Tedrow Or Morse?

[terrier]

Hi and help,

 

I'm thinking about buying a "real concertina" now that I've fallen in love with the instrument. I've just got a starter now. A stagi w-15LN would be an upgrade for me but in reading what you all have to say, I'm don't know. Price is unfortunately a concern for me.

 

I'd appreciate your input on the differences between the standard Tedrow and the Morse Ceili.

 

Thanks,

 

This is hugely important to me.

[Chris Allert]

I would strongly endorse Bob Tedrow's concertinas as i'm very satisfied with the one he made for me about a year ago.

 

The bellows on the Tedrow are a unique design that I think is Bob's own invention. I find them to be very flexible and expressive and didn't find that they needed as much breaking in as other concertinas. Because of this design, Bob's six-fold bellows gives you more air than most seven-fold instruments. Since you said price is a concern, i think you'll do well with the basic Tedrow. Most of the things you can pay Bob more for won't effect the sound or playability. Because of his bellows design, paying more for an extra fold is completely unnecessary. My Tedrow also sounds great. Bob has a good feeling for how to build these instruments in a way that will get a "concertina-like" sound out of the reeds.

 

I've heard from others that the Morse is lighter than any of the other instruments, but I haven't verified this, since I don't have a Morse to try. Morse's concertinas are unique in that they have the reeds waxed in like an accordion. I'm not sure if this matters.

 

Frank Edgley's basic instrument ( www.concertinas.ca ) may also be comparably priced to the Tedrow and Morse, depending on the value of the Canadian Dollar, so I'd strongly recommend sending him an inquiry as well (I also have an Edgley concertina that I'm very happy with).

 

Harold Herrington's web-site ( www.concertinas.com ) lists his instrument as only $1500. I'm not sure this is correct though. When I contacted him a year ago, he had a 9-month wait, and i can't remember what he said about pricing.

 

You may be better off trying to get a used accordion reeded instrument if you're trying to save money. It often happens that people on this forum buy more instruments than they need, and then become desperate to sell them later. (People also move on to more expensive instruments and are ready to sell their older ones.) But you'll have to wait for just the right opportunity of you go this route.

[Ken_Coles]

Having played quite a few examples of both makes, I have to say 1) they are both fine, quality instruments, and 2) none of us can tell you which you will prefer. It comes down to very individual impressions and preferences. You say you're not near either maker or other players? That's true for most of us unless you are in the UK, New England (in US, that is), or one or two other large cities (e.g. Melbourne). I spent 2 years collecting impressions at festivals and the NE Squeeze-In before buying up. Folks who are in a huge hurry (mid-life crisis symptom?) and who have the money seem to buy whatever maker has the shortest wait time; to me that is an unfortunate, almost silly way to do it. (we're taking one month vs. five months, for example, not years, in the cases I can recall.) Unless you have a big recording date or national tour coming up, taking a little extra time to decide can help. You can also wait for a used one to turn up here; they do turn up, and always sell quickly.

 

Of course Edgley and Herrington are other mid-price North American makers to consider. Have fun in any case, that's the idea. I took a 20-key Stagi to Noel Hill school 2 years in a row and don't regret it.

 

PS I see Chris has said many of the same things already.

 

Ken

[Jim Besser]

I'd appreciate your input on the differences between the standard Tedrow and the Morse Ceili.

 

You won't go wrong with either -- or with an Edgley.

 

I own a Morse, have played several Tedrows. My impressions:

 

Morse: incredibly light, great action.

 

Tedrow: very nice workmanship, more variation between instruments. The two I've tried have been very different ( one was about on a par with my Morse, the other had exceptional tone for an accordion reeded instrument).

 

The Button Box has really standardized production, and there's very little difference between instruments.

 

Honestly, I think you'll be happy with either, and there's no need to agonize over the decision.

[richard]

Hello

 

I agree that all the makes, that we know and love, of accordion reeded mid-range concertinas would make a good instrument for you. I just wanted to mention that there is a Geuns/Wakker accordion reeded Anglo for sale on the Buy/Sell forum that seems to be available.

 

Richard

[Rhomylly]

I like the idea of waiting to see what comes up in the buy and sell forum. You can get some great deals from people who really want their instruments go to someone they know will appreciate them.

[bill_mchale]

Hi and help,

 

I'm thinking about buying a "real concertina" now that I've fallen in love with the instrument. I've just got a starter now. A stagi w-15LN would be an upgrade for me but in reading what you all have to say, I'm don't know. Price is unfortunately a concern for me.

 

I'd appreciate your input on the differences between the standard Tedrow and the Morse Ceili.

 

Thanks,

 

This is hugely important to me.

 

 

Lot of good advice here. I would say this, sometimes it helps to make a decision based on the sort of music you are looking to play. Granted all of the mid-range makes are perfectly suitable for playing pretty much anything you can play on a concertina, but each have their strengths and weaknesses that make some of them better for some purposes than others. For example, I am a big fan of the Edgley for Irish Music, and I think you will find several other advocates of the Edgley as a choice for Irish Music. The Morse Ceili also has a good rep for Irish Music.

 

--

Bill