I'm up visiting Newfoundland, Canada, for a few months. On a random impulse, I bought a one-row 2-stop Hohner G squeezebox for $350 from a newspaper classified ad. It had recently been refurbished by O'Brien's (the experts in the province), and seems pretty solid overall.

Neat looking, slim little box.


It's fun to play with, but are melodeons and the like not as good as concertinas for backing up solo singing? Even with just one reedbank it's kinda loud, and still a fair bit heavier than a concertina.

Any opinions on buttonbox versus concertina for singing? Which box (1row, 2, 3?) is preferred, or Anglo or English concertina? I really like the raw singing of Peter Bellamy, and I believe he was mainly a concertina guy. But I figured I could have fun with the box and sell it for $350 or better when I get back to the States, despite it not being a Cajun C or Celtic D.

There in Newfoundland, Jim Payne frequently backs his singing with a 4-stop one row, though I don't know which particular key gets the most usage. (He's usually got two or three of the things with him.)

Of course, Jim's duo partner Fergus O'Byrne does the same with English concertina. The big advantage to the concertina would be the fact it can play in more than one key....

On reflection, it occurs to me that (as they play them, anyway), Payne's 4-stops sound rough and ready, while O'Byrne's concertina sounds sweet and quiet. So it's probably all about what particular sound you are looking for.

Personally, I have a blast trying to play tunes on our 4-stop in G.

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Sol's Tunes (new tune 2/2020)