This is not a question from me, but a relative that is thinking of starting playing the button accordion.
Since concertinas are so much cheaper, he reasons that he maybe should get one of those instead, and then move on in a couple of years.
Is the concertina a good starter instrument before button accordion?
You must be joking. I purchased a month a go a Morse Ceili - the one of my avatar - second hand, about 1300 euro. For that prize, you’ve a good Paolo Soprani - second hand too, of course -. And my concertina is middle range.
You can expect to pay for a 30 key Jeffries C/G in good condition up to 7000 euro.
So, sorry; concertinas are NOT cheaper than button accordions. Is likeky more to be the opposite. 
Cheers,
Fer
P.D: Although they’re both free reed instruments, they are total different instruments. I play a little B/C box and I know what I’m talking about
No, I’m not joking. Maybe I’m misinformed though.
I see a new concertina for 100 euro (good practice concertina according to the shop), but can’t find any button accordion, not even used, at that price.
I guess I’ll extend my question then.
What button accordion is recommended for a beginner, and what’s the price he should expect to pay?
Concertina players I know (well Azalin anyway) would get very shirty if you suggested to them that the tina is a stepping stone to the button box… Despite the fact that they both have bellows, buttons, and a different note in and out (Anglo tinas and diatonic button boxes, that is), playing technique and note layout are very different. So no, concertinas are not a good starter instrument for button boxes. And yes, good tinas are very expensive.
Price of a button box? Three choices (assuming your friend is looking for an Irish-style box in C#/D or B/C):
Button Box price list: http://buttonbox.com/button-accordions.html#but4
They’re expensive instruments. And actually not as easy to play (well) as people might assume. The world is currently awash in good-quality second-hand boxes, evidence to my mind of expensive playthings bought in good times, never really played, and being dumped to raise cash in the current climate. This should give anyone in the market for a used box a bit of bargaining power, so don’t be shy to make lower offers!
Thanks!
All of those are quite expensive, as you say.
I think the only thing in his range, if he saves money, is the first option.
I’d like to see a picture of this €100 concertina that is supposed to be good for a beginner. It’s probably plastic and meant as a children’s toy.
All the technology that exists in a button box exists in a concertina, but has to be packed in an even smaller space, with more complicated angles involved for levers, springs etc.
It’s also harder to make a good hexagonal airtight set of bellows than a rectangular one.
A concertina costs at least 1.5 to 3 times the price of a button box of the same quality.
The method of playing each is also very different, so although they are in the same instrument family, and some people who play one also play the other, it’s better to start with what you mean to go on with.
Buying a cheap box or concertina usually has one of two outcomes - you end up buying a better one very soon because the chaep one holds you back (leaky bellows, sticking buttons, nasty sound etc.) , or you give up in disgust, unaware that it was the instrument’s fault and not yours.
A cheap box or concertina also has almost zero resale value, while a decent instrument can be sold for much of what you paid for it, especially if you bought second hand.
Sorry, Rhadge; I din’t mean to sound harsh.
Martin is totally right, I’ve been playing a Stagi for a while and when I purchased my morse from Button Box, the improvement was exponential…
A reasonably not-too-bad concertina for beginners is the Rochelle - sold at the button box, too -.
Anyway, look such a beauty for only 13,000 $:
http://buttonbox.com/cau0518.html
And it’s not even in the standard tuning for ITM!
Cheers,
Fer
I nearly gagged when I read how Concertinas were so much cheaper.
http://www.dragspeloteket.se/library/modules/shop/categorie.asp?HID=1&IID=4&XID=255
By request, here is the concertina referred to.
Indeed, it is plastic and Made in China.
The text states in swedish that it is a good practice concertina for children and adults.
I understand though, thanks to your input, that the only thing reliable with this concertina would be that it can make some sort of sounds. 
forget about it
they are trying to sell s…
so they got to wrap it in a shiny tin foil.
but that not even the point,
this concertina has just 20 buttons, you won’t be able to play all the tunes.
besides I don’t believe that it will be in tune
wait little longer, save a little bit more money
get yourself decent instrument.
if you’ll buy s… it will affect your playing.
Right. So, being swedish, - and living in Sweden, I supose - you’re not too far from Wim Wakker:
http://www.concertinaconnection.com/rochelle%20anglo.htm
If you ask the pals of concertina.net, they’ll tell you same as I do: for the price, is the cheapest reasonably anglo you can find.
Cheers,
Fer
Sorry, double post 
Fergus:
Thanks.
Although, he’s more likely going to go for a button accordion than a concertina. Concertina just appealed to him when I told him he would be able to get away cheap with one, to train before starting with button accordion (me at that time having not yet received input here).
I must say anyhow that concertinas are good-looking instruments (except the cheap plastic ones).
Mine ain’t ugly:
Indeed, it looks quite good. But I guess it’s not cheap.
Very pretty. Is that from Wim?
Also Wim Wakker has moved Concertina Connection the US.
Harry Geuns always made the hybrids and is now making them under his name.
Yep - click the floating concertina to see more views of it (and its brothers and sisters) on Wim’s site.
Yes, to eastern Washington state. I was going to mention that. But got hypnotized by the pretty concertina.
Impressive videos. I really like your poliphonic abilities, being myself an ITM player never understood how to play farther than the ocassional drone 
Cheers,
Fer
I play both of these types of free-reed instruments discussed and I have a couple of points here to share. As others have pointed out, concertinas are generally much more expensive than similar quality button accordions - sometimes three, four or more times as much for the same quality instruments. What hasn’t been discussed adequately is the trash represented and sold as concertinas on the cheap end. I’m referring to the Chinese instruments and some similarly priced instruments coming from Eastern Europe. These are frequently sold on eBay. Then there are slightly more expensive instruments like the Stagi that are somewhat better, but not ideal. When bought from places like the Button Box that invest considerable time and effort to make them playable, these instruments can be made be suitable for initial training but will generally be outgrown quite quickly. The sad fact is that the concertina is a complex instrument and cannot be cheaply made without sidestepping the details necessary to make it properly playable. Consequently, to attempt to learn concertinas on something costing $100 or only a little more is pretty much doomed to fail. With the button accordion, the situation is only slightly improved and here too the investment in a better quality instrument even at the outset will pay dividends quickly in ease of learning and satisfaction with the operation of the instrument.
The earlier comment about Wim Wakker is mistaken from a geography point. Wim has moved to the USA but I can’t remember where he now resides in the states. He has a website called ConcertinaConnection.com and does offer a low cost Anglo concertina called the Rochelle, that I understand is an isolated exception to my comment about Chinese-made instruments. This instrument is Chinese made to his specs using (per his website) some European parts. It is priced at $340 US. I would advise checking the Concertina.Net forums for information on this concertina since it may be the only one even close to your friend’s budget. If this instrument does not check out to your satisfaction, and if your friend does not have at least $600 - $1,000 to spend, then I would suggest they look to other less-expensive types of instruments because they will be throwing their money away otherwise.
Good luck and I hope I haven’t stepped on any important toes in the process of trying to give decent advice.
Ross Schlabach
Hehe, if you want to see an expensive concertina, look at the one on my avatar. This Dipper (my little baby) would sell for US$9000 I’d say, maybe not now though with the shaky economy.
Anyhow, I guess when you pick an accordion and a concertina of equal quality, the concertina is going to be more expensive simply because there’s a smaller market for them and most good ones are totally hand made. A concertina with accordion reeds would be closer to the prices of accordions, but as soon as you get into concertina reeds, which are totally hand made, the price sky rockets…