Wheatstone 30 Button Anglo In C/g

[Roland Mann]

Very nice Wheatstone 30 button Anglo in C/G tuned to A440. Metal ends, bright sound and fast action, recent 8-fold bellows, leather case. Selling as I'm about to pick up my new Norman.

 

Pics available, offers invited. Located Surrey, UK.

[Louis Kouwets]

Hi Roland,

 

I am wondering if your Anglo is still for sale.

Please send me some pics and detailed information and also a price indication.

 

Louis

 

Kouwets@hetnet.nl

[Chris Timson]

I also posted a response similar to this on the other buy and sell forum.

 

Out of curiority, why are you selling a Wheatstone to buy a Norman? Nice as Normans are, on the face of it, it sounds like a downgrade.

 

Chris

[Roland Mann]

Sorry not to have replied earlier.

 

I have set up a web page with some pictures and information, at:

 

www.kensho.org.uk/concertina.htm

 

Anyone interested within distance is very welcome to come and play it.

 

I actually ordered my Norman early in the year, and its just ready. I was using a Stagi then, but became so frustrated with it that I started looking for something better. Then this Wheatstone turned up, and I have been playing it ever since. However I had bought it on the basis that I would sell it when my Norman was ready, as I can't really afford to hang onto both.

 

The Norman is also Jeffries layout, and with more buttons.

 

I'm not sure what Chris is referring to re another forum, as I have only advertised my concertina so far on concertina.net

[Chris Timson]

I'm not sure what Chris is referring to re another forum, as I have only advertised my concertina so far on concertina.net

Sorry, for historical reasons there are two buy and sell locations within c.net. I was referring to the other of those.

 

May I strongly recommend that you don't sell your Wheatstone until the Norman comes. Then dispassionately sit down with both instruments and decide which you prefer. Don't be afraid to sell the Norman if you prefer the Wheatstone. I am concerned that later you might regret your choice. If at the end of it you still prefer the Norman, then fine.

 

So far as the Jeffries layout is concerned - it is not inherently superior to the Wheatstone layout, but like so much with these instruments it's a matter of personal taste and preference. I have both layouts in my collection, and I find one works better with some tunes, the other works better with others, but that either way it's not a big issue. I have found that the Wheatstone buttons are less raked (for want of a better word) than Jeffries, that is the offset from one row to the next is smaller, and that I do prefer.

 

Chris

[Roland Mann]

Thanks for the advice. I'm picking up my Norman tomorrow, so I'll see.

 

Obviously there is the issue of preference of tone etc, but from your own experience, what specific qualities should I focus on in reaching my decision?

[JimLucas]

I'm picking up my Norman tomorrow, so I'll see.

 

Obviously there is the issue of preference of tone etc, but from your own experience, what specific qualities should I focus on in reaching my decision?

Speed and comfort in playing. (My advice.)

 

Speed:

...How quickly do the reeds respond? Is the response uniform?

...How quick is the action? Is there friction which slows the buttons, either when you depress them or when the springs return them?

...Are you able to move your fingers quickly in the various patterns required for the music you play? This depends on...

 

Comfort:

...If you find it more comfortable to hold the instrument or otherwise to play the music you want on one instrument than the other, this will affect how you play and how your music sounds. There are many factors -- weight, balance, button size and spacing, "rake" and arc of the rows, position of the hand bar, etc. -- which contribute to comfort, and they interact with each other. Further, what is comfortable for one person may be uncomfortable for another. But you should be able to evaluate your own personal comfort while actually playing the instruments, and that is what matters.

 

If any of speed, comfort, or tone seems to you less than what you desire, take the best of the instruments available to you, but keep on the lookout for something that suits you better.

[Chris Timson]

Agree with everything Jim says, but I would also add tonal quality. Which one sounds nicest to you? It's not a foregone conclusion you would prefer the Wheatstone on this criterion. The Wheatstone will undoubtedly have a sound that is closer to what many people think of as the "real" sound of a concertina (unless of course it's one of those strange pearloid Mayfair models) because it uses true concertina reeds as opposed to the accordion reeds that Andrew Norman uses, however the Norman will also undoubtedly have a pleasant sound of its own. Only you can decide which you most like listening to, because you are going to spends a long time listening to it!

 

Chris