I think Dick, Brian and I are all agreed that accordion-reeded concertinas sound different from concertina-reeded ones. Dick thinks they sound like accordions, Brian and I disagree, but even if they do, so what? They don't play like accordions or melodeons, they play like concertinas. Whether or not you like their sound is a matter of personal taste, and just one of the factors to be taken into consideration when choosing an instrument.

I would guess that Dick's partner and step-son play Irish music, in which case a 26-key may well be a very good and cheaper alternative (assuming you can find one), for reasons given in my earlier post. However if you play in the style that Brian and I do it is lacking some essential notes - having played a 26-key for several years before moving up I know this only too well. For these players a hybrid 30-key offers all the notes necessary, at the expense of a slightly different (but not necessarily inferior) sound. For many players, who cannot afford a traditionally-reeded 30-key, this is a compromise they are prepared to make.

Unless money is no object, you have to compromise somewhere. It might the keyboard layout or the sound - only the individual player can decide which choice is right for them.