I’m thinking of getting a little concertina squeeze box thingy. I’m looking at an inexpensive Hohner G/C. Any players out there have any recommendations?
Is G/C the best key? Seems to be the most common, especially among the inexpensive ones.
English or Anglo? I know the difference, I’d just like some opinions.
Any good places to shop for said squeeze box?
Thanks,
Dan
…always after me Lucky Charms!
[ This Message was edited by: Bartleby on 2002-05-18 12:55 ]
I might be more inclined to get a D/G, since most jigs/reels/etc you’ll find are in those keys.
Seth
I might be more inclined to get a D/G, since most jigs/reels/etc you’ll find are in those keys.
It’s counterintuitive, but C/G is the preferred tuning among players of traditional Irish music. But note that the C/G instruments favored for Irish music have 30 or more buttons, vs. only 20 on inexpensive instruments. The extra buttons supply additional accidentals, like C# and G#. In other words – these instruments are not strictly in C/G.
I second the recommendation for concertina.net. There’s a lot of great information there. Also check out the concertina FAQ, at
http://www.harbour.demon.co.uk/concerti.htm
Finally, the sad truth is that inexpensive Hohners and the like are not very satisfying instruments. Even the $500+ Stagi concertinas disappoint most people who take the instrument seriously. The price of entry for a “keeper” concertina – one that will be satisfying to play for many years – is about $1500. An outstanding example in this price range is the Morse concertina, at
[edited to add information about 30 buttons and to correct a price] [ This Message was edited by: csharpd on 2002-05-19 00:54 ]
[ This Message was edited by: csharpd on 2002-05-19 11:01 ]
I second the suggestion for the Morse concertinas at Button Box.
Whether to get an English or Anglo system depends on the kind of music you want to play. Button Box makes both. I have an Anglo Morse that is great - light, fast, has great sound. (I play only Irish Trad on it.)
In fact John Williams played it when he was here and was very impressed with how good it was for the money. (If you don’t know John Williams - check out his web site, not only is he a wonderful concertina & accordian player, he’s a good whistle player too)
Good thing you’re in Alabama: this means that you can feasibly drive to Homewood Music (I think that’s near Birmingham) and check out the various concertinas available there.
Deciding things like Anglo vs. English is best done by trying the instruments out and seeing if one makes your brain explode. Most people don’t have that option due to sparseness of concertina stores.
Also, Bob Tedrow of Homewood music can probably answer just about any question you have about the box.
Then again, Homewood sells anglos; I wonder what the odds are that they’ll have an English for you to look at.
=Caj
You definitely need to make an appointment to come to Birmingham and see Bob Tedrow. Not only does he know everything about them; buys & sells them, but he makes outstanding ones himself. Here’s his website:
http://hmi.homewood.net/