Stagi for beginner

[JS88]

Apologies as I am sure this has been asked several times before but t I go again.

Having made the mistake of buying one of those cheap red concertinas and then having to get an ebay refund as it wasn't airtight, I have now put in some more research and am still keen to get an Anglo. My budget could stretch to about £200 and I note that Stagi have a good rep, and can come in at about that, but also that their quality for instruments made some years ago isn't to good. I note from this forum that the company was sold in 2019(?), and that is when the quality improved, but also that it was good before that and then declined . When did it start to decline?

Also, can I ask if it is possible to identify one Stagi built in one year/ under one ownership from another?

And lastly, is £200 realistic for a beginners instrument?

many thanks

[Tiposx]

I think it would be great luck to find a working concertina for £200. The lowest priced ones on eBay are an expensive mistake for a beginner. All ebay concertinas are a gamble.

A 20 button Lachenal in good working condition sells for around twice that amount. The cheapest good one that I am aware of is a fully restored one that I sold for £250 a few months ago, but that was not the norm.

Edited March 4 by Tiposx

[Ken_Coles]

Actually, 20-button Stagis still appear at that price level in the U.S., often the ones with the double reeds. I played two different ones over several years (including two times at Noel Hill concertina school and all I got was encouragement) before graduating to a Lachenal. The second one was a 20-button Stagi I bought new in 1997 (model B-2 IIRC, around 300 USD) and quality was (and still is) decent on that one. Keep looking.

 

Ken

[David Colpitts]

As these things often go, I got my first Stagi at Ken's suggestion at a Squeeze-In, about 14 years ago....it was 95 USD and still plays fine; it's the 30 button, black, real leather bellows, and a sweet tone.  Last year, got a similar vintage with metal ends for 125 USD, and a 30 button D/A for 300, with low mileage.  All are well above, IMHO, the lowest quality Chinese imports people speak of so often here.  They are (also, IMHO) above the bigger, newer "faux marquetry" Stagis made before the last corporate change there; I don't know anything of the new and improved ones.  Anyway, to the original question:  I bet some nice old Stagis in or near your price range remain.  As Ken said, perhaps "keep looking."

[JS88]

Thanks folks. Food for thought 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

I have my one and only Anglo concertina it was marketed under the Hohner name originally, but was.made in Italy, by a company which no later longer trades, and which made Stagi brand also.

So my one ( from 1999) was made similar company Stagi.

Maybe I am biased having my one beloved instrument, but after teething problems in the early days ( it was brand new)..over time of use it began to become ever more important to me. Steel reeds, real leather bellows, ( not synthetic), and strong tone of sound. 26 years of use and still working nicely.

I think the two ladies that took over production use some of the old companies machinery.( As far as I know).

But they are more than £200 these days to buy. My own one was well over that price 25 years ago.

 

 

 

 

[Ken_Coles]

2 hours ago, David Colpitts said:

 I bet some nice old Stagis in or near your price range remain.  As Ken said, perhaps "keep looking."

 

There you go: Stagis in the 2020s perhaps = Lachenals in the 1980s?  😎

 

Ken

[JS88]

Thanks. Not really that enthusiastic about distance buying, either ebay or any other method, but finding it even more difficult with concertinas. The instrument I already play is the banjo and although you can't hear the tone over in an advert you can at least see if the neck is straight, what tone ring, head bridge and tuners they have. These concertinas have all the important bits inside! 
From the helpful comments so far I wonder if a 20 button Stagi (although not branded?), allegedly about 2 years old, for about £200 is worth a punt. I will think on.

[Tiposx]

You might ask the vendor to share a video of it playing? But often the vendors say that they can't play. Anything is worth a punt if you have a money back guarantee. I tend to use paypal if I am buying "in the wild".

I have always been confident when dealing with members of this forum though, after mild checks.

[JS88]

Good point. The vendor seems to have several concertinas around this price point, which I don't know if makes me more or less confident. On the whole it does seem an expensive hobby, as I would imagine if I get on with it I probably need to spend about £900 to get a properly good instrument. That kinda kills the banjo budget  

[Tiposx]

If it is an ebay vendor that also sells ornaments, toys and trinkets then, well...

I have posted about that particular vendor before.

My advice is to find some people who play tinas. Listen to their playing. Often they know of a decent instrument that migjt be for sale, or even let you try one out.

You will find one much cheaper than £900 if you keep looking. Some might be coming up, but not for sale just yet. They tend to arrive in threes I find!

Edited March 5 by Tiposx

[Tiposx]

JS88 I have sent you a personal message (PM)

Cheers

Tiposx

[Mike Jones]

Hi JS88,

You may be interested in a Lachenal 20 button Anglo in C/G with brass reeds that I have for sale. It is part of my collection but I will be downsizing this fairly soon. 

I bought the concertina in question last year for some of its parts but it was better than expected so I rebuilt it with replacement bellows, pads, valves and other parts. It's not one I will be using though as it was intended for beginners workshops and i already have three other 20 button C/G and five 30 button instruments. You can have it for £225 and if it does not suit I'm happy to accept returns. I live outside Norwich, not that far from Peterbrough.

If you are not worried about which keys the instrument is in, I have two East German concertinas , one on D/A and the other in Bb/F, that I need to dispose of on behalf of SqueezEast Concertina Band. They are not in beginner friendly Key's for beginner workshops, but if you are only intending to learn or practice at home they will be fine as try-outs, so if you are using a written tutor for a C/G, as the Anglo is a transposing instrument , the tunes you hear will be in the keys of the relevant instrument. If later you get a C/G the same fingering will yield tunes in C or G. These will be £60 each. They are in quite good condition and although not as well built as a traditional English made instrument they play well for what they are.

If you wish to try a  chromatid 48 button English concertina with brass reeds, after trying the Anglo, I also have one of these for disposal, also sale or return and price can be negotiated.

Mike

[JS88]

Many thanks for the offer Mike. I think for the moment I am going to take a pause and consider the info you have all given and then take it from there. Thanks

[AndyNT]

It is worth browsing Facebook Marketplace every so often. At the moment I can see a CC Rochelle2 in Wales - £200, 30 button. Might be worth enquiring and ask if they can provide videos, sound files etc, more details, reasons for sale etc.

All the above words of caution are relevant.