If you were me...

[Danny Connors]

Hello, folks. I had a lovely Minstrel from Concertina Connection but lost it in the fires here in California. I reached out to the folks from CC to replace it but they mentioned a 15 week lead time. I loved that instrument and found absolutely no fault with it, but that's quite a long time and they seem to get snapped up very quickly if they ever show up used. I'm considering the McNeela Phoenix or the Sherwood Flynn as possible replacements but would love to hear your thoughts. Are they comparable in quality? If you were in my shoes would you go ahead and wait the 4 months for a Minstrel? How would you play it?

 

Cheers,

     Danny

[Ciaran OGrady]

Hey Danny - I have no experience of the Minstrel - I'm just very sorry that you lost it in the first place in the fires. Hope you're otherwise safe and sound and your community too. Aside from losing loved ones, I can think of few things as distressing as losing a precious instrument. Hope you have one back in your hands soon. 

 

All the best

 

Ciaran

[Tiposx]

Here is a Minstrel for sale in the u.k. I believe Red Cow export.

https://redcowmusic.co.uk/product/minstrel-anglo-concertina/

[Phil Hague]

I suggest you contact Barleycorn Concertinas. They are in the UK and have an extensive stock of good used instruments and have a wide knowledge.

 

[John Wild]

Sorry for your loss.

15 weeks seems to me quite speedy.

Some makers have several years of waiting with accumulated orders.

[wunks]

There is a Phoenix for sale in Alameda for around 1K.  Listed on Facebook marketplace.

 

Cheers

[fred v]

That is probably the same instrument. Pretty good for the price.

[wunks]

Ya, if it's in good playing condition.  It's in CA. so perhaps testable in person.

[PaulDa321]

A Phoenix plays well if nothing is mechanically wrong with it. I enjoyed my short run with it, but sent it back with leaky bellows and decided not to continue to chance it. I’ve heard some say that whoever designed the Phoenix (and its numerous Chinese twins), took a little too much inspiration from the Minstrel. I played the Minstrel for about 10 minutes and didn’t get a great feel for it, but I could tell it was similar and that I preferred the feel of the buttons on the Phoenix, which is one of my favorite features on it, other than its almost toy-like light-weight.  Minstrel is likely more reliable and higher quality, but they feel quite similar when played. 

[Danny Connors]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the feedback and I also greatly appreciate you looking out for ones on sale for me. As you can imagine I've got LOTS to do. Just wanted to say I truly appreciate your efforts.

[Becky_S]

Hi Danny, so sorry for the loss of a cherished instrument, and much else I imagine! I am a beginner and have been playing a Phoenix for about a year. I do like it a lot. I have not played a Minstrel so I'm afraid I can't compare them for you. The Phoenix is obviously not comparable to a professional instrument, but it's been serving me quite well to learn on and sounds very nice (IMHO). It's of course accordian reeded (which I rather like), but has a nice warm tone to my ear. The action is plenty fast for my needs at this point, and the buttons have a very comfortable texture, overall it's very pleasant to play. When I first bought it, the bellows were pretty stiff, but they have loosened up a lot with playing. It does have one reed which is clearly faulty in some way (buzzing) - but it's an obscure low note that I will probably never need, so I haven't bothered to have it repaired. I also suspect that the bellows are not as tight as they could be, but not to a degree which is causing me real problems. If you can inspect one in person rather than purchasing online (as I did), that might save you some hassle, as I have heard quality can be variable with them. Of course I would love to upgrade at some point to a fancier concertina, but for an intermediate concertina I think it's quite nice, certainly glad I didn't go for anything below this level!