My husband would like to learn anglo-concertina, and he would use it to play Irish trad. Now I’ve seen that most concertinas are in C/G, but they also exist in G/D which seems to be a better choice for this music. So why do most Ir-Trad-folks choose C/G?
Which key would you advise me to buy, and what brand? It should not be too expensive. And where can I get one here in Europe?
Peter, so you think I would have to spend about 750 Euro? Steve Power offers a Stagi for about that price. Would that be a good choice? Or rather a Hohner?
Hi Claudine,
I know less than nothing about concertinas, but this site should provide you with some useful guidance.
As Peter and Martin wrote, http://www.concertina.net is definitely the place to go for everything (anglo) concertina related. It has an extensive buyer’s guide.
The concensus on starter instruments seems to be that Stagis and their ilk are of too low a quality to be worth much, although Bob Tedrow sells “improved” Stagis that are supposedly a much better buy.
For “serious” beginners the choice seems to be between the new “mid-range” concertinas (Button Box, Marcus, etc.) and old Lachenals in good shape. All of these are in the price range of $1000-$2000. Makes good quality flutes sound like cheap instruments. 
Jens
(edited to include mention of Tedrow-modified Stagis)
[ This Message was edited by: Jens_Hoppe on 2002-08-21 06:38 ]
the consensus among teachers here is NOT to get stagi bastari gremlin hohner and that sort they ar not very nice and if they go they cannot be taken apart to be fixed.
I paid 700 pound for a lovely vintage Lachenal two years ago, you can get various types of lachenals for €800-1200 from dealers like Chris Algar [barleycorn music, has a website and is a sound, reliable dealer].
Marcaus is another possibility, allthough their cheapest has the accordeon reeds.
So I’d better start to save some money for that christmas present. Thanks for your answers.
P.S.: one more question: could I buy a used concertina from Barleycorn via mail without worrying about quality?
… if I only had a brain …
[ This Message was edited by: claudine on 2002-08-21 07:21 ]
That’s a responsibility for anybody to answer that one. He has a good reputation, the decision is yours. Talk to him over the e-mail, he’s very helpful. http://www.marcusmusic.co.uk is another one to look at.
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-08-21 07:39 ]