Buying my first concertina. What were your experiences?
Greetings,
I have recently decided on what my next musical instrument is going to be and concertina won. I'm from central Europe, I occasionally play in pubs with a few friends (folk, country, pop, some light rock, the usual). Mostly I play the guitar or cajon, but we got plenty of people who can play those, so I decided to branch out. I also like to listen to Irish music, although I haven't really played it with others, since it's not traditional in my region.
Now, I have read the FAQ, which helped me understand the differences between different kinds of concertinas, but it didn't really help me decide which one to buy. Browsing through the internet, it seems that most AI searches gravitate towards recommending Wren 2 (or Wren 2 Deluxe) or Rochelle. But when I research those two, I see lots of complaints obout their performance, which makes me question if the purchase is even worth it as a starter instrument to learn on, or not.
Furthermore, every search seems to recommend Anglo concertinas as the starter instrument, even though English look on paper to be easier and more, I don't know, intuitive (?) with it sounding the same on push or pull.
So I'd like to ask you concertina enthusiasts what were your experiences when you started playing the instrument? What worked, what didn't?