I picked up my new 7Mount G/D concertina from Ralf early in December. We were made very welcome at his home in Watchberg when I visited to collect the box with my family in tow while on a holiday staying with my son in Brussels.
Have been able to start playing in the new box when we returned from our European tour and must say that I am very impressed with the instrument. It looks really good and plays very well. Fast action and a wonderful sound, bright and clear especially when on the D row.
Its first outing at our weekly session in Stirling was a bit of a surprise to me. This session can be very hectic and noisy with usually several guitarists present along with quite a few fiddles and accordions. Most join in with a tune when it has been started by someone, even if not well known to them. A couple of weeks before Christmas, the first time I took the 7mount box along, I was asked to start a set of tunes. I decided to play a set of waltzes starting with a lovely tune written by a local fiddle player and teacher called "Rest and be Thankful", which I thought others in the room would know. To my surprise having got started I realised that the room had fallen silent and remained so while I played. This was so unusual that I could not get into the other tunes in the set.
When I finished received lots of lovely comments about the sound of the concertina and how nice it looked.
It was at this point that I realised that my gamble in buying an unseen or heard in person, new box was a success.
The only down side to the whole experience was the price increase since ordering due to the fall in the pounds value since the EU referendum. Even this has not changed my opinion that the 7Mount Concertina is a fine instrument obtainable in a reasonable period of time and good value for the money paid.
Would try a post some photographs of it if able to fathom out how to on this forum.