"best" All Around Anglo For Under $1800?

[William]

I live in a small town, light years away from a shop that sells concertinas. I realize that what is "best" is likely to be highly subjectve......but is there any general consensus which 30 button anglo is the best "all arounder?" I've been looking at Ashdowns and the Button Box Celion model (spelling?) the latter was described as "growly" in a review...... so I'm a little hesitant. I 'd be grateful for some opinions.

 

 

Thanks

 

Bill

[mjd]

I was in the same position a couple of years ago. I finally made the leap and ordered a Morse Ceili #116. I've been very happy with it. I later purchased a Connor and have been very happy with that as well. I find myself using each of them about 50% of the time that I play so I don't have a favorite. I've also had the chance to try out a Tedrow and liked that as well. Good Luck.

[JimLucas]

I realize that what is "best" is likely to be highly subjectve...

Durn tootin'!

 

...but is there any general consensus which 30 button anglo is the best "all arounder?" 

I don't think any of the "mid range" models is significantly "better" than the others, and each has its fans.

 

I've been looking at Ashdowns and the Button Box Celion model (spelling?) the latter was described as "growly" in a review....

"Ashdowns"? I don't know that name. I certainly wouldn't describe my wooden-ended Button Box Ceili model as "growly". I think the sound and action are both great, and it's very light weight.

[jburke]

Good gosh golly, do test-drive a Morse, a Tedrow, and whatever else you

can get in on spec in your cost range for the price of shipping. Playing an instrument yourself is worth eating the shipping fees because you can so easily buy the *wrong* instrument, then have to sell it to buy the *right* instrument when you find it down the road.

 

Allow me to introduce my "$3000 accordion that would have cost $1000 if I had known enough to buy the *right* one FIRST." (Yes, I'm bi.)

 

At a class I attended, all Stagi players on a budget aspired hungrily to MorseCeilidom. We also had a nice Tedrow to try which had gorgeous woodwork and was a little heavier and had narrower button spacing than a Morse--it's owner adored it. All the Ceili players aspired to a second mortgage and a Jeffries/Wheatstone/Lachenal "when I'm good enough or the kids are out of college." Personally there was a Dipper at hand that was very very hard for me to let go of.

 

"When you are ready the master/right instrument will come."

 

julie

[Ken_Coles]

OK, OK, you know, when I wrote the growly statement about 3 years ago, I was at Bob Tedrow's workshop held in Chicago. I was comparing it to the very different sound of a Stagi W15, which is nice but not my choice for Irish session playing. The Morse works well for that -- I can hide if I want to, or push it and make myself heard. I did both at an Irish session this past Friday and sitting in with a contra dance band in Concord, Mass. this past Saturday.

 

At the time I wrote that statement, the mindset of folks I knew was, "These new accordion-reeded mid-grade models look nice, but I don't want something more expensive that just sounds like a Stagi." We had to learn that accordion reeds could be built to sound like something other than a Stagi, and closer (but not the same as) a more traditional sound many of us were used to. Yet the action and response was better than a Lachenal, the only other alternative I could (or still can) afford. I was writing for them.

 

One of these days I will add some new remarks to several of those articles.

 

So, depending on your continent of residence, check out Morse, Edgley, Tedrow, Herrington, Guens-Wakker, Marcus, Norman. (Ashdowns are made by Norman) As Chris Timson has said, taste enters into which one you will prefer, so make an effort to try them first, even if the wait drives you crazy. It may save you some money.