By: fightingnun (22-Sep-06)      Experience with product: 5 Months

Strengths:	See below
Weaknesses:	lower...

Full User Summary
DISCLAIMER This is my first concertina. I only play moderately. I'm still a novice but I can jump around basic chords pretty easily. Includes: Concertina, single note sheet, snug soft case. PROS: * Price - This is the second lowest price I've found-for a brand new concertina. The only models I've found cheaper had questionable construction and cheaper bellows. Which brings us to.... * Bellows - They are fake leather but much quieter than the red "rice paper" bellows I tried out on other concertinas in this price range. * Sound - Other reviews have complained about theirs not being in tune, but not mine. It's kinda limited with 20 buttons but the overall octave range is extreme. It's pretty bright sounding since their are more higher octaves then low. Being more into "sorrowfull/east European sound I concentrate on building chords on the left (lower octave) side. * Easy Fix - Well so far anyway. During the 2nd month a button started sticking. I opened it up and pushed it back up and haven't had a problem since. CONS: * Build - Pretty much meat/potatoes though totally acceptable. It's budget-wood body is surprisingly large and plain looking when compared to the more decorative used Italian budgets on ebay. That large body is a little hard to finger chords with but can be overcome with practice. * Highest Note Weak - My highest octave note is so faint that sometimes it doesn't make a sound at all. But since I stay in the lower register I didn't bother to exchange it. (It's such a high note I can't imagine ever using it.) It's a G/C with a nice booming sound. It's a very intimating instrument at first but Hohner in their good hindsight includes a helpful xeroxed note sheet. Using my guitar for reference, I constructed chords and was pleasantly surprised how quickly I was up jumping around them. Working those bellows with eyes closed can put one into a nice soothing almost catatonic zen-like state. My motovation for the purchase was curiosity rather than a real burning passion to learn the concertina but I still don't regret the purchase. I hope this helps. Enjoy.