was then. “Bb/F 26b Jones with 5 fold bellows and steel reeds. I've reconditioned this concertina with new pads, valves and a bellows rebind. The bellows are airtight and sport new papers. The instrument is in tune A=440 standard pitch. The concertina plays well and has the warm sound associated with Jones broad steel reeds.” I'm asking $1000 $800 or best reasonable offer, plus shipping.