30 Key Wheatstone Anglo

[vic227]

For those who may be interested: I have listed a 30 key C/G Wheatstone on e Bay. Click here. As usual, if a member buys this concertina I will make a donation to this site.

[Greg Jowaisas]

For those who may be interested: I have listed a 30 key C/G Wheatstone on e Bay. Click here. As usual, if a member buys this concertina I will make a donation to this site.

 

Hi Vic,

Prospective buyer was asking me if this concertina had dovetailed or screwed down shoes and whether the shoes are brass or aluminum? Best of luck on your sale.

 

Greg

[vic227]

For those who may be interested: I have listed a 30 key C/G Wheatstone on e Bay. Click here. As usual, if a member buys this concertina I will make a donation to this site.

 

Hi Vic,

Prospective buyer was asking me if this concertina had dovetailed or screwed down shoes and whether the shoes are brass or aluminum? Best of luck on your sale.

 

Greg

Hi Greg, the reed shoes are aluminium and screwed down. Regards. Vic

[Azalin]

1500 pounds for a Wheatstone that seemed to be a good player. Was there something bad with the box I missed? I mean, 1500 pounds is now the price of a hybrid, with current exchange rates (the pound has been 'pounded'!)

[Greg Jowaisas]

1500 pounds for a Wheatstone that seemed to be a good player. Was there something bad with the box I missed? I mean, 1500 pounds is now the price of a hybrid, with current exchange rates (the pound has been 'pounded'!)

 

Azalin,

While i think $2300. USD is a good price for this concertina that is in the range that they have been selling for the past 3-4 years. ($2100.-$3000.)

 

In the 1950s Wheatstone departed from their traditional radial reed pan and dovetail reed shoe slots and made some instruments like this:

 

 

 

The reed shoes are aluminum and screwed down. The reed tongue was crimped rather than clamped to the shoe. Many Wheatstones with this construction were exported to South Africa as well as traditionally constructed instruments.

 

My first C/G anglo was one of these. It had an 8 fold bellow and it played quite well and never gave me a lick of trouble. The sound was good, perhaps a bit on the strident side but some session players look for concertina with "cut".

 

So while I couldn't say one type of Wheatstone is "better" than another the one on ebay is an example of the modification the company made to some of their anglos during the 1950s and 60s.

 

Greg

Edited March 9, 2010 by Greg Jowaisas

[Azalin]

Thanks Greg. Very interesting. Do these instruments have riveted action? Why do they go for about a third of the price as some Jeffries, for example?

[Daniel Hersh]

Thanks Greg. Very interesting. Do these instruments have riveted action? Why do they go for about a third of the price as some Jeffries, for example?

Wheatstone switched to a non-riveted action before this (in the 1930's, I believe) though some say that the Wheatstone non-riveted action was better than the Lachenal one.

 

These post-WW2 Wheatstones have always looked like bargains to me too, though I've had little opportunity to play them. They may not be quite as responsive or have quite as good a tone as the "prime period" Wheatstone Anglos, but the price difference, as you point out, is substantial.

[Greg Jowaisas]

Thanks Greg. Very interesting. Do these instruments have riveted action? Why do they go for about a third of the price as some Jeffries, for example?

 

Around 1934 Wheatstone went to a hook and lever action. (#33301 is the earliest example that I know of.) Many consider their rivet action superior but the hook and lever certainly works well and was probably easier to produce, install and adjust.

 

As to why a Jeffries generally sells for 3xs as much.... I suppose you just have to have one of those magical Jeffries moments where you play the right instrument that happens to be for sale and lucky you have an extra $8000.-$10,000.

 

Many Jeffries are nice concertinas, strong sound, responsive reeds. And some are wonderful

beyond that. $8,000. plus...?! For the right instrument?! You bet!!

 

Greg

[Azalin]

Thanks for the info guys. It seems the notion of a good concertina is very vague, and people seem to shy away from criticizing concertina models, maybe because so many board members use this site to sell concertinas. From my point of view, a non riveted action is definitely NOT as a good as a riveted one, no matter how one will sugar coat it. There must be other 'unspoken' things that make a concertina less or more expensive. This seems to be the hardest thing for a relatively newcomer to the concertina world (like me) to grasp.

[Greg Jowaisas]

Thanks for the info guys. It seems the notion of a good concertina is very vague, and people seem to shy away from criticizing concertina models, maybe because so many board members use this site to sell concertinas. From my point of view, a non riveted action is definitely NOT as a good as a riveted one, no matter how one will sugar coat it. There must be other 'unspoken' things that make a concertina less or more expensive. This seems to be the hardest thing for a relatively newcomer to the concertina world (like me) to grasp.

 

When I got back into concertinas nearly seven years ago I thought I had a number of "correct" answers. After repairing hundreds of concertinas and chasing some very expensive ones I realize that there are opinions and preferences but no one "correct" answer for everyone.

 

Finding an instrument that allows you to express your inner music is not a matter of formula as much as fit. What fits one person may not fit another person.

 

I would not argue that in many cases rivet action is preferable but I would not pass up an outstanding Edeophone in deference to a merely good Aeola based on one having hook and lever and the other rivets.

 

So "sugarcoating" may be leaving the door open to possibilities of finding an outstanding instrument that doesn't fit rigid criteria.

 

One person's opinion.

 

Greg