Unhappy chappy with a scrappy Scarlatti

[Jimbaab]

Hi there,
New to concertina so tried a second hand 30 button scarlatti on ebay for £135 to see...
But it turns out a couple of the keys are arse for elbow. A B playing Bb on the right hand and an F F# on the left.
And vica versa.
The guy who sold it to me was himself ignorant of this, possibly having concluded it was him who couldn't play a scale of C NOT the crappy wee box and I think has probably been put off trying to play again for life.
Now in negotiations with the seller about this .
Could someone confirm please that the centre two rows should play the natural notes? Without ANY sharps or flats.
Having a certain amount of sympathy with the seller , what might be a fair value of such an item?
Bleedin heavy these concertinas aren't they? Do concertina players get extra strong pinkies over time?
Anyone selling a proper concertina?
Cheers all
James

[MTGuru]

Could someone confirm please that the centre two rows should play the natural notes? Without ANY sharps or flats.

If it's a C/G, then you have F#s on your G row, of course. Other accidentals are on the outer row.

[Jimbaab]

Forgot to mention that it's an English.

[MTGuru]

Forgot to mention that it's an English.

Oh, sorry. 30 button English? I guess it's one of those with the partial button layout. In that case ... Yes, only "white notes" (C scale) on the center 2 rows, and all accidentals on the outside 2 rows.

[MTGuru]

Do concertina players get extra strong pinkies over time?

Yes and no. You rest the left side on the knee, so the left hand carries no weight. On the right side, the thumb supports the weight, not the pinkie. On either side, my pinkie fingers are either loosely in the rests (mostly right), or out of the rests entirely (mostly left). Mostly they just brace gently against the sides below the rests to balance the bellows movement, sometimes forming a "tripod" with the thumb and button fingers, but also free to move for maximum fingering agility.

The only time my pinkies actually support the instrument is if playing in free-standing position in front of me with no knee support. Which I almost never do, or only for very brief periods. And if I had a routine requirement to have to play standing for any length of time, I'd use a neck strap.

Having a certain amount of sympathy with the seller , what might be a fair value of such an item? ... Anyone selling a proper concertina?

Your best bet for an answer to those questions may be over at http://www.concertina.net .

[avanutria]

It might be worth contacting Theo at http://www.theboxplace.co.uk/ with your questions - he will probably be able to help.

It occurs to me that perhaps someone did some home maintenance once and put a few reeds back in the wrong place, if that's possible on a Scarlatti.

Edited to add: If you want a decent starter box for not too much outlay, get a Jackie: http://www.concertinaconnection.com/jackie-jack.htm

Theo of The Box Place is an authorised UK seller of these instruments.

Also depending on the description in the auction you may have recourse for a return as the instrument is not in playable condition. If he didn't say so, or use the words as is or anything, you may have a case with Paypal/Ebay.