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Author Topic: Decent beginner Anglo wanted  (Read 7700 times)

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triskel

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #20 on: April 02, 2018, 01:59:23 AM »

...Chris Algar said that this is because the Irish will pay silly money for them.

He said the same to me. Have you considered (say) a 26-button? These will kick in at lower prices than 30-button.

R.

Only they don't pay silly money for them anymore - prices in Ireland went mad during the Celtic Tiger years, when demand exceeded supply, but they've come down again (by about a third) since then.

Kimric Smythe

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #21 on: April 03, 2018, 08:22:19 AM »

I don't agree about the Rochelle. It is a far better instrument than anything by Stagi or anything else in that price range ($440 USD)
 The machinery is a mechanical copy of the Lachenal and holds up well without jamming.

 The reeds are european make and are reliable. It uses accordion style reeds.
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malcolmbebb

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #22 on: April 03, 2018, 08:56:42 AM »

I had a Rochelle - as a beginner's instrument I found it quite adequate. There is a later Mk2 version with bigger air valve and better reeds.
If you can get a used one it's a very good buy.

Stagi do make concertinas with better actions (or did, anyway). I have one (minus reeds  :( ) with a riveted English style action, but I believe its new price is rather higher than a Rochelle. Accordion reeds, but no idea whose.

The cheaper one with the German style (parallel) action seem to use cheese metal for the actions, which wears quickly and is a nightmare to repair.
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Prestidigitator

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #23 on: April 03, 2018, 11:35:42 AM »

I had a Rochelle - as a beginner's instrument I found it quite adequate. There is a later Mk2 version with bigger air valve and better reeds.
If you can get a used one it's a very good buy.

Stagi do make concertinas with better actions (or did, anyway). I have one (minus reeds  :( ) with a riveted English style action, but I believe its new price is rather higher than a Rochelle. Accordion reeds, but no idea whose.

The cheaper one with the German style (parallel) action seem to use cheese metal for the actions, which wears quickly and is a nightmare to repair.
I too had a Rochelle (I guess a Mk1), which seemed very well-built for the price, but the sound was (to my ear, at any rate), not very special.  The bellows were pretty stiff too, which I found a little off-putting for a tyro player of that instrument, and I quite soon went back to melodeons.
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Jesse Smith

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #24 on: April 03, 2018, 01:40:00 PM »

I'm following this thread with interest, as I'd like to eventually give the anglo a try but I find the prices rather daunting. I bought my old Pokerwork for $700 US, which might even be on the high side for such an instrument. What's the concertina equivalent to a vintage Pokerwork? As far as I can tell there really isn't one.
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Anahata

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #25 on: April 03, 2018, 01:53:10 PM »

I'm following this thread with interest, as I'd like to eventually give the anglo a try but I find the prices rather daunting. I bought my old Pokerwork for $700 US, which might even be on the high side for such an instrument. What's the concertina equivalent to a vintage Pokerwork? As far as I can tell there really isn't one.

Probably a Lachenal of the right vintage, condition and specification.
A real concertina, reasonably well made, but without the price of a Wheatstone or Jeffries.
It is likely to cost more than a Pokerwork, though.
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Jesse Smith

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #26 on: April 03, 2018, 03:01:58 PM »

Probably a Lachenal of the right vintage, condition and specification.
A real concertina, reasonably well made, but without the price of a Wheatstone or Jeffries.
It is likely to cost more than a Pokerwork, though.

This is probably the path I will go. I much prefer vintage instruments to a new product like the Rochelle, partly for quality of manufacture and partly for a romantic superstition about "imbued character" from previous use.

What would you consider the "right vintage"?
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Anahata

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #27 on: April 03, 2018, 06:33:52 PM »

I'm not an expert on Lachenal history. You should really take this to concertina.net...
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robotmay

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #28 on: April 07, 2018, 08:26:12 PM »

1900-1935 concertinas are generally the "right vintage", as far as I remember, but they're very variable (as with most instruments) and I probably wouldn't buy one blind. Although I did for my Maccann and that worked out well, I don't know if I'd take my chances again ::)

On the anglo front I would say that the modern accordion reed models being made in the UK do hit a very nice sweet spot. I've played a few Marcus instruments, which are good, and I agree that Jake's Wolverton Concertinas are very nice (and he's a great player). They're all roughly £1500-1700, and a good quality Lachenal will put you back around £1700-2000 at the moment. It might be sacrilege but I've not played many vintage instruments around that price point that are as nice to play as the hybrid models, even if they don't sound the same. I had a good Lachenal that I sold to purchase my Wheatstone Maccann, and the difference is quite dramatic. I'd say that the hybrid models are actually closer in playing feel/quality to my Wheatstone than to my Lachenal.

On a vaguely related note; if I were to get an anglo again I would go back to a C/G instrument. Last time I had a G/D and I thought that made more sense coming from the melodeon, but although that is a very nice pitch, it does lose the bright tone of the C/G ones. The C/G hybrids also sound a bit closer to the concertina-reeded models, in my experience (:)

Edit: But yes, I second Anahata's suggestion to take good vintage discussion to concertina.net :D
« Last Edit: April 07, 2018, 08:34:26 PM by robotmay »
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Tiposx

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Re: Decent beginner Anglo wanted
« Reply #29 on: April 13, 2018, 12:43:26 PM »

This thread tickled my dormant desire for a concertina. I like to buy new but after a lot of research I chose a Lachenal c/g with (unusually) 22 buttons from Barleycorn. It cost about 15% more than a Rochelle. It all worked perfectly and was in tune. The extra 2 buttons give me the accidentals and more for playing ITM in D and of course G. It has a loveley tone and does not sound like a melodeon - I have plenty of those already...
Tiposx
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