Jump to content

German EC


rcr27

Recommended Posts

Hi, I just put a ‘rare’ german English Concertina for sale on eBay UK. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/English-Concertina-Made-In-Germany/372816298603?pageci=78ebc945-e124-4c9c-8ff6-e0eab841d936 Can’t really find any information online regarding the manufacturer, if anyone has got any relevant information I could add it to the description. 

 

If anyone is interested drop me a message, I would rather deal outside ebay and contribute a percentage to the forum.

 

Thanks

 

32A7DEA3-77F4-449A-A2C5-11CB478F9B48.jpeg

1C683BAB-2CA5-4A87-9342-12CF64165AD1.jpeg

1CB5E425-E164-48EE-A8E7-8331D24CFBD4.jpeg

B81C4D47-2877-4FBE-A0CD-3D82ED2613C2.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, rcr27

I've read the text of your eBay offer, and I have one or two comments to make on it. You seem to be underselling your concertina.?

 

You write:

 

Quote

Looks somewhat different to the common Italian/Chinese concertinas (Stagi, Hohner, Scarlatti etc.).

I wouldn't even hint at an association with the notoriously unreliable modern Italian or Chinese boxes.
 

Quote

 

I believe this one is much older;

I’ve checked the tuning and the notes are at A=435Hz, a relatively old pitch.

 

FYI my old German Bandonion, which Harry Geuns has dated to the decades around 1900, is also in this old European 435 Hz pitch. "Early 20th Century" would be a better dating than "much older".

Quote

The reed pan looks quite different to the typical foldable structure that the Italian/chinese ones have; . Both reed pan and action board are joined as one whole piece.

This is also the case with my above-mentioned Bandoneon. And what do you mean by "foldable structure"? You could just say, "The reed pan and action board are one piece, as in a Bandoneon/German Concertina." Again, avoid association with "cheap Chinese"!

 

Quote

I don’t know what type of reeds they are, could be accordion, harmonium or even bandoneon reeds.

Several reeds on one plate is the traditional configuration for German concertinas (including Bandoneons). However, Bandoneon reeds are set parallel to one another. What we have here is obviously an innovative, radial arrangement. This is common in English-built concertinas, with their individual reed shoes; the maker of this instrument probably devised the "multiple, radial reed plates" to facilitate the installation of the English-style levers. (German levers invariably run parallel from button to pad.)

 

Quote

They have a quiet but nice sound.

I'd love to hear it! I imagine it could be something like  my small, single-voiced Bandoneon.

 

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

John

 

PS. Just found a source in the Internet, which shows a Micklitz (chromatic) Bandonoen dated 1922, with the remark that in the "year of manufacture", Micklitz sold his Altenburg Bandoneon factory and became a partner of Wilhelm König in Berlin. So your instrument would date to 1922 or earlier.

Edited by Anglo-Irishman
Added info
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi John 

I really appreciate all the helpful information on your comments, I wasn’t aware of certain things.

The only reason I associate this box with the chinese ones are because of the plastic buttons which imo are not desirable at all since the playability isn’t great. 

I’ve never had or played a bandoneon before, so I had no idea of the characteristics of this instrument; thanks for the information and sure I will edit the description.

I myself started with a Hohner english concertina, I can only remember opening it once or twice. As far as I can remember, it didn’t have a reed pan like this german one, instead, there were like 4 pieces folded in (with the reeds inserted). That’s what I meant by ‘foldable structure’. I also had a Gremlin (Stagi) 56 key with the same sort of structure. (Sorry if the description doesn’t make much sense but I cant remember very well!) 

In terms of sound, certain notes (specially the high notes) sound a little louder than others, I don’t know why this could be. You can’t play very fast with this concertina because of the the plastic buttons and also because the springs are not great quality sprigs such as the vintage english ones. However, the chords sound very nice and I think it would be great for accompanying rather than for solos, but then again is not in modern pitch. 

Thanks for the information about the pitch and the reeds, I will add it to the description!.

Unfortunately, although this concertina is more beautiful than the chinese ones, it’s still far from the quality of the vitange ones made in England. Lately, many Lachenal tutor models have been sold on ebay at around £150-300, which is a relatively cheap price and I haven’t yet received an offer for this one, so I’m afraid I can’t sell it for much higher, which suggests me that there is very little interest on concertinas that are not English-made. 

 

Anyways, thanks again for all the useful information!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, I am in the wrong country.  Were it an option, I would gladly take a chance on this over a Chinese box to give the English system a go.  Then again, we don't see Lachenal boxes under £300 very often here either.

 

Quite a shame that dealing internationally is such a headache.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...