tangbo Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 This is my 2¢ about a lesser-known maker I had the good fortune to meet last year ~ I just received a new C/G anglo from Crook Concertinas. I waited a mere 3 months to get it. Details and description below - And here is the contact information for the maker: Crook Concertinas Williespoke@gmail.com 303-960-3701 https://www.instagram.com/crook_concertinas/ https://www.youtube.com/@CrookConcertinas/ Willie Crook says the best ways to contact him are email and direct message on Instagram. This thing is hard to put down. The tuning is impeccable and the reeds respond so quickly that I'm still adapting to it, feeling like I'm learning how to drive a modern car after coasting to work in an old Datsun. His workmanship is detail-oriented to an uncommon degree - he even puts effort into the beauty and polish of the normally-hidden internal mechanism just in case someone opens it up to have a look. I toured his Colorado shop in November. A machinist with his talent and experience could be making governors for Woodward or injectors for Boeing or whomever. Instead, Willie Crook is building little button boxes for the likes of us. And they perform QUITE nicely. He makes three sizes - 5⅝", 6¼", and a baritone. He pours a lot of time and energy into his handmade concertina reeds. (See his youtube channel.) He has various options for woods, buttons, and bellows papers. Endplates can be wood or metal, and the particular pattern I chose is unique to Willie's concertinas. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So how did I end up with one of these? This fall I realized I wanted another concertina, and I spent time reaching out to every maker for whom I could get contact information. After several attempts, many (including a few well-known names) have remained unreachable. But I took detailed notes when someone responded, and collected data on about 30 makers. In the end I learned some interesting things, and talked with a lot of players about whatever they had in the case. There are lots of good-looking possibilities out there, but of course many have raised prices dramatically, and many have a waiting list which is several years long. We're used to this, I suppose. But I made a project out of talking to everyone because I wanted something good. People had only positive things to say about Willie's concertinas. He operates in Denver and he is an easy maker to reach. When my instrument was finished we had a session in his kitchen, sipping tea and trying out old tunes on the new machine. This maker plays concertina and plays it well, and he maintains a high standard for the shiny contraptions leaving his shop. We live with the fact that looking for a good concertina is a bit harder than shopping for a violin or a guitar. I think Crook Concertinas is a great option for someone who wants a meticulously-made, high-performance instrument, doesn't want to pay over the top of the current price spectrum to get something from one of the big concertina dynasties, and doesn't want to wait until the end of the Holocene extinction for it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 I don’t know if you’re aware there is another current thread about Crook Concertinas that @WCrook has responded to quite recently. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 tangbo, thank you so much for this timely information & detailed account of your experience! I visited this forum yesterday, hoping to start the daunting task of looking for a second Concertina for myself. I fortunately had beginners dumb luck in buying a McNeela Phoenix three years ago, which I absolutely love, but I am uneasy just having one instrument, and would like to try maybe a more advanced model of an Anglo CG. I’m in Kansas City, not that far from Denver, & hope I can try a Crook & start the process :^ ) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangbo Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 Sunny22 - I have played a Phoenix before! 👍 How do you find the bellows, tuning, and response? The Crook will be a dramatic upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 After starting with a cheap 20 button, I moved up to a cheap 30 button and really took off on that machine, wore it out. I was fortunate to find a knowledgeable accordion repair man nearby who repaired one reed that became unglued, and he told me I was going to end up replacing all the reeds eventually which would be a money pit. By then I was really hooked on Concertina, and I was able to happily rationalize getting the Phoenix, which was like day and night for me. It was so smooth and responsive. I can’t imagine anything better, so I can’t wait ro try a Crook. I emailed Willie yesterday and every time an email comes in, I hope it’s him but not so far! I’m ready to jump in my car and head to Denver. Since my Concertina mania began during Covid, I wasn’t able to look at a lot of options, such as traveling to Button Box, so I’m just really grateful that McNeela ended up being so available and helpful to me, spending that kind of money, sight-unseen overseas. So I consulted them recently, but they have nothing more advanced than the Phoenix, & advised me to investigate vintage Concertinas, but I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole, I just want to make music. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangbo Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 (edited) I imagine we could have the same view about playing - I want a situation which maximizes actual playing time. Buying an old machine which might end up taking lots of time and money to get in good playing order after I have already paid and waited for it to arrive isn't my idea of a good time. But I do know players who live at the other end of this spectrum. They seem to want to tinker and buy and sell instruments as much or more than they want to play. Edited March 11 by tangbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 How quickly things change! I am now on an 18 month waitlist for a Crooks, (sigh). When he finishes his current order, I’ll go to Denver to see it, before it goes off to its new owner, overseas! Ah well, I can really brush up on my chops in 18 months, & am reminding myself what good fortune I have in owning my beloved Phoenix. I still want another instrument so as to not have all my eggs in one basket for the next 18 months. I will cruise the forums here looking for other suggestions. Any experience with or knowledge of Liberty Bellows concertinas? They seem to be based in Philadelphia but I don’t know where they are made. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberon Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Liberty Bellows is just a retailer and repairer, they don't produce any instruments. The instruments they sell as far as concertinas go is Stagi brand stuff, and the occasional wheatstone I think. Makes in the United states would be Bob Tedrow, Dana Johnson (Kensington Concertinas), Wim Wakker (concertina connection) and Crook. I don't think there are any other makers of concertinas in the United states. It depends a bit on what country you live in I suppose but there are options for stand in concertinas while you're waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcoover Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Also Frank Edgley in Canada, very high quality hybrid and traditional Anglos. Not exactly sure what Wally Carroll will be doing next, but his work is also top notch. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hersh Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) Thomas is another US maker of concertinas with traditional concertina reeds: http://thomasconcertinas.com/index_files/Thomas_Concertinas_Instrument.htm . I've only seen and played one Thomas concertina but I thought it was very good. Edited March 17 by Daniel Hersh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Thanks for these suggestions, it seems there are some options out there. I remember communicating with Dana Kensington on this thread 3 years ago when I was just starting my concertina adventure, & he was kind & encouraging. I’m waiting to hear what his lead time is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberon Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Not to deviate from thread too much more, but I highly highly recommend Dana's Kensington Concertinas. They are a true gem, beautifully serviceable and woefully underrated and I wish more people played his boxes, mine is the perfect concertina for me and I've been through a lot of the things. But back on discussion, I can't wait to try Willies concertinas some day. Hopefully I can just get a trip out to that side of the country some time in the near future and try one out in person. I've been following his progress for a long time and I really really like what I see. His aesthetic for componentry and outside the box engineering is really compelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 7 hours ago, Sunny22 said: I remember communicating with Dana Kensington on this thread 3 years ago... Just to set the record straight: His name is Dana Johnson. He is located in Kensington, Maryland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Oh my, thank you for the correction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digver Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 A week or so ago Dana added me to his list and I was told it would be sometime in 2025. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Thank you, I’ll sit tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgana Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I'm also on the waiting list for a Crook Concertina... was told "around 18 months) so could be a big longer but I think it will definitely be worth the wait! A huge thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and experiences about this lovely concertinas, really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny22 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 The thrill of the chase…a side “benefit” of this non-mainstream instrument. Plus, an opportunity for me to chill out, & appreciate the concertina I have :^ ) Edgley quotes around 10 months & is within a reasonable distance such that I could go try one. Still waiting to hear from Kensington. In the meantime, any thoughts about Concertina Connection’s Clover? Maybe this is getting off topic & I should start a new thread… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.png.195cff51bdb2145a69dd644413608dd4.png)
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now