Need Advice For Getting My First Concertina

[Caroline Sniter]

Hello everybody !

 

I am brand new on this forum and not used with the internet, I only have a computer since a month ! At last, say my friends !

 

I am a diatonic button accordion player but I would like to begin to play the concertina.

I would like to get in touch with basses (rythm, accompaniement, the same feeling so complete as with my castagnari !) do you think first a 30-keys anglo would be the best ? Idealy, I would like a chromatic concertina to be free to improvise and to hear what I play without the push and pull.

 

I've been to enquiry on the web to know the luthiers making some... well, I cannot pay in a shot for 5ooo livres or more ! What do you think about an Edgley or a morse ceili ? tell me about their sound and almost prices if you can... could you advice me something else ? Do you know about the chromatic anglo wheatstone ?

Ilike color and wouldn't like a whole brand black bellow, it is not a detail for me .

I would like a concertina with deep and rich sound with talkative basses and colorful langage, I don't like high tone...

What about the tunning, I am used to sing with my G/C/alterations accordion, would it be a G/C ? what about thejeffries, wheatstone, ... tuning, how to choose ?

I would like a beautiful wooden one with thumb straps maybe ... could you tell me the difference between thumb and hand straps please ?

 

I must tell you that I only function by ear, I don't read the music or even have no idea of the key that I play ! I function with my ears and my heart !!!

 

So many questions ! I want to learn, I am brand new in the magicworld of th concertina, please, be nice !

[Daniel Hersh]

You probably want a 30-button C/G Anglo if you want something that's similar to your accordion. Edgley and Morse both make good ones. You can hear sound samples of an Edgley on Frank Edgley's site at http://www.concertinas.ca. E-mail him for current prices. Morse prices are on the site of Button Box (who make them) at http://www.buttonbox.com/morse.html. There's a recording of someone playing a Morse at http://www.archive.org/download/Johnny_Seo...hnnySeoighe.mp3. I think that's he's playing a slightly older one though, so the current sound may not be quite the same as what you hear there. I'm also not sure if the recording quality on that one is ideal for capturing the tone of the concertina.

 

This is all assuming that you want an Anglo. But Anglos have different notes on push and pull, so if you want to avoid that, consider an English. For a good overview of the differences between types of concertinas, you might try the Concertina FAQ at http://www.concertina.info.

 

Anglos always have handstraps. Thumbstraps are on an English.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Daniel

 

Hello everybody !

 

I am brand new on this forum and not used with the internet, I only have a computer since a month ! At last, say my friends !

 

I am a diatonic button accordion player but I would like to begin to play the concertina.

I would like to get in touch with basses (rythm, accompaniement, the same feeling so complete as with my castagnari !) do you think first a 30-keys anglo would be the best ? Idealy, I would like a chromatic concertina to be free to improvise and to hear what I play without the push and pull.

 

I've been to enquiry on the web to know the luthiers making some... well, I cannot pay in a shot for 5ooo livres or more ! What do you think about an Edgley or a morse ceili ? tell me about their sound and almost prices if you can... could you advice me something else ? Do you know about the chromatic anglo wheatstone ?

Ilike color and wouldn't like a whole brand black bellow, it is not a detail for me .

I would like a concertina with deep and rich sound with talkative basses and colorful langage, I don't like high tone...

What about the tunning, I am used to sing with my G/C/alterations accordion, would it be a G/C ? what about thejeffries, wheatstone, ... tuning, how to choose ?

I would like a beautiful wooden one with thumb straps maybe ... could you tell me the difference between thumb and hand straps please ?

 

I must tell you that I only function by ear, I don't read the music or even have no idea of the key that I play ! I function with my ears and my heart !!!

 

So many questions ! I want to learn, I am brand new in the magicworld of th concertina, please, be nice !

[pubpersona]

- I have almost no experience with concertinas, only with button accordion like you and others

here can advise better on concertina matters.

 

This site:

http://www.anglo-concertina.net/links.htm

will interest you as it presents a lot of tunes

played on a variety of concertina types from a variety of makers including those you mentioned.

 

- Makers Carroll, Edgley, Johnson (Kensington Concertinas) and Thomas have sound samples on their

websites as does Concertina Connection.

 

Best to you,

Brian

Edited December 2, 2007 by pubpersona

[asdormire]

- Makers Carroll, Edgley, Johnson (Kensington Concertinas) and Thomas have sound samples on their

websites as does Concertina Connection.

 

Tedrow also has soundclips on his sight.

 

If you are in Montreal, you may want to consider taking a drive to Western Massachusetts to the Button Box to look at concertinas, and this should give you an opportunity to look at different systems.

 

Alan

[Richard Morse]

do you think first a 30-keys anglo would be the best ? Idealy, I would like a chromatic concertina to be free to improvise and to hear what I play without the push and pull.

A 30 button anglo concertina is NOT fully chromatic. It's missing the low "re" note and several chromatic notes on the low and high ends. Anglos also have different notes on the push/pull.

I would like a concertina with deep and rich sound with talkative basses and colorful langage, I don't like high tone...

Most English system concertinas have no low (deep) notes. Anglos come in several key settings which affects their range. Many people that like "deep/rich" and not "high tone" tend toward the G/D version rather than a C/G box.

 

You might also consider a duet which has the same note on push/pull, are fully chromatic, AND have a low range.

 

-- Rich --

[JimLucas]

I would like a concertina with deep and rich sound with talkative basses and colorful langage, I don't like high tone...

Most English system concertinas have no low (deep) notes. Anglos come in several key settings which affects their range. Many people that like "deep/rich" and not "high tone" tend toward the G/D version rather than a C/G box.

 

You might also consider a duet which has the same note on push/pull, are fully chromatic, AND have a low range.

Rich, I'm surprised you didn't mention that your own Albion line of English concertinas includes a baritone model, which 1) is fully chromatic throughout its range, and 2) reaches down to the same low G as a G/D anglo, which is a fourth lower than the C-below-middle-C which is the lowest note on most (and essentially all entry-level) duets. ... And at the same price, size, and weight as the octave-higher Albion treble English.

 

P.S. The 46-button Maccann duet -- the entry level for most Maccann players, I believe -- is also not fully chromatic at the bottom of its range. It lacks the C#-D-D# just above the bottom C.

[Stephen Chambers]

What about the tunning, I am used to sing with my G/C/alterations accordion, would it be a G/C ?

One point worth mentioning here is that button accordions are made with an interval of a fourth between the two rows, so that G is the low row and C the high one, but concertinas have a fifth between the rows, so that C is the low row and G the high one. It makes a big difference to "crossing over" between the rows, but some people manage to play both.

 

On the other hand, some of us (myself included) find it complementary to play a diatonic accordion and a fully chromatic English concertina - that way you get the best of both worlds! And if you prefer to play in lower keys (?) maybe you should consider a tenor, or tenor-treble instrument that would extend the treble range down a fifth, from C to G - very useful for playing accompaniments. Another consideration might be that you get much more "bang for your buck" with secondhand English concertinas these days, Anglo prices have gone crazy, but a good English can be bought much more reasonably.

Edited December 16, 2007 by Stephen Chambers