Student English

[Rick Ruggiero]

Hi all,

 

I have been playing concertina since February, when I picked up a Hohner D40 on a whim. Of course, I'm hooked.

 

I am interested in learning to play an English but am on a tight budget. Does anyone have any input on the "Jackie" student English? Would it be better than/worse than/equal to my Hohner?

 

I, like some others, deal regularly with sticking buttons. At least once, a button completely disappeared into the instrument! I am not afraid to poke around inside, so I have kept it going without too much trouble.

 

Thanks for any information!

 

Rick

[Sandy Winters]

I have not played a "Jackie" but I know they are distributed by Concertina Connection. They have a reputation to protect. They are very well respected in the concertina community in general, and from personal experience I would highly recommend them for concertina restoration/repair. I think Jim L. has purchased one or more Jackies so maybe he can give us a short assesment/review.

[JimLucas]

I think Jim L. has purchased one or more Jackies so maybe he can give us a short assesment/review.

I've written a few things, most recently in this Topic. But that's not meant to be comprehensive, so I suggest you do a search on "Jackie", either in combination with my name or not. I think you'll find several Topics with useful comments, not just by myself, but also by others who have purchased Jackies.

[Rick Ruggiero]

THANKS!

[Stephen Mills]

I have had a Jackie for about 6 weeks. The instrument is clearly far superior to my Chinese noname Anglo in construction and probably also in tone. I do think the differences in tone are somewhat stylistic, like the difference between my cedar top and spruce top guitars, but the Jackie seems "sweeter".

 

In truth, I have had a few problems I think are probably unusual. Two different buttons would continually pop out of their holes on the reed pan. This turned out to be a lifting of the lever unit out of the reed pan. I am positive the Concertina Connection would have made good, but I didn't want to go through the shipping hassles, so I opened it up. This involved unscrewing the offending end, exposing the reed pan and pushing the lever fully down again. I then applied a spot of glue with a sharp stick around the lever pin where it enters the reed pan. Removing the spring (also easy) is best until the glue is fully set. This has worked well.

 

Finally, one reed is getting slow to speak. I haven't decided what to do yet, as it is not a serious problem at present.

 

As Jim Lucas and I have both noted previously, one more note on the top end would be extremely desirable. I need that B a lot. Still, there are many fine tunes that don't require it, and often ways to get around the problem.

 

Those were the negatives. My opinion is still that the Jackie is the best new concertina to be had under at least $600, probably quite a bit higher. I am firmly of the opinion that for most of us, a cheap concertina is the way to begin. After a year, you have learned a lot and have a good idea how serious you are and where you want to head next. A further hidden benefit lies beneath the curse of the cheap concertina: I personally now have gained a lot of experience looking "under the hood" and tweaking the engine, but here's hoping you don't have to.

 

Someday I'd like to see a thread with comparative remarks from those who have learned both Anglo and English systems reasonably well. Let's hope both of us can contribute.

Edited June 1, 2004 by Stephen Mills

[Rick Ruggiero]

I must admit I'm the type to look "under the hood" as you have done. I even decided to take a big risk and tune a few reeds in my Hohner. The low C was so flat it was comical, now it's quite useable as long as you don't push TOO hard!

 

I am curious to see how I'll like the English system. It seems very logical in concept. And, I am really looking forward to more than two major keys!