Concertina advice

RoboRat

My ten year old son plays the concertina and his teacher advised that he needs a new one to move to the next level. She recommended a Suttner and from looking online, they're around €5k with a 2 year waiting list. She said 2nd hand ones don't go for much less than 5k and being honest, I'm not spending 5k on a concertina... we paid €600 for his current one and that was bad enough.

I'm sure the sound and build quality are excellent, but he's ten. Does anyone know of any reasonably priced concertinas that would suit an advanced student?

malonef

Hey Roborat, we were in the same boat last spring with our 10 year old, who competes in the regional Fleadhs. We got a Pheonix Concertina from here: https://mcneelamusic.com/concertinas/the-phoenix-concertina/

This one was recommended by her teacher and she finds it very good.

RoboRat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121190451#Comment_121190451

Thanks, my wife ordered one... she won't tell me which one, but it wasn't the Suttner.

Seems you need to have the best equipment to be in with a chance of winning at a provincial or national level, and that's unfair because it puts a lot of pressure on families. We were pretty much told this is the case, and it really irks me.

endacl

Best idea would be to drift away from the idea of winning Fleadh competitions and towards playing music for fun with friends.

RoboRat

I would be happy for that to happen, but he likes the Fleadh, and the Ceoltas seem to push them toward the competitions.