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Holmwood vs wheat 21? English


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All,

 I fainally traded something and am within striking distance of making my upgrade happen. Looking for a bit of advice from the people that know a lot better than I do. I currently have a 48 button Lachenal. Steel reeds 6 fold. It sounds good. But looking for something faster and louder. The intent is at some point to do Irish sessions. And for a bit of reference, I have a metal ended AC Norman Anglo that I am making the fast/ loud comparison.

 

trade to be transacted through the ever awesome  Jazzy Greggie J..
 

the two available that I am looking at are a Wheatstone 21 and. Holmwood 56 TT.

 

the 21 seems like the “everyone agrees” vote.


But the Holmwood seems to be everybody’s “coulda woulda shoulda.. the one that got away. And . I should have grabbed it when I could” vote.

 

Greg has also advised that the shape of the  Holmwood buttons are not like everything out there. And this is not the lightest of beasts.


 

can those that have immensely more experience give some thoughts? and unfortunately, with all that is going on “going out and trying them” is not possible.

thanks in advance.

 

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My  vote  goes with the  21  every time.  

 

As you state  your intention  "at  some point to  do  Irish  sessions"  ;  I  lived in Ireland for  many  years  and  have  played  a LOT  of  sessions  on English  concertinas.  At  one stage   during  those years I  had  a  metal  ended  Wheatstone Aeola  TT , a very  good one, but  I  sold it  when I  came  by  a  48 Treble  Rosewood  model  5.  It  just  had  a sound  more in keeping with  Irish  Trad.

More recently  I have owned several  model  22's ,  my  latest  has more than enough power  for  sessions and the  very  noisy    French  trad  band  I  play in.  I  also  have  a  a  wooden  ended  Aeola, no  shrinking violet  either,  for playing at  home.

 

I  have no  experience of  the  Holmwood  instruments.

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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Geoff, so far that seems to be consensus. A 21 is within reach, a 22 for time being is out. 
 

but this (so far) seems to be based on people having hands on experience with the Wheatstone. And not based on experience with the Holmwood. The Holmwood could be a superior choice. But there just seems to be a lack of feedback due to rarity.

 

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My vote goes to the 21 as well.  I’ve had one Holmwood in my hands, also a Tenor Treble.  Beautifully made and sounded good but it was heavy, possibly a little heavier than an equivalent Wheatstone.

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Clearly there’s no wrong choice here. They’re both fine instruments, and whichever you choose you’ll probably to be happy with. The only likely regret would be wondering about “the one that got away.”

 

Nearly 50 years ago, my father taught me a way to make such decisions between two seemingly equivalent choices. Flip a coin. Then, when you see which way it lands you have one chance to “turn it over,” that is, to reject the outcome and make the other choice. But it must be immediate and final.

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3 hours ago, Theo said:

My vote goes to the 21 as well.  I’ve had one Holmwood in my hands, also a Tenor Treble.  Beautifully made and sounded good but it was heavy, possibly a little heavier than an equivalent Wheatstone.


Theo,

 aside from the weight? Is the 21 just a faster, louder, sharper instrument? And just all around better, maybe just not as attractive?
 

 

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13 minutes ago, Don Taylor said:

What the hell, just buy both of them and 'plan' to sell the one you like the least. 

 

That is what I tell my wife...


I am struggling to sell enough for one.. two is way out at this point.

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I read somewhere online about Holmwoods that in addition to recommending wrist straps due to their weight, the buttons are rather pointy (half-spheres as opposed to being slightly domed), so this might be a factor in your decision. My Herrington Anglo has buttons like that and yes, they are not very comfortable. So perhaps Greg J can enlighten about this Holmwood.

 

Gary

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On 6/4/2020 at 7:49 PM, Ken_Coles said:

I guess that never occurred to me because there is no pygidium/tail.

 

Ken (works across the hall from a trilobite paleontologist!)

I don’t see a tail..

C6C9F122-8E4D-467B-A811-5CAE5D37A78E.jpeg

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