I started with a Stagi Gremlin, which by any other name would still be a mistake. It was still hundreds of dollars, I wore it out in a few months, and the poor response of the instrument affected my playing for years. My second instrument was a Norman, and I liked it very much. A word to the wise--change the reeds so your upper c# (above A 440) has a "push." That way, you won't have to re-learn your tunes. I am a klutz and a mechanical idiot, and I changed my reed in less than 15 minutes, 12 of which were spent doing and undoing the screws. I now have a beautiful Wheatstone which I bought sight unseen from a man in Australia.

As for concertina players not playing anything but the melody--well, be careful of generalizations, please.

I play Irish tunes, and so the Anglo fits my needs. If I were doing another style of music, I'd have to re-think things. One really pleasant aspect of the fingering/bellows combination is the nice lift the music gets from changing the bellows directions.

Happy hunting, and best wishes. And remember, no matter how much you can afford--it's not enough. Sigh.

Some day, I will write a book about how the concertina changed my life. Enter this door with great caution. I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything!!!