Buying Blind

[Alan Day]

There are a number of things that buyers should be aware of when buying blind at auction(ebay) or even direct to the owner.Firstly let us assume the general appearance is ok and the bellows are in reasonable condition,this can be easily done with a photo, but what about the rest of the things to check?

Is it in concert pitch? A beginner has just been sold a concertina as D/A but my suspicion is that it is a CG in old concert pitch. Do you when you buy a concertina assume all the reeds are there,are they rusted ?

I recieved a concertina to tune many years ago that had all the reeds, but they were all in a polythene bag inside the concertina.

If I am bidding on a concertina something, I rarely do, I take all these things into consideration.On one viewing I took along my tuning machine to check the pitch and it was in old concert pitch.If it is an expensive concertina like a Jeffries ask permission to remove the ends and have a look inside.

There is a point on bidding that you go to and no further after taking these things into consideration,I certainly would think hard now if I had to take on tuning 60 plus reeds,I would rather lift my hat and walk away.

Al

[Dirge]

What prompted that then Alan? Got a story for us?

[m3838]

That's why my ebay maximum was $400.

Now, when I'm off my company and fend for myself, ebay is for music, CDs and stuff like that. $50 the most.

On the other hand, there are some useful tips to know whether the seller is a player, and if he/she is, then the chances are better. A sound file is good too.

[Theo]

Firstly let us assume the general appearance is ok and the bellows are in reasonable condition,this can be easily done with a photo

I fear even that bellows can be much much worse than they appear. I've recently seen an Aeola with bellows that looked perfectly fine from the outside, but inside all the card panels were in various stages of disintegration. Fortunately the owner (knowinging nothing about concertinas) had come by it in a trade for a banjo. He was delighted when I gave him an estimate of its value, even allowing for the cost of new bellows.

[Bob]

ergo, the importance of bidding on an instrument from a known dealer/seller; someone, with whom you can cut the malarkey and get right down to the "brass tacks" quality of the box and feel a degree of confidence. This is, perhaps, something you can only learn by trial and error and not on the advice/experience of others. Bob

[Alan Day]

No story this time Dirge,sorry but I may think of one.

My stories do however seem to cut the discussion stone dead,so I am trying to restrict them a bit.

Al

[d.elliott]

I have a story

 

its HORROR STORY TIME>>>>>!:

 

a friend has bought a Macann duet, looks & is good, sold as re-furbed and concert pitch, all true.

 

catch 22, its probably x-Sally Army, all notes are two semitones down. Its a transposing instrument.

 

Did the seller know? who can tell? so Options:

 

1. find a brass band to play with,

2. play solo stuff only

3. try to re-tune every reed (and wreck them)

4. start a reed movement and replacement exercise.

 

the lessons,

A: cavet emptor (sorry if spelt wrongly)

B: Do as much homework as circumstances permit.

 

(I think that option 4 is promising, subject to feasibility study)

 

Dave

[JimLucas]

4. start a reed movement and replacement exercise.

...

(I think that option 4 is promising, subject to feasibility study)

May I suggest an option 5?

 

Find someone who wants a Maccann in Bb (ragtimer, are you there?) and is willing to pay a decent price that will allow your friend to get an equivalent Maccann in C.

 

I would think that Bb Maccanns are rare enough and C Maccanns common enough (relative to demand) that this would be a reasonable possibility. It seems a shame to delete a Bb Maccann from the available stock, when it could be playing trumpet parts in a jazz band, or whatever.

 

By the way, how many buttons?

[geoffwright]

all notes are two semitones down

Is that a whole tone?

[malcolm clapp]

all notes are two semitones down

Is that a whole tone?

 

 

Pretty close, assuming pi = 22/7 plus VAT

 

MC (sorry, displaying troll tendancies)

Edited April 28, 2006 by malcolm clapp

[stuart estell]

its HORROR STORY TIME>>>>>!:

 

a friend has bought a Macann duet, looks & is good, sold as re-furbed and concert pitch, all true.

 

catch 22, its probably x-Sally Army, all notes are two semitones down. Its a transposing instrument.

 

How exciting! Nick Oliver has one of these too, which I borrowed a while ago. I found it impossible to play, but then the fact that I have absolute pitch means that I have to play transposing instruments as if they're in C otherwise my brain explodes. Combine that with the Maccann layout for complete cerebral meltdown

 

I vaguely recall him saying that Iris Bishop was after a Bb Maccann but that his (which is a 61 key Maccann) didn't have enough buttons for her.

[Mark Davies]

Perhaps I am not typical but I have bought a number of concertinas via ebay unseen and have never bought "a pup"even when I have bought concertinas from our former colonies.However if anyone contacts me for advise about buying a used concertina I always refer them to one well known dealer who is 100% reliable in every respect.

[Richard Morse]

I have a story -

its HORROR STORY TIME>>>>>!: a friend has bought a Macann duet, looks & is good, sold as re-furbed and concert pitch, all true. catch 22, its probably x-Sally Army, all notes are two semitones down. Its a transposing instrument.

Same story we've had a few months ago. Bought a large 35-key English off eBay after asceraining (as best we could the size and condition of the instrument - she said it was excellent and 8" across the flats). Based on that and such few buttons we expected it to be a very powerful baritone. Turned out to be only 7 1/2" and a transposing tenor instrument for band work in F. Yes, it plays and sounds great (after we restored it), but we wouldn't have paid so much for it if we knew it was in F which really limits the desirability of the box. Still have it on the shelf... anyone interested?

 

It's hard to be diligent in getting info on boxes especially when the sell doesn't play concertina. And the lesson for us was: If we see a big box with a few buttons - assume it's a band instrument and do everything we can to make sure it's NOT a transposing instrument!

[JimLucas]

...we wouldn't have paid so much for it if we knew it was in F which really limits the desirability of the box. Still have it on the shelf... anyone interested?

Wish I had the money. It should be perfect for playing French horn parts as written, as well as being ideal for some singers, including those who use flat keys. The available keys before the side-to-side alternation breaks down would be from 4 flats to 3 sharps, rather than the 3 flats to 4 sharps of a non-transposing English.

 

If it's a "tenor", then the bottom note is C below middle C, yes?

[Peter Brook]

You might think me very old fashined but I can not imagine a scenario where I would buy an instrument I had not played first. The most important thing about any instrument is what is sounds like, and then what it "plays" like. To me it is a given that even though two instruments were made in the same way, using the same materials there will be some minor difference.

 

As an illustration my wife is looking to buy a guitar and is looking at taylor 314CE - we recently visited a shop and they had two instruments which sounded quite different. that is a modern instrument made to the highest standards (if you believe the marketing) - in the end she decided not to buy either but still wants a taylor 314CE!

 

I may feel differently about this if I was a plane ride away from people selling decent concertinas like some of you are. But the whole idea of ebay leaves me cold and I wouldn't be found dead at a boot fair!

[Richard Morse]

If it's a "tenor", then the bottom note is C below middle C, yes?

No, the Bb below that.

[JimLucas]

If it's a "tenor", then the bottom note is C below middle C, yes?

No, the Bb below that.

Interesting. Located where? And if it still goes up to that high F, then what's missing?

[Richard Morse]

If it's a "tenor", then the bottom note is C below middle C, yes?

No, the Bb below that.

Interesting. Located where? And if it still goes up to that high F, then what's missing?

It does go up to the high F but I don't think there's anything missing.