Any Advantages To All Leather Bellows?

[Spectacled Warbler]

I'm thinking of ordering a new 7 3/4 inch diameter concertina, and was wondering if there was any advantage / disadvantage in ordering all leather bellows over the usual card / leather trimmed ones?

 

Thanks,

 

Joy

[Stephen Chambers]

I'm thinking of ordering a new 7 3/4 inch diameter concertina, and was wondering if there was any advantage / disadvantage in ordering all leather bellows over the usual card / leather trimmed ones?

Joy,

 

"All leather bellows" are little different from the usual card/leather-trimmed ones, it's just that they cover the card with leather, rather than decorative printed "papers".

 

It's more of an aesthetic issue.

[doodle]

I'm thinking of ordering a new 7 3/4 inch diameter concertina, and was wondering if there was any advantage / disadvantage in ordering all leather bellows over the usual card / leather trimmed ones?

Joy,

 

"All leather bellows" are little different from the usual card/leather-trimmed ones, it's just that they cover the card with leather, rather than decorative printed "papers".

 

It's more of an aesthetic issue.

Just by the way of an anecdote, I purchased a new G/D Dipper in the early '80's from Colin with "experimental" (his words) solid leather goatskin bellows. Perhaps it was my style of playing at that time, but I quickly "elongated" the bellows effectively destroying them!! I may be less muscular in my playing these days, but have never committed such a crime against any innocent instrument before or since that event, so there may have been a construction/materials problem associated with this all-leather design. The "experimental" bellows were, of course, immediately replaced with standard ones, which I am still happily using to this day, so no reason to worry about cardboard/leather bellows from my viewpoint.

Regards

Tony

[Spectacled Warbler]

Thanks Stephen and Tony for your useful advice and warning! I'll stick to the traditional style of bellows and save my money.

 

Cheers,

 

Joy