conzertino Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Interestingly enough this one obviousely has been played a lot in it's days. I had a big Jeffries-duet for a while, which seemed totally unplayable to me;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome1999 Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Daniel, where are you based? Another good idea would be to go to a concertina-meeting. Coming weekend there will be 45 concertina-players of all systems and all kind of styles gathereing at my place in Germany. There will be instruments to try and to buy. Unfortunately, I live in the US, so I won't be able to make it this time. Sounds like a lot of fun, though! -Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Since you know the piano keyboard you can probably make up a paper version of the layout and see if you can play anything interesting on it. Pretty good advice IMO, maybe you (Daniel) could even mark all available keys on the piano... (of course including the splitting into - or overlapping of? - the two sides). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartEstell Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Interestingly enough this one obviousely has been played a lot in it's days. I had a big Jeffries-duet for a while, which seemed totally unplayable to me;-) Funny, isn't it? The Jeffries duet makes loads of sense to me. Jerome - I think this highlights that there are no hard and fast rules as to what system will suit each player... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewVanitas Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Jerome, if you end up leaning towards English, I suggest posting a WTB ad on the classifieds here (make clear in your title what country you're in). The Concertina Connection Jack and Jackie models, the popular bare-bones beginner option, sell for $250-300 here on a good day, and as a very young beginner maybe someone can cut you a deal on one they have kicking around. That said, for a few hundred more than a Jack/ie would cost you, you might be able to find one beginner-quality vintage English concertina from a member here. A vintage concertina would generally play a lot smoother, have a more traditional sound, and be much less bulky than the modern hybrid beginner instruments. You can also google up Greg Jowaisas if you're in the US, as he keeps a lot of vintage instruments in stock, and last I'd heard had a pretty good number of Englishes made by Lachenal (kind of the default basic-but-okay brand vintage name). Concertina is a great instrument, looking forward to hearing what you end up doing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hersh Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Daniel, where are you based? Another good idea would be to go to a concertina-meeting. Coming weekend there will be 45 concertina-players of all systems and all kind of styles gathereing at my place in Germany. There will be instruments to try and to buy. Unfortunately, I live in the US, so I won't be able to make it this time. Sounds like a lot of fun, though! -Daniel What part of the US? We have them here too, and there's one coming up in a few weeks in my area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) A vintage concertina would generally play a lot smoother, have a more traditional sound, and be much less bulky than the modern hybrid beginner instruments. Aside from the introductory line from Concertina Connection -- the Jack, Jackie, Rochelle, and Elise, -- all of the modern hybrids that I've tried have played as smoothly as and been of comparable size to their non-deluxe vintage counterparts. As for "traditional" sound, I'm not sure Daniel (Jerome1999) knows yet what that is. He was attracted to the concertina by the sound of a piano accordion. Edited March 29, 2015 by JimLucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) Daniel, where are you based? Another good idea would be to go to a concertina-meeting. Coming weekend there will be 45 concertina-players of all systems and all kind of styles gathereing at my place in Germany. There will be instruments to try and to buy. Unfortunately, I live in the US, so I won't be able to make it this time. Sounds like a lot of fun, though! Same weekend (already begun) is Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival in Texas. If you live near enough, you should drop by for at least one day. Plenty of concertinas. If you do go, be sure to introduce yourself; you'll find everyone massively helpful. Edited to add: We also have our own Scandinavian Squeeze-In next month in southern Sweden, but right now your money is probably better spent on a concertina than on air fare. Edited March 27, 2015 by JimLucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome1999 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 What part of the US? We have them here too, and there's one coming up in a few weeks in my area. Same weekend (already begun) is Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival in Texas. If you live near enough, you should drop by for at least one day. Plenty of concertinas. If you do go, be sure to introduce yourself; you'll find everyone massively helpful. Edited to add: We also have our own Scandinavian Squeeze-In next month in southern Sweden, but right now your money is probably better spent on a concertina than on air fare. I live in the southeast US, so if you hear of anything in my area could you let me know? Thanks! Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome1999 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 A vintage concertina would generally play a lot smoother, have a more traditional sound, and be much less bulky than the modern hybrid beginner instruments. Aside from the introductory line from Concertina Connection -- the Jack, Jackie, Rochelle, and Elise, -- all of the modern hybrids that I've tried have played as smoothly as and been of comparable size to their non-deluxe vintage counterparts. As for "traditional" sound, I'm not sure Jerome knows yet what that is. He was attracted to the concertina by the sound of a piano accordion. Would a new Jackie be better than a similarly priced vintage concertina? -Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Daniel Vintage concertinas as discussed here are usually taken to mean concertinas of English construction as pioneered by Charles Wheatstone. 'Brand' names include Wheatstone, Lachenal, Jeffries, Crabb, etc... German and Italian concertinas are constructed in different ways, cheaper and cruder ways and so would not be counted here as "Vintage". These brands include Stagi, Bastari, Scholer. Then there are a bunch of Chinese brands with Italian names, but we don't even want to talk about those... Many folks on eBay use the term vintage to mean almost anything older than yesterday. The Concertina Connection concertinas are interesting because they are the cheapest version of a hybrid concertina. An English style action (the system of buttons, levers and springs) with accordion reeds instead of concertina reeds. The result is a concertina that feels like an English construction concertina but sounds more accordion-like. If you have been offered a genuine vintage concertina in playable condition for the same price as a Concertina Connection concertina then you should count yourself very lucky as you would normally expect to pay at least 2x that for a low end vintage concertina. If you have something specific in mind then you could post some details here and get some opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome1999 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 If I worked hard enough, I could probably earn $400 for a concertina In a couple of months. If I tried to look for a vintage in that price range, would I actually find one? Or, would it be wiser to just get a Jackie? -Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Daniel Your chances of finding a usable EC on eBay for about $400 are close to zero. Since you are in the US it would be worth contacting Greg Jowaisas to see what he has, but I think that you would need to find more than $400. However, you would be sure to get an instrument that works and is in tune, which is more than you are likely to find on eBay. It would be an incredibly long shot, but do ask around any aging relatives and friends. Maybe one will find one in a cupboard. These things were the iPhones of a hundred years ago. Post a request on the buy and sell section of this forum, somebody may be able to help you out. Failing all of the above, rent or buy a Jackie, new or used preferably from a member here. Do be careful of eBay concertinas that look almost identical to a Jackie, real Jackies do show up on eBay but just make sure that it really is a Jackie and not a lookalike. If you post your location then there might be an EC playing forum member nearby who can give you some hands on advice. Most of us, I am sure, would love to get more young folks playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewVanitas Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) If I worked hard enough, I could probably earn $400 for a concertina In a couple of months. If I tried to look for a vintage in that price range, would I actually find one? Or, would it be wiser to just get a Jackie? -Daniel For the most basic vintage English in good playing condition, you'd be looking at at least $600-800. So a little more than a new Jackie, but a fair bit more than a used Jackie. If your budget is under $500-600, Jackie is definitely your best bet. I wouldn't muck around with any of the cheaper/competing inexpensive concertinas. Stagi used to be the default starter/beater brand until Concertina Connection outdid them and at a better pricepoint, and I really don't see many used Stagi Englishes going for any price more favorable than a used Jackie. And the cheapie Chinese ones aren't worth buying even for $100. It still wouldn't hurt to contact Greg Jowaisas (http://www.gregsfolkmusic.com/) to ask what his least expensive vintage Englishes are. But given it's going to take you a few months to save up, getting a used Jackie for $250-300 gets a serviceable instrument into your hands promptly. Seconding the above recommendation that if you can mention to us generally what part of the Southeast you're in, very likely there's a Cnet member living within an hour of you who'd be happy to let you check out some concertinas in person to help decide. And if you do decide you want a used Jackie, the Classifieds section of this board is probably the single best place to post a WTB (want to buy ad). Mention you're a teenage beginner in the title to get the sympathy points to get a good deal. If you're looking for cool music to inspire you, if you like classy cafe music sort of thing, check out the work of Juliette Daum on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BQJOucVnCw Edited March 31, 2015 by MatthewVanitas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Daniel Before buying a Jackie you might want to think about its range, the Jack might better suit the type of music you want to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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