Geoff Wooff

I have used one of those bellows kits from Sandylaneman and was pleased with the results on a medium to upper quality Lachenal. I would buy again, in fact another candidate has come my way and I am contemplating whether it will be quicker / easier to replace or repair a currently leaky bellows.

Sad news. I remember Richard well from my years in Australia, a gentleman ! RIP.

Regarding current asking prices for concertinas: Another member of this forum , who lives in England, suggested to me that prices of vintage Englishes will soon drop because there are so few young people taking up the instrument. If that is the case there might be a glut in the market as many older EC players reach the end of their playing days. Could this happen ? Could it include the vintage Duets too ? In France , where the Accordion is still popular , although nothing like as much as it was up until the 1960's, huge numbers of decent secondhand instruments are offered for sale on classified websites. One site has private adverts for about 6,500 accordions ! Of course this has happend before. Interest in the Concertina waned after the war and second hand models could be picked up for a song. The market for the Anglo appears to be assured by the huge interest shown by young players in Ireland.

If you were at some stage a fiddle player and you are interested in playing Irish music then why not rejuvenate that... cheaper to buy, easier to find teachers and an instrument right at the heart of the genre. Ah, but you wish to play the Concertina , so I suggest you take up the Anglo for Irish music. Don't know which is easier, I play the English but use it for any music I like... including Irish.

Definately agree with this. I find some notes that are not used often just don't sing like the others. In fact one of my concertinas does not react well to being left in its box, comes to life after a weekend of playing. Not that it's sound is ever dull, just that as a high output instrument one can notice the difference between its happy place and its sulky mood. I once had two of Tommy MacCarthy's Jeffries to check over, the one he played all the time and his 'spare'... one sang and the other was... ordinary . Alistair Anderson once said that his concertina was not happy after a two week lay off for his holiday.

Tell us more please. Pictures, serial number etc.

Wonderful !

Think of it as a 56 Tenor Treble with an extra row of low notes. These 64key Baritone /Trebles are quite large at 220mm across and with the 8 fold bellows you will never run out of air. I prefer the smaller 56 key version ( at 200mm across) with only a very few of the highest notes missing. Keyboard is non- transposed but shifted forward ( away from the player) hence the extra long little finger plate.

Interesting reading from the CITES people and thanks for providing the links Steve and Dave. So, reading between the lines and speculating a little , the CITES info suggests that some imitation tortoiseshell is quite flamable. Note also the warning lable inside the lid ( sixth photo ) of Johnneenah's post. Is this a "danger inflamable product" statement from Wheatstone ? Might we assume the end plate coverings of this concertina are imitation ?

Oh I'll send you one.

Ok, my thoughts are that a 1950 Aeola would usually sell for far less than a 'top period' era model for reasons of quality of materials, , production short cuts and craftsmanship used at that time, unfortunately. So finding a sensible sale price between the kudos of its looks and its playing qualities can be difficult and making an offer without first trying the instrument even harder. So, perhaps you might send me a personal message with your 'bargan price' and I will think about a safe way to transport the instrument to Europe. Geoff.

Hi Johnneenah, I love the look of your concertina but , am I right in thinking you have been trying to sell this 56k Aeola for the last 12 years ? If so, have you been able to verify if the ends are real tortoise shell or an imitation material ?

If you like to buy concertinas, on the rare occasion you may come across one, then perhaps it is wise not to inform Joe Public of their value to you as a musician. Of course, such exposure may release one or two more concertinas from Granny's attic, and that's no bad thing. Have fun.

Ah Ha Shay, the "Level Playing Field" makes all the difference ! So much detriment to tone and efficiency in concertinas can come from small internal leaks. Glad you have that sorted.

A Wheatstone of that period will probably have quite thin pads, even without much compression. I have a similar era Wheatsone where the buttons do not protrude as far as later models but to get enough travel on those buttons I have removed one or two of the felt 'damper' washers from the locator pins at the base of each button. The pads now lift well clear of the vent holes and the tone is very clear but the buttons do go down a wee bit further than I would like. Whilst the button height is quite low the location pins are almost as far out of the holes as could be deemed safe. So the action is caught between the two extremes of 'buttons almost disapear into the ends on depressing' whilst they cannot rise any higher on release. Sure the tone is now a marvel but the action slightly disconcerting. I suggest, Roberta, adding one felt washer to each button to reduce the depth of travel but agree with Theo that getting hands on advice from a good repairer might be invaluable. I have adjusted the action of every Engish I have ever owned, usually to get my choice of spring strength ... I but I find these early models can need special attention.