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Replacing A Single Reed - C#/c# To C#/d#


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I have a square-ended Herrington (this one) that has an extra C# on the right hand 1a draw. I've started to find that I miss the D# that normally occupies that position in the Wheatstone layout, and I don't really make use of the extra C#. As a result, I'm looking for advice on replacing that reed. Should I try to buy a single reed from somewhere and replace & tune it myself? Should I send the whole concertina to a professional? Should I leave history alone and trade for a different instrument?

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I use the term "history" a little tongue-in-cheek, since this instrument is only 20 years old. But at the same time, there are still people living who knew Harold Herrington, and sometimes folks have strong opinions about things like this, no matter how insignificant it might seem to me. If leaving the instrument unchanged is important to someone that has an emotional attachment to it, I'm willing to take that into consideration as I weigh my options. Of course, this is also a reversible change, so I don't particularly expect to encounter anything like that.

 

I'm in central Iowa, and I doubt I'll find any local concertina experts (feel free to prove me wrong). If I need to pay postage anyway I'll probably want the repairer to look into a few other things at the same time - a couple of slightly sticky buttons and a couple of reeds that are slower to speak than the others. Keeping that in mind, who would you recommend? I'm aware of The Button Box, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

 

This being a hybrid instrument, I've also come across the suggestion of going to someone who works on accordions (just for the reed replacement), which I could almost certainly find locally. Is that a good idea?

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