Jewish Leprechaun

Well it's got a bid now...

You could reach out to David Robertson (up in Norwich), he does a great job with restorations https://www.concertina-restoration.co.uk

I'll second what Theo said, went down this road years ago with a Lachenal I had... the soft case started some extra wear and tear on the bellows corners. Nothing terrible, but definitely unnecessary. Ditched the soft case and never looked back; hard cases are the way to go.

Well done on the review, I actually stumbled across your video on youtube a few days ago. David Robertson certainly does a wonderful job in his restoration process. I purchased an old shakespeare from him a few years ago, very lovely concertina, and Dave's work was impeccable! -Lep

Very true LJ, most likely it is 5.25 inches, but 5 inches with 30 buttons or 5.25 inches with 34 buttons, either way there's some serious engineering going on inside these pint-sized 'tinas.

I know the Dippers somehow managed a 5inch C/G with 34 buttons... an impressive feat!

If this is what you're referencing, it looks like Bob managed to save it on his website! http://hmi.homewood.net/bnick/anglo.htm

You're reading my thoughts right there, Alex! Surely there are some drawbacks squeezing it all in to a package that small (air volume aside). Much appreciated Stephen this is some great information, quite rare beasts!

So I'm curious to see a picture of one of these 5-inch 30 button Jeffries. I saw them mentioned here in section "(b) the instruments": https://www.concertinajournal.org/articles/charles-jeffries-and-his-sons/ Has anyone ever seen one of these?? Does anyone have any pictures or any experience playing one? I'm curious how they sound and play compared to full-sized Jeffries (small concertinas always have fascinated me).

Living the dream right there!

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.