Jewish Leprechaun

Check out this thread for more 20-button playing: -Lep

If you meant "can I ignore the extra buttons and play it like a 20 button concertina?" here are my 2 cents... You can make a lot of great music with a 20 button concertina, but eventually you might feel limited. For some good examples of 20 button playing, look up some recordings of Mrs. Crotty. I don't think you'll have any regrets with a 30 button. The third (extra) row is an accidental row with all your sharps/flats. The other two rows should be more or less identical between the 20 and 30. The accidental row adds a whole lot of options and the opportunity to play a wider range of tunes. If you do decide to go the 30-button route, look closely at the accidental row layout of both the Wheatstone and Jeffries layouts and see which one fits you better. Depending on your budget, a Rochelle from concertina connection is a good place to start. Best of luck, Lep

Depending on how high end you want to go, this might be an option for you. http://www.concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/?concertina=3300 -Lep

Bringing this thread briefly back to life rather than start a new thread. I just ran across this video today of Noel Hill playing his A/E concertina.

I would highly recommend investing in Dave's book. It has a plethora of good tips and trick, that can extend to free reed instruments in general. "The Concertina Maintenance Manual" Dave Elliott https://mcneelamusic.com/the-concertina-maintenance-manual/ And then you can build yourself one of these nifty tools with a dowel and some 400 grit sandpaper!... My apologies Dave, I actually had to sit and think for a second to figure out where I'd first seen this done. Haven't needed to use it on concertina reeds, but it worked great on harmonica reeds.

If Juergen doesn't reply to an email, I would say he is definitely not ignoring you. I've experienced this email problem as well. Over the years I've sent my fair share of emails to Jurgen and some he replies to and the others I am certain he simply does not receive (probably a spam setting on the email... or something more technical out there in cyber space that I am unaware of). I would say just keep trying to send him emails until one gets through. Ok, so you take the end screws out and you can't get to the reed pan? So are you able to separate the bellows from the end plates or is it all stuck together? Is this metal ended or wood ended?

The curved handrests on my Suttner are subtle and super comfortable; I'm planning on curved handrests for my Dipper as well. Definitely don't don't mind playing "traditional/standard" handrests, but the curve is a nice ergonomic accommodation.

Ross, that's an interesting consideration about speed and playability, but if Cormac Begley is any evidence, I guess one can adapt to the individual needs of the instrument with enough practice At this point I'm leaning towards placing an order for a Suttner A4 in A/E (just got an email from Juergen and while I couldn't find it on his website, he will produce A/E instruments!). The idea behind this would be the sweet mellow tone for solo work and if I ran into the odd session in B. Appreciate the input from all and if there's more thoughts, keep them coming!

Great replies from all, so a few more things are coming to my mind now. From the get go I have been leaning toward an Ab/Eb, as I'm kind of partial to the lower option, but I have been finding the mention of the A/E and that it would be a nice "compromise" between the Bb/F and the Ab/Eb especially for solo work. So now... how bad would it be to tune up an Ab/Eb up to an A/E? For example one of our fellow members has a lovely 38button Suttner in Ab/Eb up for sale that could be tuned up to A/E... I haven't seen a lot of A/E boxes floating around out there. Just exploring some different ideas here. -Lep

Would like some thoughts on which key to expand to first after C/G. I found this discussion from back in '07, but was hoping I could get some additional and fresh input. And if your opinion is there's no need to have anything but a C/G; I'd like to hear your rationale behind it. -Lep

Price reduced to $4800, all ready to go to a new home

Still for sale, would make an excellent Christmas gift! PM me for a video or any other details.

Maybe not so helpful, it's on the pricier side, but button box has a nice 40 button Wheatstone on their website https://www.buttonbox.com/concertinas-in-stock.html -Lep

Hi Ann, If you're thinking of placing an order with the Dippers, definitely reach out to them. http://www.johndipper.co.uk/concertinas/contact.htm John Dipper is quick to respond to emails and immensely helpful about answering any questions about their instruments. My understanding of their models is that they have "models" but this is a loose concept as they allow a lot of customization for every instrument they make. Their general models are based on size/shape/clef and then specific "type models" are all the extras/upgrades that you can pick (this is all on their website). As far as button dimensions, your best bet I'd say will be to try a variety of concertinas and take some measurements on the ones you like the best (and of course the Dipper's can walk you through the choice as well). Best of luck! -Lep

*Bump