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30 key Jones Concertina


Jon C.

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A question on the key layout of this Jones. It has the standard Wheatstone layout, the only strange button is the upper row left, first button, instead of E/F it has a G#/F? Has anyone seen this layout, or was it custom?

Thanks,

Jon

I reversed the reeds in the reed pan and it makes more sense now, thye were originally rolling around in the bellows when I got the concertina, and I reversed them by accident... So now it is F/G#. Must have been a special order?

1892 sounds good to me.

Jon

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A question on the key layout of this Jones. It has the standard Wheatstone layout, the only strange button is the upper row left, first button, instead of E/F it has a G#/F? Has anyone seen this layout, or was it custom?

Thanks,

Jon

 

Jon,

 

The low G# press, rather than the low E press as found on many other makes of anglos, was common for Jones anglos and IIRC is shown in the diagram in his anglo tutor. I loaned out my copy of the reprint of the Jones tutor and never got it back, but I bet copies are floating around. The reprints were published by Joel Cowan and/or by Concertina & Squeezebox in the 1980s.

 

You would want the G# on press to use as an octave with the other G# (actually the other two G#s ) on the instrument, and similarly the low F ought to be in the same direction as the other F notes, which are on the draw.

 

If you need a low E, you can probably get a spare one and file it to fit the slot in the pan where the G# was.

 

Jones anglos also very often have the low notes G (press) /D (draw) on the lowest button of the G row, rather than the B/D, B/A, or B/C that are commonly found on Lachenals, Wheatstones, Crabbs, and Jeffries in that position.

 

PG

 

Edited to add: I found one version of Jones' anglo tutor (from 1946) at www.concertina.com, and it does *not* show the low G# press. But maybe the version of Jones' tutor that I had was a reprint of one of the earlier editions. By 1946, the old Jones layout would not likely have been used on any new instruments. Possibly my memory of having seen the low G# in the reprinted tutor was wrong. In any event, I have seen *many* original Jones C/G anglos (with 30 + buttons) that had the G#/F as the lowest button on the accidental row.

Edited by Paul Groff
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Hi Jon

 

I think my 30 key Jones has the same layout as yours - left side button 1 on accidental row is G# push and F pull, and low button on G row is B push and D pull.

 

Would be intereted to find out out the layout of your right hand side accidental row.

 

Mine is:

 

Push: C#, G#, C#, A, C

Pull: Eb, G, Bb, F, Eb

 

I'm on hols at the mo, so I"m hoping i"ve got those high ones right!

 

Dave

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Hi Jon

 

I think my 30 key Jones has the same layout as yours - left side button 1 on accidental row is G# push and F pull, and low button on G row is B push and D pull.

 

Would be intereted to find out out the layout of your right hand side accidental row.

 

Mine is:

 

Push: C#, G#, C#, A, C

Pull: Eb, G, Bb, F, Eb

 

I'm on hols at the mo, so I"m hoping i"ve got those high ones right!

 

Dave

Hi,

Yes, mine has the same accidental notes, though I haven't gotten the high Eb to sound yet...

Jon

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Thanks Jon - much appreciated

 

Hope you get it up and running again soon

 

Dave

My new pads and valves should be coming this week from David Leese. The valves were still in great shape on one side, as it was stored wrong for 100 years... <_< Should be a little more snappy when I fix the bellows and put new pads and valves.

Jon

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Hi Jon

 

 

Dave

Hi,

Yes, mine has the same accidental notes, though I haven't gotten the high Eb to sound yet...

Jon

 

 

Hi Jon,

 

This may be just an issue of cleaning a little dust or rust between the steel reed tongue and the frame. Very thin stainless shim stock can be cut or torn into little bits that are perfect for this -- a little more power than the traditional paper money method. Try not to disturb the position of the reed tongue relative to the frame (at least initially).

 

But the failure to sound could possibly be a misalignment of the tongue to the frame, or could also be an issue of the slight clearance above the frame to which the reed tongue should be set. For the high reeds this clearance is pretty low, but the Jones broad reeds can be a little tricky to set. Often the original tuner for Jones has curled up one corner of the reed tongue a tiny amount as I have also seen in some reed organs. That curling should not be necessary if it is not already present, but if it is present I leave it and try to work around it if tuning is needed.

 

But another possibility is the valving or lack of it. The high reeds in many concertinas work better with no valves at all (absence of a valve for the highest little reeds results in only a little loss of air through the reed that is not sounding, unlike for the lower reeds, but presence of a valve here can lead to "choking"), but if a valve is present its dimensions and action can be critical.

 

PG

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Hi Jon

 

 

Dave

Hi,

Yes, mine has the same accidental notes, though I haven't gotten the high Eb to sound yet...

Jon

 

 

Hi Jon,

 

This may be just an issue of cleaning a little dust or rust between the steel reed tongue and the frame. Very thin stainless shim stock can be cut or torn into little bits that are perfect for this -- a little more power than the traditional paper money method. Try not to disturb the position of the reed tongue relative to the frame (at least initially).

 

But the failure to sound could possibly be a misalignment of the tongue to the frame, or could also be an issue of the slight clearance above the frame to which the reed tongue should be set. For the high reeds this clearance is pretty low, but the Jones broad reeds can be a little tricky to set. Often the original tuner for Jones has curled up one corner of the reed tongue a tiny amount as I have also seen in some reed organs. That curling should not be necessary if it is not already present, but if it is present I leave it and try to work around it if tuning is needed.

 

But another possibility is the valving or lack of it. The high reeds in many concertinas work better with no valves at all (absence of a valve for the highest little reeds results in only a little loss of air through the reed that is not sounding, unlike for the lower reeds, but presence of a valve here can lead to "choking"), but if a valve is present its dimensions and action can be critical.

 

PG

Thanks for the post. I think reed tounge just needs a little hight adjustment. like I mentioned before, the reeds look new, no rust or grunge in the box (save the centapede!). When I overhaul it, I will try adjusting the hight a little. There are no valves on the high reeds, and I don't think it ever had them.

That is interesting about the curling of the reed, I will have to see if that was done.

Jon

 

Edit: There was a little crud in the reed, it cleaned right up with the Dollar bill techinique, plays nice a clear now.

Edited by Jon C.
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Hi Jon

 

I think my 30 key Jones has the same layout as yours - left side button 1 on accidental row is G# push and F pull, and low button on G row is B push and D pull.

 

Would be intereted to find out out the layout of your right hand side accidental row.

 

Mine is:

 

Push: C#, G#, C#, A, C

Pull: Eb, G, Bb, F, Eb

 

I'm on hols at the mo, so I"m hoping i"ve got those high ones right!

 

Dave

Hi,

Yes, mine has the same accidental notes, though I haven't gotten the high Eb to sound yet...

Jon

Interesting, the note plays Eb at 450 htz, but it is stamped D on the reed shoe. It is the same tuning as the other Eb. Wierd huh?

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