Tuning

[jerry]

I am just starting to learn anglo concertina. bought one off of ebay and noticed some of the notes are out of tune. Could someone tell me how do i get the concertina in tune? Jerry

[devinomatic]

I am just starting to learn anglo concertina. bought one off of ebay and noticed some of the notes are out of tune. Could someone tell me how do i get the concertina in tune? Jerry

 

I've been curious myself, as I play concertina and accordion as well and haven't had any luck finding tutorials that even basically outline the reed tuning process. As far as I understand, it's easier to do damage to your instrument than help if you're a newbie tech, as even a bit of natural oil from our skin can eventually ruin a reed. The most advice I've heard is to find that $20 accordion at a pawn shop, take it home and tear it apart, but the actual process seems to be a bit of a secret.

 

If anyone has any advice, I'd personally also like to hear a bit of input as to what causes slow sounding reeds, as that, along with tuning, is a bit of an issue with my Jackie.

[Larry Stout]

There is a description of tuning on Bob Tedrow's web page at

http://hmi.homewood.net/reeds/

a truly scary description from 1890 is linked off

http://www.concertina.com/williams/index.htm

the information on Don Nichols's page is at

http://www.d-and-d.com/tinas/tuning.html

and there is a description in the Concertina Mainenance Manual, a great resurce. After reading all of this I decided I was much better off sending my concertinas to a professional. I've had both Button Box and Wim Wakker tune vintage concertinas for me. Both did an excellcent job.

[Robin Harrison]

..............I think Larry's right on the money here.If you have zero experience and are willing to throw the concertina away ,go ahead and tune (or possibly wreck) it. If you aren't, get the experts to do it.Of course learning on a cheap concertina is a great way to start. Regards Robin