4 Concertina Buying Advice
Description
This article is from the Concertina FAQ, by Chris Timson chris@harbour.demon.co.uk with numerous contributions by others.
4 Concertina Buying Advice
In theory, before buying a concertina you would consider what you want it
for and decide which type you need from the list above. For instance here
are a few guidelines you may hear on the uses to which you might put the
various types of concertina:-
If you want to play in groups or ensembles of concertinas, go for an
English.
For folk or morris dance the in-out pattern of the anglo scale gives
a "lift" to the music. It is also a good band instrument.
For song accompaniment or for solo instrumentals duets are ideal.
For fast flowing melody lines the key layout of an English gives it
an edge.
If you intend to play from music or to compose music for the
instrument, choose an English or a duet.
If you intend to learn to play by ear the anglo is significantly
easier to learn than the other two, and in fact is surprisingly easy
to get started with.
Unfortunately life is never that simple. The English is widely used for
song accompaniment. Alistair Anderson has shown how successful the English
can be for dance music and band work. I, like quite a few other people use
the anglo for song accompaniment. The anglo is the concertina of choice
for many Irish musicians, who get round its inherent "bouncyness" by
dexterous cross-fingering between the rows. At the end of the day all
you can do is try the various systems as far as possible and see which
suits you best. If you can, talk to other players about why they chose
their instruments and listen to what they play.
When buying a concertina you have two choices: buy new or buy used. If
you buy used then TAKE SOMEONE WITH YOU WHO KNOWS CONCERTINAS. I cannot
stress that too strongly. You will likely be buying an instrument that
is 60 or more years old. There is nothing wrong with that per se - many
of the finest instruments around are of that age or older (we have a
beautiful baritone that is 100 years old), but an old concertina may
have faults not immediately apparent that will be expensive to fix. In
particular check that it is in concert pitch and not "old" pitch if you
intend to play with other musicians. Retuning a concertina is a specialist
job, and expensive to boot.
If you are seriously considering a particular concertina don't be afraid
to ask the dealer to take the ends off and let you look inside. After all,
you may find anything up to and including woodworm. It is only fair to
state that some dealers disagree with people doing this!
Old concertinas come with steel reeds most commonly, or brass reeds.
Brass reeds have greater sweetness of tone than steel reeds, and
brass reeded instruments tend to be cheaper, but if played forcefully
(e.g. in band or outdoor work) they can go out of tune more quickly.
The "best" name in second-hand English concertinas is undoubtedly
Wheatstone. (Be aware though that instruments made after they were taken
over by Boosey & Hawkes in the 1950s are generally regarded as being of
poorer quality than before). Other good makers include Jones, Crabb and
also Lachenal, who made instruments ranging from the cheap-and-cheerful
to the excellent. Their Edeophone range (distinctive for having 12 sides
and rolling off tables if you aren't careful) matched the very best
Wheatstone Aeolas.
The leading name in anglos was Jeffries. Again Lachenal also made a wide
range of instruments. It is quite common for players to start with a
mid-range Lachenal, graduating when time, expertise (and money!) allow
to a Jeffries. Crabb also made many fine instruments, as did Wheatstone
with their Linota range.
With concertinas, you get what you pay for. There are few bargains
around, but you have the consolation that if you have an instrument of
reasonable quality or better it will hold its value and you will have no
trouble selling it if you decide it is not for you.
Up until recently the market for English and anglo concertinas was
fairly similar, with Wheatstone Englishes and Jeffries anglos, for
instance, fetching similar prices. Unfortunately for some reason the
prices of good anglos, especially 30-button C/Gs as used in Irish music
- and in particular anything bearing the magic imprint of Jeffries - has
gone through the roof! I have heard of people offering to pay over
UKP3000 for a Jeffries SIGHT UNSEEN! This is plain silly in my opinion,
and biases the market heavily against the new or poorer player.
Fortunately there are now makers who are producing new anglos based on
accordion reeds but still very playable at a more reasonable price (see
below).
For a first class treble Wheatstone English in excellent condition
expect to pay from UKP1500, US$3000. A mid-range Lachenal may cost
you UKP700, US$1000. Duets and the larger sizes of English and anglo
tend to be cheaper. It is a quite reasonable strategy to buy a cheaper
concertina that needs some work and then get it renovated.
If you are offered a modern mass-produced instrument such as a Stagi
(formerly Bastari) second hand check it very carefully. The method of
construction owes much more to accordions than concertinas and as such
they tend to degenerate with time in a way that true concertinas do not.
(Note that I am not disparaging accordions here. Concertinas are small
and the interior is cramped compared to accordions, and each has its
appropriate construction techniques).
I used to say that buying new means either buying a mass-produced
concertina from Stagi and others, or commissioning a hand-made
concertina from the likes of Steve Dickinson or C & R Dipper. For anglo
players, there is a further option in the shape of Harold Herrington,
The Button Box, Homewood, A.C Norman and Marcus Music.
In the UK Bastari/Stagi apparently rarely sold their better instruments
in the past, and mass-produced concertinas in general are sometimes
quite hard work to play with a fairly coarse tone. I have been told
that Stagi have a significantly better name in the States. Hohner
concertinas are, I believe, badge-engineered Stagis. If funds allow you
may prefer a mid-range second-hand instrument. Note that (especially in
the UK) you can rarely resell a mass-produced instrument once you have
outgrown it. However it may be the only option open to you if funds are
low or you have no access to second-hand instruments - and you could
always give it away and spread the addiction when you upgrade. (Pete
McClelland of Hobgoblin (see section 9, Shops and Dealers) has since
emailed me to say that they are "very keen to buy secondhand Bastaris,
Stagis, Gremlins & Hohners", which may help UK players).
Buying a hand-made instrument from the quality makers (Dipper,
Dickinson, Suttner and others) means being prepared to wait years and
pay well in excess of UKP1500. For that, though, you will receive a
concertina that is made precisely to your requirements and probably
among the finest concertinas ever made.
Harold Herrington, Bob Tedrow (Homewood Music) and The Button Box in the
US, and A. C. Norman and Marcus Music in the UK have all recently
started making 30-button anglos using Italian accordion reeds, but
otherwise following normal concertina construction techniques fairly
closely (e.g. mounting the reeds in a reed pan for a more authentic
sound than, say Stagis achieve). This has enabled them to produce very
playable instruments at a reasonable price (of the order of UKP850,
US1400). I think these new instruments are ideal for beginners, and for
more experienced players too, in that they will look good and last well
and not hold them back the way mass-produced instruments can. I only
wish there was something similar for English and Duet players(in this
regard, keep an eye on Button Box! - nudge nudge).
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