Wanted: English Concertina

[Xavier]

I am a beginner looking to buy an English concertina. I'd like to buy one for around $300. Thank you for your time.

[Jim Cush]

I recommend you increase your planned expenditure to $415 and purchase either a Concertina Connection treble (Jackie) or baritone (Jack). The concertina comes with a decent instruction manual to get you started. An important benefit is the full price trade in allowance if you upgrade to an intermediate level concertina made by Concertina Connection or a Morse made by the Buttonbox. Whatever you do, do not buy one of the super cheap, brand X concertinas sold through Ebay. They are of poor playing quality,weigh a ton and have no resale or trade in value.

[Johanna]

Used Jackies and Jacks can often be found in the $300-350 range. You don't get the full-price trade-in option like you do with a new one, but you can probably sell it for close to what you paid for it, if and when you want to upgrade.

 

You can keep an eye on The Button Box's stock: http://www.buttonbox.com/instruments-in-stock.html They don't have any used Jackies or Jacks listed right now, but they often do.

 

You can also contact the House of Musical Traditions: http://www.hmtrad.com/ Although it's not listed on their website, they have a used Jack in stock, plus some other used beginner-level instruments. (Full disclosure: The Jack is/was mine, being sold through them under consignment.)

[brandon]

I have a Jackie from Concertina Connection that I bought in 2012. It is in as new condition. The only non-original thing about it is that I added wrist straps. I upgraded to a Geordie and thought I would keep the Jackie for trips, but it only sits on a shelf. I will sell it for $300 + shipping to the US. I assume you are in the US or Canada based on the $ sign in your original post.

[Dr. Gold]

I have a question, since I am in the same boat as Xavier here and would like to buy my first English concertina: Which is better, a 48 button Stagi (could possibly pick one up for $500-$800), or one of the Jack/Jackie concertinas ($300-$415)?

[Johanna]

What kind of music do you want to play? If you're looking to play any music in "weird" keys (more than two sharps or one flat) or with accidentals, you may find yourself frustrated with the Jack(ie)'s elimination of duplicate notes. That is: The standard 48-button layout has both G-sharp and A-flat, and you can reach for whichever one is more convenient. The Jack(ie) has only one or the other in each octave, and you have to remember which one it has.

 

If you want to play anything that makes use of the top octave in the 48-button layout (between two octaves above middle C and three octaves above middle C), you obviously can't do that on a Jackie.

 

If you want to play standard folk music that doesn't stray far from the keys of C, G, and D, you can do that just fine on the Jack(ie). In addition to being cheaper than Stagis, the Jack(ie)s are also generally regarded to be better constructed instruments.

 

If you want to play primarily melodies, I recommend the Jackie over the Jack. Because of how the reeds are constructed, the lowest several notes on the Jack are very sluggish. They're fine for slow drones and chordal accompaniment, but less fine for more quickly flowing melodies.

 

Have you considered getting a vintage instrument? There are brass-reeded Lachenals to be had for about the same as you're willing to spend on a Stagi. Be sure to buy from a reputable dealer (such as Greg Jowaisas or Chris Algar), or someone else who will guarantee that the instrument is in good condition - a concertina bought from some random person on eBay can have all sorts of things wrong with it that cost a lot of money to fix. Chris Algar has this one on eBay right now that might interest you.