Quality / Value of CC Jackie vs Hobgoblin Scarlatti SCE-48

[RWL]

I have run across two used English concertinas for sale here in the US. I can find a fair number of favorable comments on the quality & functionality of the Jackies, but nothing on the Scarlatti SCE-48 concertina that Hobgoblin sells - or at least had listed on their site until this morning. Here's a substitute link to show the Scarlatti:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scarlatti-Accordions-48K-1-Concertina-Accordion/dp/B004NBFS8G?SubscriptionId=AKIAIYZE6GBWZOKBEQOA&tag=lowprice18uk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B004NBFS8G

 

The Scarlatti instrument has no name plate, so that makes it difficult to verify the seller actually has a Scarlatti (although she says she bought it at Hobgoblin 8-10 years ago and it looks like the SCE-48), and also potentially poses a problem to me when / if I outgrow it and resell an unbadged instrument. The Scarlatti would be more versatile since it has 48 keys compared to Jackie's 30, so I lean that way, but I don't have any real way to tell the quality of the Scarlatti. Does anyone have any knowledge of the Scarlattis from Hobgoblin?

[michael stutesman]

I have no experience with the scarlatti but I can vouch for the jackie. Don't let the 30 vs 48 buttons throw you off track. The Jackie does not have some of the duplicate notes that the 48 button has and does not have several of the highest notes but it has all the notes you are likely to need especially when starting out. I'm sure the range of the Jackie is posted somewhere.

 

Cheers,

 

Michael

[RWL]

Thanks for the only reply so far. The Jackies do get pretty good reviews for their price.

[Daniel Hersh]

Thanks for the only reply so far. The Jackies do get pretty good reviews for their price.

The Jackie/Jack/Rochelle/Elise concertinas are very good for the price. (I have an Elise myself.) I don't know a lot about the Scarlatti instruments but would tend to put them into the "cheap Chinese" category, and cheap Chinese concertinas are not generally well made.

[Steve Mansfield]

I started on a Jackie, and the build quality is far superior to the Scarlatti. The Jackie is a great 'starter' instrument and will get you far enough to know if it's worth investing in a better instrument.

[JimLucas]

I have run across two used English concertinas for sale here in the US. I can find a fair number of favorable comments on the quality & functionality of the Jackies, but nothing on the Scarlatti SCE-48 concertina that Hobgoblin sells - or at least had listed on their site until this morning. Here's a substitute link to show the Scarlatti:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scarlatti-Accordions-48K-1-Concertina-Accordion/dp/B004NBFS8G?SubscriptionId=AKIAIYZE6GBWZOKBEQOA&tag=lowprice18uk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B004NBFS8G

I don't know a lot about the Scarlatti instruments but would tend to put them into the "cheap Chinese" category, and cheap Chinese concertinas are not generally well made.

The 48-button Scarlatti in the Amazon link doesn't look to me like "cheap Chinese", but rather like a Stagi (rebadge? knockoff?), though with more decoration than I myself have seen on other Stagis.

 

Should you maybe be looking at previous opinions comparing the Jackie and the Stagi?

[RWL]

If you do a Google search for Scarlatti accordions and concertinas, you can find that model. It's sold by multiple shops other than Hobgoblin (which is at the high end of the price range), and is generally priced higher than the Jackies. It's a Chinese made concertina, and the web pages (from the manufacturer apparently, since they all have the same wording) promote them as being a cut above the usual Chinese instruments. They are definitely not unbadged Stagis. There must not be many of the Scarlattis in circulation since nobody here seems to have played one.

 

RWL

[Daniel Hersh]

I don't know a lot about the Scarlatti instruments but would tend to put them into the "cheap Chinese" category, and cheap Chinese concertinas are not generally well made.

The 48-button Scarlatti in the Amazon link doesn't look to me like "cheap Chinese", but rather like a Stagi (rebadge? knockoff?), though with more decoration than I myself have seen on other Stagis.

 

Should you maybe be looking at previous opinions comparing the Jackie and the Stagi?

 

Here's a Scarlatti pic from an Amazon page:

 

 

 

And here is a "cheap Chinese" 48-button English from my favorite cheap Chinese site (couldn't find an image URL).

 

They look pretty similar to me. It's my impression that a number of the cheap Chinese concertinas copy Stagi designs, but the workmanship and materials tend to be much worse than on a real Stagi.

[JimLucas]

The 48-button Scarlatti in the Amazon link doesn't look to me like "cheap Chinese", but rather like a Stagi (rebadge? knockoff?), though with more decoration than I myself have seen on other Stagis.

 

Here's a Scarlatti pic from an Amazon page:

 

 

And here is a "cheap Chinese" 48-button English from my favorite cheap Chinese site (couldn't find an image URL).

I guess I haven't been paying enough attention to the Chinese boxes, as this is the first I've become aware that they made Englishes with more than 30 buttons. Sorry about that. Your comparison is clear.

[Daniel Hersh]

I guess I haven't been paying enough attention to the Chinese boxes, as this is the first I've become aware that they made Englishes with more than 30 buttons. Sorry about that. Your comparison is clear.

No apology needed. The 30-button ones seem to be more common, but the 48's have been around for a while too.

[RWL]

Thanks for all of the replies even if no one had had an opportunity to play a Scarlatti English. The seller of the Jackie would only deal with local pickup. Since I am several states away (in the USA), that scotched that opportunity. I was uncomfortable purchasing the Scarlatti since nobody had played one and could vouch for it, other than to note that it was made in China. In the end, a Lachenal that was reasonably priced popped up here on the east coast, and the seller and I have agreed to the sale. It sounds like some pads may need to be replaced, but I suspect I can handle that with some advice from the Concertina Maintenance Manual and from the forums here.