30 Button Anglo Stagi Sound Staying On Help

[darticus]

It seems like one button on the right hand continues to sound after I move from the button. It does stop playing but stays on sometimes for 2 or 3 beats. Is there an easy fix? Do I just keep playing it like this until it might stop? Thanks for the help Ron

[David Barnert]

You really need to take it apart and have a look. Something is keeping the pad from fully occluding the hole when you release the button. It might be a weak spring or something creating friction that prevents the whole lever assembly from moving freely. Once you see what it is, it may be a very easy fix. But you have to get out that screwdriver.

[darticus]

You really need to take it apart and have a look. Something is keeping the pad from fully occluding the hole when you release the button. It might be a weak spring or something creating friction that prevents the whole lever assembly from moving freely. Once you see what it is, it may be a very easy fix. But you have to get out that screwdriver.

Nice info. Screwdriver not a problem but do all the buttons fall out when you take the screws out. Can you give some pointers before I try to take apart? Thanks very much Ron

[David Barnert]

I don’t have much experience opening Stagis, but it can’t be too difficult. People do it all the time. I have an old Bastari instrument (Bastari was bought by Stagi) and the trick to dealing with the buttons is more of an issue when putting it back together rather than opening it. They stay where they belong but don’t stand up straight, so you can’t get them to go through the holes unless you do the whole reassembly upside down, using the force of gravity to keep the buttons hanging straight down while raising the end piece from below (and looking up through the holes). I don’t know if that’s necessary or sufficient for a Stagi, but it's both on the Bastari.

[darticus]

OK so thats tricky but what do you look for inside and how do you take care of it? Can a spring be made a little tighter or can anything be adjusted? Is it always spring pressure? Is it possible to switch buttons? Thanks Ron

[David Barnert]

Really, all I can say is see if you can identify what’s different about the hardware associated with that note and all the other hardware and do what’s necessary to rectify the situation. If this task scares you, your concertina-playing career is bound to be very frustrating, because I can assure you this won't be the last time you’re going to have to deal with stuff like this.

[darticus]

Really, all I can say is see if you can identify what’s different about the hardware associated with that note and all the other hardware and do what’s necessary to rectify the situation. If this task scares you, your concertina-playing career is bound to be very frustrating, because I can assure you this won't be the last time you’re going to have to deal with stuff like this.

I will check it out. Thanks Ron

[Anglo-Irishman]

Ron,

Unlike David, I do have experience with opening a Stagi. I did it quite a lot when the Stagi was new, and had teething problems, but I haven't done it for years now.

 

David is right about the buttons - taking the ends off is no problem, putting them on is fiddly, and works best from below, with the buttons positioned correctly on their levers and gravity holding them straight. (My Stagi is metal-ended; I don't know what yours is like, or whether wood ends are easier or harder to handle.)

 

Again, David's tip about looking for what's different about the malfunctioning button/lever/pad is spot on.

 

Friction between the lever and some other component could be the problem in any make of concertina, so check for that.

 

In my Stagi experience, the problem could be the spring. At the start I had a couple of springs break, so you might have one that's just weak, and may break some time. I made new springs from steel autoharp strings. The coil of the spring doesn't have to be threaded onto the lever-pivot wire like the original springs. A traditional-type spring inserted in a pinhole in the action board is quite adequate, and much less work. Bear in mind that you can't see whether a spring is weak on not - you have to feel the resistance compared with the other springs.

 

Or it could be a problem with the button itself. Stagi buttons have no bottom guide-hole, so they can slide about on the levers. This means that they may adopt a position that is not at right angles to the end of the concertina. A slight slant can make the button jam in the hole. (Meanwhile, by force of habit, I check that the buttons are all standing perpendicular to the ends before I start playing my Stagi. If one isn't, it can be realigned by just pushing the head of the button in the opposite direction to the inclination.)

Button misalignment could also result from a lever being slightly bent, so that it does not pass directly under the button-hole. In this case, the aluminium-sheet lever is easily bent back into shape.

 

Stagi pads are like any other pads, in that they have to seat on the edge of the hole. This may be impaired by dust or a damaged pad, but in your case - when the problem rectifies itself after a couple of seconds - it's probably not that.

 

So get that screwdriver out, and tell us what you find!

 

BTW, the first time I tried to look inside my Stagi, I was baffled by the fact that, although I'd removed the end bolts, I couldn't get the action-box off the bellows. It turned out that the join was sealed with varnish or something, and a resolute, twisting pull did the trick. Next time, the action box came off without a hitch. To get at the action itself, you have to remove a couple of woodscrews in the "reed-pan".

 

Cheers,

John

[David Barnert]

David is right about the buttons...

...

Again, David's tip about looking for what's different about the malfunctioning button/lever/pad is spot on.

 

Thank you, John. Great minds think alike.

 

I made new springs from steel autoharp strings. The coil of the spring doesn't have to be threaded onto the lever-pivot wire like the original springs. A traditional-type spring inserted in a pinhole in the action board is quite adequate, and much less work. Bear in mind that you can't see whether a spring is weak on not - you have to feel the resistance compared with the other springs.

If the thought of making a new spring is daunting, once you have determined that the spring is the problem, you can see if the folks at the Button Box (in Massachusetts) or Concertina Spares (in England) can mail you one.

 

[Edited to add:] ...and in the mean time, while you’re waiting for a new spring, you can swap one in from another note that you don’t play as often and can do without for awhile. You’ll have to close that note’s hole with tape so it doesn’t sound continuously, of course. Then when the new spring arrives, pop it in and remove the tape and you’re good to go.

Edited March 11, 2017 by David Barnert

[darticus]

You guys have all the tips. Today is open day. I will post pics if this site allows me to do it. Thanks all later Ron

[darticus]

OK Took it apart and really didn't see any major concerns. I did notice the button that continued to sound was a little tilted. I did do a switch of that button and one that is used very little. I also added some dry silicone lube to the spring and pivot section on the rod. I put back together and it seems to sound very good again. I hope this is it but so far so good. Trying to post some pics here so all can see the inside of a Stagi W-15 30 button anglo. Thanks ALL Ron

[David Barnert]

...I put back together and it seems to sound very good again.

 

 

Well, congratulations. You’ve fixed your first concertina. I’m an anesthesiologist. More than once I’ve seen a patient’s symptoms cured by surgeons who did nothing more than open, look around, find nothing, and close.

 

The pics are great, but you’d have to tell us which was the problem button (and whether the picture is before or after the switch) for it to mean anything.

[darticus]

 

...I put back together and it seems to sound very good again.

 

 

Well, congratulations. You’ve fixed your first concertina. I’m an anesthesiologist. More than once I’ve seen a patient’s symptoms cured by surgeons who did nothing more than open, look around, find nothing, and close.

 

The pics are great, but you’d have to tell us which was the problem button (and whether the picture is before or after the switch) for it to mean anything.

 

The button is the one with the mark on the top in the earier pics above. I moved it to another position. It is the 3 button or GF. Earlier pics are the before and here is an after. Both these pics are the same but the S marks the new switched button. On the right side is the problem button before I place it on the last rod.Thanks Ron