Hello From A Newbie, And A Question

[thetownpiper]

Hi all....

 

I'm toying with the idea of getting a concertina after a trip to a shop in Eugene, Oregon which had a room full of concertinas and accordions. I'd primarily be using it to play sea chanteys/Irish, and occasionally maybe a vocal accompaniment.

 

I'm not going to go into the "gosh, those little things are sure expensive" routine, I appreciate that if you want the sound you'll pay the price. However, I don't want to get taken to the cleaners like some of these poor souls who buy third world c*** on eBay which is only fit for fire tinder. I admit I'm coming from a position of ignorance on this instrument. It appears that Lachenal, Wheatstone, Stagi, Jack/Jackie, Tedrow and a few others are reputable makes, but I want your advice. I'm a novice so I don't think I'm ready to sink 6 grand on an instrument yet, but I want something that will sound easy on the ear and is playable.

 

How much of a risk does one take buying a used concertina?

 

 

Cheers,

Dave Parkhurst

Edited June 21, 2006 by thetownpiper

[JimLucas]

...a shop in Eugene, Oregon which had a room full of concertinas and accordions.

 

How much of a risk does one take buying a used concertina?

That depends very much on who you buy it from.

 

This is the first I've heard of a shop in Eugene that has "concertinas" (plural), though in the past year or two a few nice vintage concertinas have appeared on eBay from the Portland area. What makes and models do they have, and what are their prices?

 

And have you read enough here to have decided whether you want an anglo, English, or duet?

 

We'll definitely do our best to help you acquire our addiction.

[bill_mchale]

Hi all....

 

I'm toying with the idea of getting a concertina after a trip to a shop in Eugene, Oregon which had a room full of concertinas and accordions. I'd primarily be using it to play sea chanteys/Irish, and occasionally maybe a vocal accompaniment.

 

I'm not going to go into the "gosh, those little things are sure expensive" routine, I appreciate that if you want the sound you'll pay the price. However, I don't want to get taken to the cleaners like some of these poor souls who buy third world c*** on eBay which is only fit for fire tinder. I admit I'm coming from a position of ignorance on this instrument. It appears that Lachenal, Wheatstone, Stagi, Jack/Jackie, Tedrow and a few others are reputable makes, but I want your advice. I'm a novice so I don't think I'm ready to sink 6 grand on an instrument yet, but I want something that will sound easy on the ear and is playable.

 

How much of a risk does one take buying a used concertina?

 

 

Cheers,

Dave Parkhurst

 

Dave,

Welcome to our common addiction .

 

Well my general advise is this, first decide what sort of instrument you want.. Anglo, English, Duet, etc. While they sound very much alike, they play radically differently. In particular some people have trouble wrapping their heads around the Anglo system but find the English natural or trouble with the English system but find the Anglo natural. (if you think playing a harmonica is natural you will probably do ok on the Anglo).

 

Ok, in general, for a new player, I would recommend buying vintage instruments (say those older than about 10 years) only from a reputable source of used instruments.. Just ask people around here, but the Button box, Paul Groff and Barleycorn are often recommended as sources for buying used concertinas.

 

Now final thoughts on Anglos, I would definitely first determine what I was willing to spend on an instrument. The better accordion reeded instruments new run from $1700-2000 USA. Concertina reeded instruments start at around $3000, but more typically around $4500 for a 30 button instrument but all the new ones have waiting lists that measure into years. Good quality used instruments will cost at least as much.

 

The final thought on buying used is that occasionally a used Tedrow, Edgley, Button Box, etc will come up for sale in the for sale section of this forum. Since most of these instruments have been manufactured relatively recently, they are usually in good condition. I got my first good concertina this way.. Someone who was a regular poster on here was selling a Marcus at a good price. Personally I would only buy from someone who had posted a fair number of times, and wouldn't buy from someone who only posted to say they were selling on ebay. But that is me .

 

--

Bill

[bill_mchale]

 

 

Well my general advise is this, first decide what sort of instrument you want.. Anglo, English, Duet, etc. While they sound very much alike, they play radically differently. In particular some people have trouble wrapping their heads around the Anglo system but find the English natural or trouble with the English system but find the Anglo natural. (if you think playing a harmonica is natural you will probably do ok on the Anglo

 

--

Bill

very good advice Bill,however I play the harmonica but couldn,t get on with the anglo ,although most people would find it easier,Iam sure.

 

Well I did say probably .

 

BTW, I want to make one thing clear from my earlier post. When I mentioned that the waiting list was years, I was specifically referring to makers using concertina reeds. Most of the accordion reeded instruments can be ready in less than a year, and some of them might just have instruments close to being done.

 

--

Bill

[bill_mchale]

 

 

Well my general advise is this, first decide what sort of instrument you want.. Anglo, English, Duet, etc. While they sound very much alike, they play radically differently. In particular some people have trouble wrapping their heads around the Anglo system but find the English natural or trouble with the English system but find the Anglo natural. (if you think playing a harmonica is natural you will probably do ok on the Anglo

 

--

Bill

very good advice Bill,however I play the harmonica but couldn,t get on with the anglo ,although most people would find it easier,Iam sure.

 

Well I did say probably .

 

BTW, I want to make one thing clear from my earlier post. When I mentioned that the waiting list was years, I was specifically referring to makers using concertina reeds. Most of the accordion reeded instruments can be ready in less than a year, and some of them might just have instruments close to being done.

 

--

Bill

i think you will find J ohn Connor ,only has a waiting list of nine months

 

Really? Thats cool, I have only heard a few things about Connor's, but it has generally been positive. I would guess that if the waiting list is so short that it is more because of lack of advertising than anything else. I don't know how fast the Concertina Connection sold out their run of Anglos for 2006, but I know that Dana Johnson developed a 2 year wait list rather quickly once he put up his website.

 

--

Bill

[DavidFR]

 

 

Well my general advise is this, first decide what sort of instrument you want.. Anglo, English, Duet, etc. While they sound very much alike, they play radically differently. In particular some people have trouble wrapping their heads around the Anglo system but find the English natural or trouble with the English system but find the Anglo natural. (if you think playing a harmonica is natural you will probably do ok on the Anglo

 

--

Bill

very good advice Bill,however I play the harmonica but couldn,t get on with the anglo ,although most people would find it easier,Iam sure.

 

Well I did say probably .

 

BTW, I want to make one thing clear from my earlier post. When I mentioned that the waiting list was years, I was specifically referring to makers using concertina reeds. Most of the accordion reeded instruments can be ready in less than a year, and some of them might just have instruments close to being done.

 

--

Bill

i think you will find J ohn Connor ,only has a waiting list of nine months

 

Really? Thats cool, I have only heard a few things about Connor's, but it has generally been positive. I would guess that if the waiting list is so short that it is more because of lack of advertising than anything else. I don't know how fast the Concertina Connection sold out their run of Anglos for 2006, but I know that Dana Johnson developed a 2 year wait list rather quickly once he put up his website.

 

--

Bill

 

 

Personally I've never seen any information anywhere on where or how to purchase a new Connor, either through an agent or direct sales. I'm sure if such information were available, plenty of people (myself included) would be interested in getting on that list. The lack of advertising may be completely intentional - as you say, when Dana Johnson started his wait list jumped exponentially. Maybe some makers like Connor and Dipper are purposefully trying to avoid being flooded by operating on a more word-of-mouth basis.

[JimLucas]

Maybe some makers like Connor and Dipper are purposefully trying to avoid being flooded by operating on a more word-of-mouth basis.

Too late for Colin, alas!

Even without formal advertising, he's flooded.

[Ken_Coles]

The lack of advertising may be completely intentional - as you say, when Dana Johnson started his wait list jumped exponentially. Maybe some makers like Connor and Dipper are purposefully trying to avoid being flooded by operating on a more word-of-mouth basis.

 

This suspicion is why I never presumed to advertise for Dana J., althought he showed me his concertina (number 003?) in 2001 and I decided then than I eventually wanted one. He told me recently he was getting a new order almost every week.