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Hi to everyone. I'm totally new here....and new to concertina ownership as I'm about to enter the world of the 'tina. And isn't it a minefield? I'm in the UK with a very limited budget (which isn't likely to get any larger as there's always something that seems to need fixing at home!) so from what I can see I'm going to have to go with Anglo, much as I'd love an English these are way way over my measly £45-£75 budget. (yes I know that's tiny but I have to start somewhere!) I'll only realistically manage 10-15 minutes a day to practice so I assumed that some sort of 20 button Anglo could be a good thing to start on? My entire experience has been a few months playing on our children's Scarlatti junior melodeon but that's very limited with only 7 buttons! But as a result I'm not entirely new to the diatonic instrument and have even learned a few tunes on the basic little thing - I give it 10 minutes a day nonetheless just to prove to myself that I will indeed keep it up. It's given me the bug and I realise that a concertina is the next step as it takes up much less room that a full size melodeon and (I think) looks far nicer! We're an English Folk-loving family so that's what I'll be wanting to play. I'd love a few pointers before I buy. There are no places near me to try things out (there's no longer a Hobgoblin in Nottingham) and the English Folk scene in my area is almost non-existent so I'm going to have to take the plunge and just go for it blindly and hope for the best. Probably something used on ebay - I've been watching the listings for the past month and researching models but the concertina is a complex old thing, isn't she?! Thank you in advance for any advice you can give to a concertina newbie!

Howdy everyone! I've juuuuuuuuuusssst purchased my first english concertina from Concertina Connection! A Jackie, naturally. After much research I decided I needed a fully chromatic instrument that was well suited for (eventually) complex solo pieces in modern, classical and other varying styles, but could also accompany singing, and I felt the English system was best suited to that. I'm a fairly good guitar player, mostly Spanish and Flamenco, but a bit of classical here and there as well, but reading music is still a challenge for me. Trying to change that at the present moment. Anyhow. I know this is gonna be a fun experience, one I hope continues for a long time, and I am very excited to get to know all of you over time

Hello all. I was directed here from another forum. I expressed my interest in finding a good cheap concertina to knock about on and they directed me to both the 20 button anglo and this fine board. I understand that that model is a bit limited, but due to how likely it seems that I will be able to get one within my budget and how easy it should be as a starter instrument I think it is a good fit. It also seems to be the perfect fit for the sort of music I'm interested in playing. Sea chantys, fiddle tunes, backup to a few drinking songs, that sort of thing. From what I understand I could then move on to a quality 20 button or even upgrade to a 30 button without having to relearn much if I ever feel the need. On the subject of budget I can potentially go as high as $200, but if at all possible I'm hoping to find something a bit cheaper. Thanks for taking the time to check out my request.