Another New Person Asking The Same Old ?

[nalzalk]

i keep this short and sweet. i have save up enough money to buy my frist beginner concertina 300 to 500. i want anglo 30 button for song of the sea and irish tune. my main question, should i save up more cash or go for the rochelle, i'm hearing decent buzz about on this site beacuse if you the group think i should just hold my horses, i will and save up some cash.

 

also i saw someone put up a link of peopel who teach i was wondering if someone could repost that for me.

 

thank you all, for the help and i hope all wonderful playing

[Woody]

Hi Nalzalk & welcome.

 

i keep this short and sweet. i have save up enough money to buy my frist beginner concertina 300 to 500.

300 to 500 in what currency?

 

i want anglo 30 button for song of the sea and irish tune. my main question, should i save up more cash or go for the rochelle, i'm hearing decent buzz about on this site beacuse if you the group think i should just hold my horses, i will and save up some cash.

At the end of the day I think everybody would agree that you should buy the best Concertina you can afford - so it depends on how quickly you'd have the money to make a major step up from Rochelle quality to a better instrument, how much you are willing to pay, and how soon you want to be playing.

 

also i saw someone put up a link of peopel who teach....

It would help people resonding to this to know where you are geographically.

 

- W

[Chris Timson]

Basically, anything that costs less than the Rochelle is almost certain to disappoint you substantially. The reason the Rochelle is causing such a buzz is because it seems to offer an acceptable quality at a remarkably low price. It's your money, of course, but the signs are that it would be worth saving whatever the extra is for a Rochelle. I'll be in a position to say better when I've had a twiddle with Woody's new Rochelle (that's somewhere near New York, isn't it?) in a couple of week's time. In the meantime Woody certainly seems made up with it.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

[jlfinkels]

I assume from the Rochelle reference that you are looking for an Anglo, so my comments are on that subject.

 

My advice would be get as much concertina as you can afford. My opinion is moving up from a Rochelle at $300 the next step would be a used Tedrow, Edgely, Morse at around $1200 or so. Maybe even a vintage Lachenal in decent shape. From there a new concertina (e.g. Tedrow, Edgely, Morse) would put you into the $1800 range. Next would be a Wakker, Suttner or refurbished Lachenal or other vintage concertina in the $2500-$3500 range. From there (drool) you have a lot of beautiful instruments (many with long waiting periods) to choose from.

 

The question is, how long are you willing to wait for the next step up? If you get the Rochelle now you can be practicing for a year while you save for the next instrument, rather than waiting another 6-12 months before buying it.

 

Best of luck and keep squeezing!

 

-jeff

[nalzalk]

Hi Nalzalk & welcome.

 

i keep this short and sweet. i have save up enough money to buy my frist beginner concertina 300 to 500.

300 to 500 in what currency?

 

i want anglo 30 button for song of the sea and irish tune. my main question, should i save up more cash or go for the rochelle, i'm hearing decent buzz about on this site beacuse if you the group think i should just hold my horses, i will and save up some cash.

At the end of the day I think everybody would agree that you should buy the best Concertina you can afford - so it depends on how quickly you'd have the money to make a major step up from Rochelle quality to a better instrument, how much you are willing to pay, and how soon you want to be playing.

 

also i saw someone put up a link of peopel who teach....

It would help people resonding to this to know where you are geographically.

 

- W

 

im coming of houston tx,

dollar

i'm just starting to learn how to read music, so i thinking i can wait untill i can read music.i luckly lived with a family who mother has a master in music and she offer to teach me on piano. i

[bill_mchale]

Obviously the question of whether you should buy the Rochelle or not depends on several factors. The most important factor is I think how long it would take you to save up the rest of the money? In general I recommend the midpriced ($1800-2000) instruments as starting instruments if it is at all possible. The Rochelle might be a great improvement over the Chinese boxes and the Stagis that are out there, but in general, I expect that the Rochelle, like those instruments will not be as durable as properly made concertinas (i.e. reed pan as opposed to reed blocks, and other details). Now the advantage of the Tedrows, the Edgley's, Morse's, etc. is that they tend to hold alot of their value. Even if you decide that concertina is not the instrument for you, you would be able to sell it on here for most of the money you invested in it (80=90% I should think). I am not sure the same will be true of the Rochelle. In any case, those instruments also have one other advantage and that is that other than their tone being a little different than instruments made with real concertina reeds, they give up very little compared to the Suttner's, Wakker's, Carrol, etc. Some people in fact prefer the sound of the Accordion reeded instruments and for them, these could well be lifetime instruments.

 

Now mind you, the Rochelle does seem to be a great instrument for the price. Wim Wakker is certainly one of the great names in the modern concertina revival being the first person to provide instruments for all three market segments (The under $1000, under $2500 and skys the limit ). I am sure the Rochelle would provide at least several years of good service before it would need to be replaced or until you advanced past its limitations. But hey, why buy two concertinas if you don't have to (Wait, i should shut up before someone points out I have 3 ).

 

--

Bill

[David Barnert]

...with Woody's new Rochelle (that's somewhere near New York, isn't it?)

You thought nobody noticed. I grew up there (New Rochelle, in case anbody's still lost). Third stop from Grand Central Station (New York City) on the New Haven line.

 

And, to answer the FAQ: No, I never met Dick Van Dyke!

[Chris Timson]

im coming of houston tx,

Well, when you're ready to move up to a decent mid-range modern instrument, a very good maker lives just down the road from you in Rowlett, Texas. Read up about Harold Herrington here.

 

Chris

 

PS Thanks Dave.

[Dave Prebble]

i'm just starting to learn how to read music, so i thinking i can wait untill i can read music.i luckly lived with a family who mother has a master in music and she offer to teach me on piano. i

 

Hi,

 

If I had waited till I could read music before I bought my first concertina, I would still have been waiting today ..... 30 years later

 

Trust your ears and you will soon be playing without written music.

 

Learning to read music is of course a fine thing (though try as I may I cannot manage it) but please do not let this become a barrier to getting started.

 

Dave

[chainyanker]

another texan yahooo, im just east of dallas. you ever up this way your wecome to stop by and give this one a try. or just drop a line. chainyanker1@juno.com

[Woody]

...in the meantime Woody certainly seems made up with it...

My first impressions are very good, but this should be taken in the context that I've bought it to replace my Chinese 30 button box. It's a decent cheap starter model & I've tried Stagis costing twice as much which were not as good ( <IMHO> ) - but I would definitely be disappointed in it if I were paying the same for it as the Norman G/D I have on order

 

...Now the advantage of the Tedrows, the Edgley's, Morse's, etc. is that they tend to hold alot of their value. Even if you decide that concertina is not the instrument for you, you would be able to sell it on here for most of the money you invested in it (80=90% I should think). I am not sure the same will be true of the Rochelle.

This is a fair point, but if you watch Ebay you see lots of old cheap Concertinas going for a fair percentage of their new price. I wouldn't be surprised to see a decent used Rochelle to go for 60-70% of it's new value after a couple of years.

 

- W

[bill_mchale]

...in the meantime Woody certainly seems made up with it...

My first impressions are very good, but this should be taken in the context that I've bought it to replace my Chinese 30 button box. It's a decent cheap starter model & I've tried Stagis costing twice as much which were not as good ( <IMHO> ) - but I would definitely be disappointed in it if I were paying the same for it as the Norman G/D I have on order

 

...Now the advantage of the Tedrows, the Edgley's, Morse's, etc. is that they tend to hold alot of their value. Even if you decide that concertina is not the instrument for you, you would be able to sell it on here for most of the money you invested in it (80=90% I should think). I am not sure the same will be true of the Rochelle.

This is a fair point, but if you watch Ebay you see lots of old cheap Concertinas going for a fair percentage of their new price. I wouldn't be surprised to see a decent used Rochelle to go for 60-70% of it's new value after a couple of years.

 

- W

 

Point taken, though if I had bought a Chinese concertina, I in good conscience could never sell it to anyone else. I simply don't believe the standard Chinese models are good enough to justify selling new, let alone new (but then again, I might be snob, I actually like to be able to reach the air button on the instruments I play (I have short fingers)).

 

--

 

Bill

[nalzalk]

im going to buy the rochelle to pratice with and have many hour of fun. i just save up than trade up when im ready. what most likely going to happin is me just givivg it to a friend at a extreme discounted price so i can spread the wonder of music. well maybe i be able to get my friend who play the harp and we could start up a litttle band. that if i can get the concertina down.

 

if you can recommend any book or dvd so i can teach myself im all ear or just any tips

[bill_mchale]

im going to buy the rochelle to pratice with and have many hour of fun. i just save up than trade up when im ready. what most likely going to happin is me just givivg it to a friend at a extreme discounted price so i can spread the wonder of music. well maybe i be able to get my friend who play the harp and we could start up a litttle band. that if i can get the concertina down.

 

if you can recommend any book or dvd so i can teach myself im all ear or just any tips

 

Well, I am going to recommend several . Since Irish Music is what you want to play, there are several good tutors out there (Thank goodness... you should see how awful it is for button accordions!). I would recommend both the Mick Bramitch The Irish Concertina and Frank Edgley's Tutor (The name escapes me at the moment). They both take different approaches. Mick's tutor is built around learning scales, and how to play the scales multiple ways. Frank's tutor on the other hand focuses on playing from the G row which is a very traditional way of playing in Clare and if you are a Chris Droney fan, you know how good it can sound (Not that Frank is anything but an excellent player, but Chris is amazing). Also Frank's tutor is excellent because it deals alot more with ornamentation of tunes, in particular playing octaves, rolls and cuts are all given a fair bit of treatement. The Bramitch book is a little more limited in that respect.

 

One other tutor I would recommend is the Nial Valley Mad for Trad CDrom tutor. It is really nice to see some ornaments actually played out as opposed to described in a book. These tutors all contributed to me getting started on the Concertina. Good luck.

 

--

Bill

[Chris Timson]

what most likely going to happin is me just givivg it to a friend at a extreme discounted price so i can spread the wonder of music.

You know, you sound my sort of chap. Spot on!

 

Chris

[Leo]

My first impressions are very good, but this should be taken in the context that I've bought it to replace my Chinese 30 button box. It's a decent cheap starter model & I've tried Stagis costing twice as much which were not as good ( <IMHO> ) - but I would definitely be disappointed in it if I were paying the same for it as the Norman G/D I have on order

 

This is a fair point, but if you watch Ebay you see lots of old cheap Concertinas going for a fair percentage of their new price. I wouldn't be surprised to see a decent used Rochelle to go for 60-70% of it's new value after a couple of years.

 

- W

 

 

I suspect that "cheap" may be only in price. A well made used instrument in good condition may hold it's value more than expected as last weeks ebay Jackie had a sell it now price close to its "new" price. This one has brothers and sisters in it's family that occasionally show up for similar. Who knows maybe in the future incarnation of concertina.net, our descendants will search out the Rochelle, and Jack/Jackie as we now look for Lachenals, and others. For their time some were inexpensive. Now we treasure them. I'm hoping it's more than wishful thinking.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Used-Jackie-English-Co...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

By the way Woody Please don't test this one like we discussed in the post on travel cases. Leave that to me if and when I get one. I feel that dreaded and desirable collecting disease coming on.

 

Thanks

Leo

Edited August 21, 2006 by Leo

[Nigel]

Wim Wakker offers a "full purchase price refund" for the Rochelle if you upgrade to one of his higher priced concertinas, so you would be assured of getting your money back. Of course you are restricted to Wakker concertinas, but alll his concertinas seem to be well regarded, from the accordian reeded Geuns Wakker (which I have and LOVE!) to his new top quality range.

[ceemonster]

speaking of which, this is a bit off-topic, but that's twice the new wakker concertina-reeders have been mentioned on this thread, so i gotta ask----has anyone seen/tried one? i am fascinated by these new makers getting into the act.....