Wanted: Beginner's Concertina

[plutoutd]

I'm looking for a beginner's instrument. Doesn't need to be very fancy, just tuned and with no major faults, and not too expensive. I want to learn how to play before I possibly upgrade. Does anyone have anything lying around? =) I live in Sweden.

[psmooze]

You might wanna make up your mind first about the type of concertina you

want to play.

http://www.concertina.info/tina.faq/conc-typ.htm

Edited June 11, 2014 by psmooze

[JimLucas]

I'm looking for a beginner's instrument. Doesn't need to be very fancy, just tuned and with no major faults, and not too expensive. I want to learn how to play before I possibly upgrade. Does anyone have anything lying around? =) I live in Sweden.

 

Var i Sverige bor du?

 

Och vilka musiktyper önskar du att spela?

[plutoutd]

Thanks for your replies, and sorry about the delay in mine!

 

I'm looking for a chromatic instrument, so I'm guessing the English concertina would be preferable? Besides that I'm open to suggestions. It won't necessarily be used exclusively for folk music.

 

 

JimLucas: Jag bor i Växjö. Till en början kommer jag framför allt att använda concertinan till att lägga mattor och meloditeman i akustisk pop.

[psmooze]

If you want to be able to play fluently in most keys the english would be a good choice.

I've a 30-key anglo myself and when people come up with something in Bflat or worse

I'm in hell. That's one of the reasons I'm thinking of switching.

I tried the duet for a while but I can't say that was a great success either.

One of the things you might do is check the internet for people playing the various kinds

of concertinas and see what you like best -- you'll find a lot of material, I can give you some

pointers if you like.

Edited June 15, 2014 by psmooze

[JimLucas]

I'm looking for a chromatic instrument, so I'm guessing the English concertina would be preferable? Besides that I'm open to suggestions. It won't necessarily be used exclusively for folk music.

 

JimLucas: Jag bor i Växjö. Till en början kommer jag framför allt att använda concertinan till att lägga mattor och meloditeman i akustisk pop.

Nu på engelska, till nytta för andra här, och för att amerikanska engelska är mitt modersmål. (Now in English, for the benefit of others here, and because American English is my native language. )

 

If you'd like a chance to meet other concertina players and try some concertinas before making a commitment, I could recommend:

• A session -- more English than Irish -- in Linköping the last Monday of every month, where there's usually a player of the English and sometimes an anglo player. They're friendly and helpful.
• Those two live in greater Stockholm, so they -- and sometimes myself -- can be found at the "English" session in Stockholm, which is the first Sunday of each month. Rickard also has a Crane duet, though he's only beginning to learn to play it.
• Or slightly closer to where you are, I live in Helsingør (Denmark). These days I travel a lot, but you could arrange to drop by sometime when I'm home to try out what I have.

I can PM you with more information, but first my garden desperately needs attention.

[conzertino]

I just posted two metal ended Wheatstone English-system concertinas here.

 

I would regard the model 21 as middle class, the model 22 as lower upper class;-)

 

They may be a little expensive as beginners-instruments, but they usually keep their value - and a decent instrument is more likely to inspire you to stick to it...

 

I also have a really bad brass-reeded Lachenal for 250€ - but you only get 250€ worth of fun out of it...

 

You can ask Jim for his opinion - he is both a connoisseur of concertinas and a friend of mine;-)

[sjrippe]

I have a Jackie English concertina that I used years ago to learn on that is just sitting on a shelf.

[Theo]

I have a Wheatstone Mayfair for sale. Built in the 1950s or 60s by Wheatstone as an inexpensive first instrument. Details here

[bellowbelle]

Hmm, well….

 

I do have a used 48-key Bastari, made in Italy. But, it does need a slight tune-up. I think I've seen one like it, tuned-up, offered for about $900. (but that's without any shipping costs…).

 

I'm guessing you may do better closer to you, but you can ask me about it later if you wish.

 

I bought it because I do like the sound of the Bastari, sometimes, even though I usually play my Morse concertinas.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Wendy Stanford