Anyone familiar with the Irish concertina company

[rockportland]

Anyone have any experience with the Irish concertina company? They have 3 models, I’m particularly interested to hear about

the Vintage and the Eiru. Both have concertina reeds and sound fabulous. Just checking out options to buy.

Thanks

[David Levine]

I owned the top grade for a while. I did not think it was better than a Dipper, Carroll, Suttner, or a good Jeffries.

[LR71]

They cost less, though, excepting the cheapest Suttner. Was the playability almost as good? 

Edited November 2, 2022 by LR71

[pentaprism]

I have a chance to play a Vintage. It is a beautiful instrument. The sound is bright (for sure brighter than your Kensington), not necessarily a bad thing.

 

The buttons are light and even. I myself prefer delrin to metal, however.

 

The bellows are very soft, in fact, too soft to my taste. Even when new, you close the concertina, and put it down, the bellows don't expand much, may be 1/4 - 1/2 inch. IMHO, the softness of the bellows makes the concertina less stable when being played fast. Note that I'm not commenting on the quality of the bellows, which I think is quite good.

 

I haven't played many concertinas, but among the ones I could get my hands on, I best like the feeling of the Morse Céilí bellows. They feel just right, not too hard nor too soft, when new and when well-played.

 

By the way, I had a chance to deal with Sean Garvey, the owner of The Irish Concertina Company, on some issues regarding shipping. It was not his fault, but he was very nice and very accommodating.

Edited November 4, 2022 by pentaprism