Looking for Rochelle or other beginner 30 button Anglo concertina

[RosesOnMyTable]

I was given an old Scholer concertina and was fascinated but the bellows are leaky. It was recommended a Rochelle would be a good place to start learning. I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA and would like to spend around $400.  

[Roger Hare]

10 hours ago, RosesOnMyTable said:

I was given an old Scholer concertina and was fascinated but the bellows are leaky...

You may be able to bring the Scholer 'back from the dead' and then use it till you can afford something

better than one of these $400 instruments. There is a series of 4 videos on Youtube about the workings

of these instruments:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbPw0yR19zM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88yCVla_Djg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvs4-ANFuq8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anBj1hibG0o

 

Offhand, I can't remember if they discuss fixing the bellows, but you might be lucky.

 

I think the Rochelle is larger than 'standard size'. This may be a problem (it was for me when I tried a CC

English). If you are going to go for one of these $400 models, shop around a bit would be my advice.

[Mjolnir]

If you're in the SF area, Smythe's Accordion Center in Oakland should have a Rochelle you can try out. It's a pretty good instrument for the price, and if you ever decide to upgrade further, I believe Concertina Connection, who makes them, has a trade-in policy.

[Ken_Coles]

All true, except my impression is the Rochelle trade-in policy (at both C Connection and Button Box) is they will trade in instruments originally bought from their store - not interchangeable among businesses SFAIK.

 

Ken

[TapTheForwardAssist]

Note that shortly after you, a member in Wisconsin posted a Swan 30b Anglo for $600, if your budget can flex a bit to get something significantly nicer than you first intended:

 

https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/23638-mcneela-swan-concertina-cg/

[RosesOnMyTable]

Hey all,

I went to Smythe's up in Oakland and he was a swell guy. I bought the last Rochelle he had and he took my Scholer as a trade in. I'm very happy to get started. As a side note, he said he is closing this shop and moving it to Pinole, CA. I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions. 

[Daniel Hersh]

On 2/20/2021 at 4:18 PM, Ken_Coles said:

All true, except my impression is the Rochelle trade-in policy (at both C Connection and Button Box) is they will trade in instruments originally bought from their store - not interchangeable among businesses SFAIK.

 

Ken

 

Ken (and everyone else) - since I was emailing Wim Wakker anyway about the Rochelle 2, I asked him about this.  His reply: "We do accept Concertina Connection brand concertinas as trade in when sold thru our dealers, and even when bought on the used market. We offer the MSRP as a credit for dealer instruments and a market based value for instruments bought on the used market."

 

Daniel 

[Roger Hare]

On 2/19/2021 at 5:59 AM, lachenal74693 said:

...If you are going to go for one of these $400 models, shop around a bit would be my advice.

Well, since I posted the details of the Scholer videos, CC have announced the Rochelle-2

which with it's smaller size, looks like it might be a game-changer at this end of the

market? 

 

CC are still a bit coy about describing the bellows. My personal opinion is that the bellows

are the worst feature of many of these $400-$500 instruments, and I feel that the bellows

are so important...

Edited February 22, 2021 by lachenal74693