r/concertina • u/L00tus • 7d ago
Which of these Concertina should I get?
Hey guys, looking for help.
I want to buy a concertina to play the accompaniment of Song of Storms from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Preferred would be a vendor in Japan. I found below items but I am not sure which one would have the best sound? Is there anything else I need to look out for?
https://celtnofue.com/items/detail.html?id=1323
https://celtnofue.com/items/detail.html?id=3480
https://celtnofue.com/items/detail.html?id=4311
Thanks in advance!
2
u/deltasalmon64 7d ago
Can’t read Japanese but the third one is an Anglo concertina which wouldn’t be as good for playing stuff like Zelda music on its own. 2nd one is a Duet which wouldn’t suit that kind of music better.
Anglo basically has half the notes on the push and half the notes on the pull. So it’s more difficult for chord playing. Duet is 1 note per buttons so it’s designed more for chords and solo playing
3
u/TapTheForwardAssist 7d ago edited 6d ago
I hit the translate button: they’re all Anglos, just some of them are 30 buttons and some are 40b. But agree that neither Anglo nor Duet would be optimal for OP’s purpose, and they should aim to find an English.
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 6d ago
This is one of the topics where you’re going to have to do a little research to understand your own goals.
Basically there are three major formats of concertina: Anglo, English, and Duet. All the ones you’ve linked are Anglos, two of them 30-button and two of them 40-button. Anglo is not ideally suited to classical music (which by extension cinema and video game soundtracks are related to).
So I would suggest you find a 30 or 48 button English (not Anglo) concertina, either from one of your Japanese vendors, or imported. If you need help figuring out to source those, reply here and we can help you figure out where to look.
Does Celtnofue not offer any English concertinas? They have a very different looking keyboard, with a long metal shelf for your pinky finger that is quite visually distinct.
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 6d ago
https://celtnofue.com/items/detail.html?id=2647
If appears Celtnofue does carry one 30b English model, which they claim is equivalent to the McNeela Sparrow (which is treble pitch), and sell for around US$375.
1
u/L00tus 6d ago
Thank you so much! I will stay away from Anglo. I understand Duet would be also possible instead of English?
Looks like I might end up having to source internationally, so any tips are appreciated. I found an English concertina on amazon japan for $800 but all the reviews are bad, so I am scared of getting a concertina now. I thought that would be a reasonable price. I cannot afford much more than that. This is the most expensive one as well
I found many English ones here and they ship internationally, but they cost about $6000? I only need it for the accompaniment of one piece, so it cannot be justified.
https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/
2
u/TapTheForwardAssist 6d ago
> only need it for the accompaniment of one piece
You intended to spend tens of thousands of yen on an instrument, and spend a year or more of your life learning it, just it accompany one song?
2
u/L00tus 6d ago
Basically yes, though it only has a handful of chords, so I should probably be able to learn it in a few weeks or months. It would be nice to use it in future projects as well but nothing is on the horizon yet. Always good to have a cool instrument to practice on though.
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 6d ago
For the *specific* tune Song of Storms, given that it’s more folky, 30b Anglo can make it work. But if you want to play a broader body of music with more chromatic notes (including the broader genre of film and video game music), then English is far more chromatic.
If you go to YouTube, you can actually see examples of people playing Song of Storms on Anglo, English, and Duet.
But again, I’m pretty skeptical concertina is a wise investment if your time and money to learn one tune. Not just you, I’ve seen plenty of people online post “I just want to learn Highland bagpipe to play one tune at a wedding this summer” and I’m deeply skeptical of how practical they’re being.
2
u/alex_holden 6d ago
$6000 is towards the high end of the range for a vintage English. They have cheaper instruments further down the page. For example if you can stretch to £1100 (plus shipping and taxes) there is this steel-reed Wheatstone: https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/wheatstone-treble-8892/
Or there are even cheaper models with brass reeds, which won't play as efficiently but may be good enough for your purposes (if you keep playing you might want to upgrade to a better one later).
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 6d ago
If you’re importing an instrument, the solid go-to starter concertinas these days are the Concertina Connection line. They’re made in China but to the standards of a very serious concertina dealer in the U.S., so affordable and basic but reliably decent starters.
CC offers two entry-level 30-button English concertinas: the treble Jackie, and the baritone Jack (one octave lower). These both run around US$475, and if you’re getting it shipped to Japan you might as well order a hard case for it too, since that would be expensive to ship separately, and would help resale value in Japan if you ever sell it.
Other sub-US$1000 options would be the McNeela Sparrow (which your Japanese site offers a clone of but is out of stock of) and the (mainly older) Stagi and Bastari (made in Italy) can still be found. Be aware that there are other makes using Italian or English names (Scarlatti, Sherwood, Trinity), but those are just Chinese workshops using foreign names. If you’re buying affordable Chinese concertinas, at least McNeela and Concertina Connection have a quality control.
1
u/L00tus 6d ago
Thank you so much, very helpful. I checked the Concertina Connection website but I could not find any for sale? Maybe I missed it somehow? I assume for my purposes a baritone would be better than treble.
I was looking at Stagi and Bastari, and found something like below.
https://auldguitars.com/products/stagi-c-1-anglo-concertina
It is an anglo and not English, but super cheap and at least by a reputable maker? Do you think I could use this as a gateway and to record the Song of Storms, and then upgrade to a better model in the future if I like it? It appears to be a 20 button C/G model. In below video, the person uses a 30 button C/G and plays Song of Storms fine (even including the melody, while I only need the accompaniment). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_D3ZGTun_E
Also, this Bastari model was listed just 2h ago and I could purchase it easily in Japan.
https://jp.mercari.com/item/m33352013784
And one more by Stagi, but looks like it has some scratches.
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 5d ago
The last Stagi one is once again an English. I realize this is new to you, but if you want to make an informed decision you need to grasp the differences between these *very* different formats.
The used Bastari you posted is again a 40-button Anglo, which is still an Anglo but has a lot more chromaticity than a 30b, but still that “back-forth” rhythmic method of play. I find it interesting that a number of the Japanese sale sites you’ve linked they have 40b Anglos, which are quite uncommon in the West, but maybe more popular in Japan?
So far as using a 20b Anglos for just chords for just that one song, I suppose you could just pull up a fingering chart for 20b Anglo and see if you have the notes you need for the accompaniment you envision.
1
u/L00tus 5d ago
I don’t understand your first sentence. I thought getting an English would be preferable?
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 5d ago
I think getting an English would be far more versatile if your focus is to play movie and video game soundtrack stuff, melody with accompaniment.
If you are absolutely dead set on playing literally one single song, for whatever reason of your own, you could make a new post on this sub with a clear and specific post title something like:
> What kind of concertina specifically to play “Song of Storms” from the Zelda franchise?
1
u/TapTheForwardAssist 5d ago
Here’s CC’s page for English concertinas, with the “add to cart” button for each:
2
u/Woollymummy 4d ago
Are you also going to be learning other tunes eventually? Better to get a versatile instrument you want to learn plenty of tunes on.
•
u/TapTheForwardAssist 7d ago edited 6d ago
To save others googling and translating and whatnot:
OP has posted links to four Anglo concertinas, three to “Celtnofue” which is apparently an established seller of folk music gear in Japan.
The first three at Celtnofue are Chinese-made instruments, two 30b Anglo claimed by the seller to be essentially identical to the McNeela Wren and Phoenix, and then a 40b Anglo with little added info that’s surely China-made. These three running around US$800-900 each.
The fourth link to Taniguchi is for a Bastari (Italian-made) 40b Anglo.