LDT Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Ok I've got a budget of £500-£600 and I want to buy either a melodeon or a duet concertina. I'm leaning towards melodeon at the moment..unless anyone can fight the 'duet's' corner? What's the best duet I could afford within my budget? How easy/hard is it to learn? What music is best played on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Rogers Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 As you're already learning Anglo, a melodeon is going to be closer (although not identical) to "what you already know". A duet concertina can come in various "flavours" (Maccan, Heyden, Triumph) and is reckoned to be good for song accompaniment, but will involve learning a whole new system. I'd go with the melodeon (bearing in mind that it's a lot bigger than a concertina if you intend to play it away from the house on a regular basis. They are generally much louder than concertinas too, so you can really upset your family, pets, neighbours, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 I'd go with the melodeon (bearing in mind that it's a lot bigger than a concertina if you intend to play it away from the house on a regular basis. They are generally much louder than concertinas too, so you can really upset your family, pets, neighbours, etc. They'll be begging me to play the concertina instead. lol! Melodeon during the day or when no one else is about and concertina other times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 LDT, I'm routing for Duet concertina!! I would love to buy one if I had the money. I mean, how logical can you get... same note on push and pull...that's wonderful! I'd rather learn on that, and stay on that. I think the idea of duets is brilliant. Just sounds easier to learn to me...though I've heard differing opinions. I think Duet concertinas are just the coolest things around! Go for it! Priscilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyLosty Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Get yourself a hohner 4 stop and you can be as loud or as quiet as you want....well not that quiet, but they sound great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Levine Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Neither... get a better Anglo concertina and really learn to play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Neither... get a better Anglo concertina and really learn to play it. Wise words, indeed. Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) Neither... get a better Anglo concertina and really learn to play it. Wise words, indeed. I'm waiting for my 'better' concertina....this is just a bit of retail therapy/distraction to stop me going mad waiting. "A Duet concertina is not usually bought on a whim" http://www.concertina.net/iv_duetguide.html oops I only buy things on whims. Edited February 25, 2009 by LDT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I'm waiting for my 'better' concertina....this is just a bit of retail therapy/distraction to stop me going mad waiting. Squeeze to death your first one, then. Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LangoLee Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) I agree with David and Fergus - it's a mistake to 'diversify' before you can play one instrument competently. Otherwise the cycle may continue: you get bored with the melodeon so try a dulcimer, then a whistle, ukulele, etc., and never learn more than the basics on any of them. There are many 'multi-instrumentalists' in the folk club world who unfortunately seem to have followed this trajectory. As for the duet, the key layout and design are totally different from an anglo, and would require relearning again from scratch. Edited February 25, 2009 by LangoLee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 I'm waiting for my 'better' concertina....this is just a bit of retail therapy/distraction to stop me going mad waiting. Squeeze to death your first one, then. Gotta get the strap fixed first. I'm afraid playing it with just make the damage worse. I'm thinking of just putting duct tape over the damaged areas of the strap for now so I don't fall behind with practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Listen to LangoLee. I've at the moment two fiddles, two anglos and a melodeon. I'm selling my old anglo because obviously I can not get any better from it, and have no time to play the melodeon! I'm thinking seriously about selling it, too. But the worse is that I'm neclecting my fiddle playing and yesterday could see that I'm running out of practice! So, is a matter of priorities. I'll try to dedicate more time to my fiddle for to try to keep my standard in the regular session I play, and improve slowly on my Morse. There's no hurry, and I'm afraid not everyone of us is gifted to be a multi-instrumentalist -including me - In fact, playing 2 instruments is more than enough for me. Try to think about your Scarlatti as gimnastic preparatory exercises for your next instrument. Believe me, it works. After months of struggling with my Stagi, my playing now is a lot more fast & accurate. But I'll advise you not to mess your head with the basis of a new instrument, is very brain demanding and most of times does't work. Is because of that I don't play anymore more stringed instruments, the different tunings confuse me when I try to re-allocate my fingers! All the best, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) Listen to LangoLee. I've at the moment two fiddles, two anglos and a melodeon. and I thought I was being greedy Try to think about your Scarlatti as gimnastic preparatory exercises for your next instrument. Believe me, it works. After months of struggling with my Stagi, my playing now is a lot more fast & accurate. I'm thinking more along the lines of ....its like having both a macbook and pc laptop they are both capeable of doing basically the same but their GUI and operating systems are different (I can hop between the two without confusion whereas other people have great difficulty) and there are some things you can do on one and not on the other. I found the concertina by accident when looking to buy a (small, cheap and light) melodeon...and I wanted a duet concertina but wasn't willing to invest the money at that time. Edited February 25, 2009 by LDT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 and I thought I was being greedy I'm older than you and with more money - I supose - to spend in fancy toys... well, when my wife doesn't know Go ahead with anything you want, but seriously. I spent three years practicing 'till something remotely 'musical' went out of my fiddle...and know I see that I've spent 15 años scratching the strings! I supose working hard on something pays at the end, tho. The funny thing is that a lot of people - I'm not saying this is your case - don't realize that music is a lifetime activity... you'll never be happy with your playing! Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3838 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 To be not swayed by personal preferences... 1. What is called a "Melodeon" has identical fingering with Anglo, if played along the rows (well, in it's ideology, at least. And it's important). So a nice 2 or 2/5 rows Hohner in good shape will be very easy to switch to, and will have accidentals to play in other keys or chromatically. At your price (or at any price) a melodeon will be far better than any "real" or "good" concertina you can find, including out of tune and without any straps. Sooo... if the goal is to have better quality instrument, melodeon will serve you better. 2. Duet at your price range will be smaller one. Duets are serious instruments, with range demands of their own. Smaller duets are not really duets, and bigger duets are expensive and ... big. 3. Duets are not all that intuitive, and if your goal is to play by ear, play simple folk tunes with accompaniment, to have folks dance to it, there is nothing better than melodeon. If you want to learn from the dots, complex music, classical, jazz - Duet will probably be far better as far as having available notes where they supposed to be. 4. If Anglo satisfies you in general, the wise solution will be to get rid of your current instrument and get better Anglo. I'd go as far as saying to get 20 button instrument, if it is available for you. You'll get far better quality. But 26 button, even 22 button layout will be very valuable, much more than your current 30 button Chinese one. If down the road you'll decide to sell it, you'll be able to do so easier, than if you bought Duet or Melodeon. 5. To complicate things a bit: if you are fine with playing the melody, as Anglo players often do, but want bigger sound, get Chromatic version of 2 row melodeon, in C/C# or B/C. So you can learn by ear along the row, or from the notes, having one row of "white" keys and one row of mostly "black" keys for easy identification. --------------------------------- My personal opinion: Get better Anglo as fast as you can. You'll be very surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catty Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) Nice input. I considered writing earlier at the risk of encouraging you, but especially now that m3838 has laid it before you: if you know what to look for and "how" to buy on ebay, you can score a good, old Hohner melodeon for ~$200. But beware: be assured that the box you're buying functions properly and is in reasonably good tune. In fact, one can routinely score a Club model in excellent condition for <$100 USD. They sound great. Edited February 26, 2009 by catty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groeswenphil Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Duet or Melodeon..................it's all down to future life expectancy. Have you asked your doctor? Seriously.......changing from Anglo to Duet would be as easy as a saxophonist taking up the violin. They might look similar but that's where the similarity ends. On the other hand...........I started with concertina then bought a melodeon.....almost instantly i could play another instrument. If anything, melodeons are easier than concertina. Also....would you even get a duet for your budget....BUT....I've just bought a Hohner Morgane; a new instrument from Hohner and it is absolutely gorgeous and excellent value for money. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catty Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Yes...Phil's Morgane, for example! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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