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Beautiful 48 key English Wheatstone. I’ve owned it for almost 40 years but I don’t play this one anymore. Totally refurbished at The Button Box a few years ago. Asking $5K

https://schoolofmusicaltraditions.square.site/product/introduction-to-the-concertina-with-randy-stein-and-jim-besser/130

Thanks to help from people in this forum, I was able to locate and make contact with the owner of Concertine Italia. Last Thursday, I visited the factory and spent a couple of hours talking with the two women who make pretty much every part of their instruments, with the exception of the reeds and reed blocks. A lot of people helped me along the way. I'm especially thankful to my new friend Enrico, who thought a visit to a concertina factory would be a good adventure and offered to drive me there, and to serve as translator. I can speak a little Italian but quickly got lost in the specifics. The owner, Mrs. Simona, is an awesome person as is her only full time employee Rosalia. Together they make a range of instruments including an adorable tiny 18 button chromatic, and the Italian organetto. They say that their most popular model is the Hayden. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. I think you will like these awesome makers as much as I do. You can find the video at

I am looking to purchase a 48 button Stagi English Baritone Concertina. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I am selling a Hohner C48 2 x 24 button english concertina - rarely played. As I hardly find the time to play this english concertina, it searches a good house where it will be played and not just be stored in its gig bag. Details: Wooden ends - A suitable beginners instrument It is in concert pitch, it has 48 white keys - playing smoothly and sounding okay on push and pull. It has an air release key. The bellows is air tight. The condition is very good - like it just left the factory, the Hohner gig bag is included Shop price is 400 UK pounds. Asking 200 pounds. PM me if you want pictures or if you're interested to buy Marien

I am a beginner looking for a concertina not over $370. I know it's a far stretch, but I don't have much money to spend. I would like it to be English/Duet but it doesn't really matter which one it is out of these. Thanks so much!

Composed by James F. Hanley in 1917. Jim Besser - Baritone Anglo Concertina Randy Stein - English Concertina *originally performed in the Eastern North America Online Concertina Concert for World Concertina Day) https://youtu.be/hCSUlaf4DR4

Hi, We've got a a 48 button Lachenal brass-reeded English concertina with mahogany ends that we'd like to sell. These, of course, are not the world's greatest concertinas but they can get a person going. We had it fettled a bit a few years back by Colin Dipper as we wanted to lend it to a couple of people (like Anne's composition professor at university ). All notes play and are in tune (concert pitch) Four or five are a little bit buzzy but nothing excessive and should be readily sortable. As you'd expect with a brass reeded instrument it's not the lightest box to play by any means but it does have an undeniable sweetness of tone. We don't have a case for it, sorry, but it will be very well packed for posting. We'd like to get better than £300 plus postage for it if we can. Here are some photos: Cheers, Chris & Anne

A beautiful 64-button extended tenor treble for sale. In very nice condition, bellows are original and very good. This one was made in January 1919, from the golden era. 6-fold bellows The instrument is tight and plays beautifully. Typically selling for 3700+ at the dealers. I am asking for 2900 pounds equivalent (C$5000). The instrument is in Toronto, Canada but will ship anywhere (shipping and insurance extra). Message me if interested.

Has anyone seen a "Dinkie" pictured on an Edeophone, it appears to be specially made to sit on top of the G & F buttons, the only thing I can think of is that it provides a drone. This is on a 56 button made about 1914

Very reluctant sale! Supreme example of a Wheatstone 22 series fully restored to new condition by Roy Whiteley (hardly played since). Brand new 7 fold leather bellows, raised nickel silver plated ends and buttons. Beautiful, strident, yet sweet tone…bags of ‘throw’. Very powerful instrument – excellent for all kinds of dance music, ensembles, song accompaniment etc; Comes with hard flight case - £4000.00. Please PM me if interested or leave questions as a comment to this post. Collect only or outdoor Covid-19 safe rendezvous.

a musical sign of life - a spontaneous live recording (first take) after having set up a decent audio recorder for my smartphone https://soundcloud.com/blue-eyed-sailor/kolomtanz-sailors-hornpipe as always, any comments are appreciated. edited to add: playing my model 24 Wheatstone EC here

Second hand Jackie, English concertina, suitable for beginners. 30 buttons. In excellent condition and includes tutor book and soft case. £290.

Hello, I’m looking for advice on what to purchase. I have a cheap 20 key anglo concertina, which I play from time to time, but I’ve played string instruments for a long time. For some time now, I’ve wanted a concertina with chromatics and to accompany singing. What are some recommendations for a first English concertina? I looked online at a 30 key baritone English concertina (“Jack”) from Concertina Connection. Would this be appropriate, given my situation? John

Collected October 28 of 2013 I saw Bruce Thomson's video today and thought it might be of interest to the group and so decided to explore other recent YouTube additions to flesh out this posting. These are listed in the order found: Bruce Thomson - Knee straps experiment http://youtube.com/watch?v=a26xSS8VrP8 Katyusha - balalaika and concertina http://youtube.com/watch?v=8vSCBeibduI Comparison of Stagi and Chinese concertinas http://youtube.com/watch?v=nPDf4vWTRPU A New Player http://youtube.com/watch?v=RfYQ6S_3F7M http://youtube.com/watch?v=c-haW0l3jRY Oria Quirke with Draíocht Nua http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lw9pWSa3kow Yvonne Bolton and Alan Jordan at Custy's http://youtube.com/watch?v=eQF1PxGLdu8 After watching the Custy's video of Yvonne and Alan a second time I was motivated to further explore their YouTube offerings. I especially liked this one (placed on YouTube in September of this year) and decided to edit it into my posting here today. While clearly promotional for their CD, I think it's very well done: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cwjJ5C348no

Early English Concertina. Unnamed. Buttons: 48 Stained red/black and marked with note values on whites. Bellows: four-fold. Dark green with starburst papers. Bellows are sound. Serial number: 112 Reeds: brass in brass shoes with squared ends, stamped with note values. Valves cut square as per original. Condition: excellent internal and external condition. Fully restored on a historical basis by Andrew Norman in 2016. Plays at modern concert pitch. Sweet tone, not loud. Case: Victorian scientific instrument case with sliding top and handle. Name card of owner pasted in the top: Daniel Whitelaw, Glasgow. The name of the maker cannot be ascertained; but Andrew Norman thought is resembled work by William Dove. 1,700 pounds sterling. Estimated shipping to Europe, USA or Australia: 80 pounds.

I was looking at this video of Simon Thoumire: When he plays, his fingers seem to be moving horizontally along the 'columns' of buttons. Is this a special technique? Do you have to move the thumb straps for it?

Does anybody have experience with "standard bellows" vs. "wakker bellows" on an English Concertina? I know about the difference in theory but have no chance to try it out (in Germany it's hard to find concertinas). I got a special offer for an unused Rose with standard bellows. It is $800 less than what I would need to pay here for a Rose with wakker bellows. My budget is limited, so the reduced price is very welcome. But if the wakker bellows make such a tremendous difference I could also safe a bit longer... Any experience or recommendations? Thanks Jürgen

Beautiful tortoise shell 51 key Wheatstone aeola for sale. Just overhauled by the Button Box. Comes with original case. Smooth action, in tune, concert pitch, 6 fold bellows very tight. Serial Number 33234. Many inside photos upon request. Located north of Boston. david at davidcoffin dot com Will donate an appropriate amount to concertina.net.

I am selling my Treble Crabb English concertina, serial 18081, as i don't play it so often anymore. I bought it new around 1966 from H. Crabb himself. in those days he offered aluminum sides instead of the fancy cutted chrome ones at a slightly lower price, nevertheless the sound is still fabulous and tuning is fine. All reeds, leathers etc. are too, with no rust on reeds or mold and the instrument is not leaky, just as Mr Crabb told me then it would be for at least 20 years to come if i kept it away from moist, cleaned the bellow folds at times, and warm it up coming in from the cold especially, to avoid condense settling on the reeds etc. before playing. In the past i took it to gigs and used in theater circumstances, so it shows some signs of wear, but no damages apart from light scratches etc. I'm looking for a fair price offer, and then maybe a deal. PS the original case is present, in good condition, but has stickers on it. Location The Hague, Netherlands.

I posted the text below elsewhere. However, I thought that it might attract further discussion by being posted on its own. It concerns the question of whether to finger consecutive notes on C# and F# on the English concertina using fingers 1 & 2 or 2 & 3 (two-finger rolls by Simon Thoumire's terminology ?). In a jig on the English moving across to the lower F# on the right, for example, the two-finger roll technique to play a triplet (three consecutive notes on the same button) implies using fingers 1 & 2 all the time, yet this requires one to travel quite some way across the finger board. I've given a sample. It's a decoration, of course, but one that I wish to conquer. When attempting this with fingers 2 & 3 it feels much weaker and slower. There are, in fact, four F# notes to negotiate in this, so there is the problem of how to ensure that one's fingers fall on the buttons in the correct order. Looking forward to suggestions as to how to overcome this difficulty.

Over several months I have read a number of threads advocating for Anglo or Duet or English concertinas with great interest. I had wondered after playing the EC for a year whether I ought to have chosen a different system. It has occurred to me recently that the chromatic nature of the English makes it ideal to play a wide range of keys and a broad range of music. Yes, I can play folk tunes in G and D easily. But when at Christmas the mandolin player of a group I played with wanted to play "Red Haired Boy" in A , well, no problem - I just made the adjustment. When I want to play in the mode of E minor and I want that raised 7th (D#), no problem - it's just a note away. When I decided to learn Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" for fun this past month, no problem - the EC plays both diatonic lines in C and can move into the wonderful secondary harmonies that require Bb, Eb and Ab with no trouble. And now I'm learning a tango I found somewhere online: see attached file. Now I understand that there are tradeoffs. I can't "accompany myself" with as much facility as other systems seem to. But I am beginning to appreciate the EC is a remarkably flexible and adaptable instrument. Perhaps the lesson here is the journey of hard work to just begin to master an instrument is worth the time and patience required. I'm not there but I"m on the way. Your thoughts? Tango Argentin pdf.pdf

This could be added to the EC accompaniment thread - although my query is a bit more specific. When playing a three- or four-note chord do you a. play each note with one finger or b. play some notes with the joint of a finger (I am able to do this when notes are a fifth apart on one side or the other) and some notes with individual fingers? I imagine the responses will be pragmatic, as in, do whatever works. Nevertheless, I do wonder if there is an established technique that produces more consistent outcomes. When using a joint to play two notes with one finger, it sometimes takes my hand out of position in such a way that I have trouble getting back on the right buttons. Maybe like everything I just have to practice more. Any wisdom to shed on one technique versus another?

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Well, it’s certainly not the amazing Jowaisas Christmas Pyramid, more like the Coover Autumnal Quadrangle, but I’m putting up for sale four concertinas that have been sitting around taking up space when they should be getting played instead. Wheatstone 30-button Anglo concertina #51362 in C/G - $1850 Metal buttons, metal ends, early 1950’s, dovetailed steel reeds (regular reeds, not crimped), tuned to concert pitch, 8-fold leather bellows, Wheatstone handstraps. Recently refurbished and retuned by Greg Jowaisas who thought the reeds were “better than average” for instruments of this period. This is the concertina featured on the cover of “Christmas Concertina”. Comes with the original black square case that has sexy crushed red velvet inside. Gremlin 30-button Anglo concertina in G/D - $950 Metal buttons, metal ends, accordion reeds, concert pitch, 6-fold airtight bellows, riveted action. An early hybrid concertina with accordion reeds built as a budget model by Gremlin in the early 1980’s and purchased a few years from Marien Lina. I had taller handrests made for it, but can also include the shorter original ones. Featured on the cover of “Anglo Concertina in the Harmonic Style” and “Easy Anglo 1-2-3”. This is the second G/D I’ve owned but I find I still never play in G/D, so time to find this one a new home. Comes with a black square case with built-in combination lock. Lachenal 20-button Anglo concertina #198455 in C/G - $650 Bone buttons, mahogany ends, dovetailed steel reeds, concert pitch, 5-fold original bellows still airtight, new handstraps, recently refurbished by Greg Jowaisas (“a good 20b from a late period in Lachenal's history”). Probably built in the 1920’s, and although a fairly inexpensive instrument at the time it has a nice tone, somewhat soft due to the leather baffles (which could be removed if desired). Featured on the cover of “Civil War Concertina” and “Easy Anglo 1-2-3”. I’ll even throw in a copy of “Civil War Concertina” since all the tunes in that book can be played on a 20-button instrument. Comes with a beat-up hexagonal wooden case that works ok but has definitely seen better days. Wheatstone 22-button “May Fair” English Concertina #1263 – $550 This is a very rare 22-button English concertina that would be ideal for song accompaniment. It’s a Wheatstone May Fair English concertina #1263 in close to mint condition, built sometime in the 1950’s. It has 22-buttons (10 on the left and 12 on the right), wooden ends, 6-fold airtight bellows, accordion-style reeds in concert pitch, and comes with its original Wheatstone tweed case which is also in near-new condition. Having only 22 buttons, it is fully chromatic from G' below middle C to e above high c, 1.5 octaves. That’s it. It does not have any notes above e in the upper octave, so it probably would not suit if you’re wanting to play lots of Irish tunes, but it would be ideal for accompanying singing. Good examples would be the playing of Louis Killen, Tony Rose and other singers of traditional songs. You can play Planxty Irwin or Carolan’s Draught (or the first part of King of the Fairies), but it’s much better for songs like Pleasant & Delightful or Blackwaterside. Every note plays well, the bass notes are strong and clear, and the bellows are incredibly airtight. It plays way much better than one would expect for a budget instrument, has really nice and very strong tone, and even has fancy little violin-style f-holes in the fretwork. I'll be putting these on eBay shortly, but wanted to give the loyal cnet crowd a first chance. Shipping and insurance is extra to wherever you are. Simply PM me with your email address if you're interested and I can send you more photos of the interiors and exteriors, or I could even give you a Skype tour or a tune. Remember, Christmas is only a few short weeks away! Gary