malcolm clapp

Haven't yet seen a dietitian. A bit hard to find in my neck of the woods. Google has plenty of suggestions, but probably a lot of misinformation too....

Not being one to cause unnecessary alarm, and with no professional medical knowledge, but does anyone who plays a metal ended concertina and finger/hand problem (myself included) considered the possibility of a nickel allergy? Apparently, an estimated 10% of the (human) population are susceptible to such an allergy, for which there is no cure. Avoiding objects and foods containing nickel are recommended, according to Dr Google. The early signs are not particularly troublesome and certainly not life-threatening, but the long term effect is failure of the body's auto-immune system, which is a bit more serious. Four years ago, I developed necrotising fasciitis in my left leg, which led to sepsis. Three months in hospital (2 months in ICU in an induced coma) was not a happy experience as you can imagine. Just recently, after a COVID scare and some investigation as to my auto-immune status (poor!), I was asked about exposure to nickel, sent to a dermatologist, and guess what? I'm one of the 10%. It was only then that the penny dropped and the 40 odd years of playing a metal ended (nickel plated) Jeffries on a regular basis might be the cause of my woes. Not much that can be done at my advanced years apart for some dietary changes to help boost my immunity, and avoidance of potential causes of infection, so just have to take a bit of extra care with tools, sharp instruments (no pun intended), insect bites, minor skin abrasions and especially COVID I guess. I doubt if I have anything to loose by continuing to play my Jeffries as the damage to my AIS is already done, and there is no absolute proof that the concertina is to blame, but is the strongest link that the medicos can come up with. Food for thought....

Great video and series. I wish I had just a small percentage of his workshop equipment....and his patience. If I had any criticism, it would be the proximity of his cup of tea to the workspace....but then again, he obviously has a very steady hand. 😃

Brings to mind the old song "When it's Night Time in Italy, it's Wednesday Over Here".

Never really thought about it before. Probably all of the above, plus economics; flat ends would presumably be less expensive to produce. And don't forget domed ends, or is that just a sub-set of raised ends?

I doubt that Ebor is a maker's or model name, at least I have never come across it, but all things are possible.... However, it is likely that Ebor refers to the Ebor Musical Museum, once located (strangely!) in the town of Ebor in New South Wales. I vaguely recall that it closed down many years ago; I never went there, and I don't know whether it was a bona fide museum, or just a glorified name for a music shop. Currently on eBay is a Mezon accordion in pretty poor condition with an Ebor Musical Museum sticker, and I have seen a number of other instruments similarly labelled over the years, including a couple of concertinas and a banjo, all in similarly neglected condition. I did ask the seller, just out of curiosity, if he could post a photo of the name inscription, but he did not respond.

How often would you expect to need that troublesome high B? I have seen that high B/F# pairing substituted on many C/G anglos with F/F#, which would be so much easier to make from an F#/F# piano-accordion reed.

Off-topic content (piano accordion advice) removed by request.

More fuel to the fire.... Interestingly, The Bristol Piano Company, head office in Dunedin, New Zealand, was a large chain of music shops in New Zealand from 1915 up until they closed in 1938. Branches reported to be 60 shops and agencies throughout NZ at their peak, specialising in pianos and organs, but also importing and retailing other instruments and musical paraphernalia, predominantly from German manufacturers. To add further German connections, they were originally called The Dresden Piano Company, but changed the company name in 1915 for fairly obvious (and patriotic?) reasons. Founded by a David Theomin in the late 1870s, an English businessman of Prussian descent, born and educated in Bristol, UK, hence his choice of the new name. I suspect that he might have been familiar with the Bristol coat of arms, and may well have used it in some promotional manner, but I can't find any evidence to back that up, so just surmising..... So P.B. could perhaps stand for Piano Bristol? Maybe a German way of expressing B.P.? Dunno.... my German grammar is poor to non-existant!

Quote: "After the clown's death, Grock's sister Cécile decided that only those who could play the instrument should have the instrument." Well, judging how the museum curator is holding the concertina in the Getty photo, it seems likely that Cécile's wishes are no longer being honoured....

Just a few random jottings which might assist....and apologies if these suggestions have already been covered in other posts.... I no longer play or own a Crane, but had an excellent teacher for some years, now sadly no longer with us. I remember that she had a somewhat unusual take on the fingering in that she didn't think in terms of the buttons being in rows or columns, but instead, the buttons being in diagonal lines, and holding the concertina at an upwardly facing angle in a manner of Simon Thirmere's way of holding the English concertina. Just wondering whether changing the angle at which you hold the concertina might help, though I would imagine that you have already experimented with this. Have you considered that raising the height of the hand-rests might assist? Depending upon the model and make, it should be quite a simple modification (and completely reversible) to slip a layer (say 2 or 3 mm) of wood or stiff card beneath the original hand-rests to see if it helps. I did this for a Maccann player with a similar problem, and she found it a great improvement in reaching the higher notes, though she struggled a little with having to bend her fingers more for the low notes. Another idea, and somewhat less reversible, is to reposition the hand rest at an angle rather than straight across the face of the concertina. I believe there was some discussion on this site some years ago (can't find it right now), where a maker (can't recall who it was) made anglos with an adjustable hand-rest position. I seem to remember that it was to make the hand-rest closer to, or further from, the buttons, but angling was also an option. Maybe your search abilities are greater than mine and may be useful to find it and see the comments which might be helpful, and whether such a thing can be retro-fitted.

I could be wrong, but I can't recall ever seeing a Maccann with brass reeds from either Lachenal nor Wheatstone. The development of the Maccann system took place comparatively late in the day, by which time the use of brass for reeds had largely been superseded by steel, especially in top of the range (and expensive) instruments.

That would be the potential deal breaker for me. I've considered and tried larger and lower pitched models, but I find they have been too heavy and/or cumbersome for my style of playing and lacking the liveliness of a quality 30 key. But I suppose that it depends on the kind of music you envisage playing and what suits your purposes, but maybe it would be best if you could try out a few "heavyweights" before committing yourself to a yet unbuilt instrument.... (No criticism implied of Andrew Norman nor his concertinas).

Lots of good suggestions already posted; I would add my 10c worth and suspect that if the pads are original and 120+ years old, at least some of them may have reached their "use by" date. Tweaking the lever arms may have even exacerbated the problem as it only needs a couple of degrees of tilt to allow air to pass through without pushing a button. I'm sure there are a few experts in Canada who could assist you with a good action overhaul. Frank Edgley comes to mind. Not that close to you, but at least it would save the potential hassle of international shipping.

Gunmanbob, the lack of valves on all but the lowest (largest) reeds of the right hand side is quite normal. Adding them is unnecessary as they will reduce response speed and volume, and only minuscule air saving will be achieved.

Or possibly the late John Holman who was around the Dorset area for a while. An excellent craftsman as I remember.

Go along with that then. But if the next notes down sound a bit weak, try them without valves. The reason I mentioned it was that I have seen lots of accordions and concertinas where some one in the past has opened up the instrument and has seen reeds without valves; their automatic reaction was to think they had fallen off, so they slap valves on them and wonder why they can't get them to sound properly. (No reflection implied on your experience or knowledge, but a common trap which some owners fall into when attempting their own repairs... 🙂 )

Not knowing the exact range of your instrument makes it impossible to advise more than a guess for the cut off point for different types of valve (or not valved). And of course, it will be at a different physical position on each set of reeds with dry octave tuning. Nothing wrong with mylar (plastic) valves for anything above middle C or thereabouts, and for the next 2 octaves. Anything higher than that, do not use valves on these as the benefit of air saving will usually be negated by the reeds being slower to respond. Depending upon how good the reeds are, you might find that even A and B and their near accidentals are a bit unresponsive, so maybe unvalve these as well. Mylar may be problematic below middle C, so go with leather, and with helper springs on the larger valves. If ordering leather valves, you will need accordion valves, not concertina valves for this type of instrument as the two have very different properties. Just saying, though you probably already knew that.... Have fun replacing the broken reeds; it can be a pig of a job. Just be careful you don't distort the body of the plate when tightening the rivets....

In short, mount and tune only one long plate set at a time. (You probably should replace the flap valves prior to attempting to tune the reeds as I doubt the originals will be terribly effective after 90 years or so.) Remove the plate not being tuned and replace it with a thin, rigid piece of ply/aluminium/whatever, cut to a similar shape to the removed plate. Tune the mounted plate of reeds, then remove it and repeat with the other plate. Try this with just a couple of reeds first before tuning the entire set, and test the resulting pitch; you may find them it little sharp (or flat?) throughout, so you might need to adjust the targeted pitch a little below (or above) concert, assuming that is your intention. There may well be a better way....but I've tuned a few instruments with long "gang-mounted" reeds using this method; total accuracy might be a bit elusive, so may need a little spot tuning "by ear" on completion. I have also tried tuning by plucking the reeds rather than air blowing, but have found this less accurate, and a greater risk of breaking very old reeds. Hope this helps. Good luck with the project 🙂

Only about 4 inches off topic, but can anyone please explain the variation of the G row button furthest to the right of the right hand side of a C/G layout? Many Jeffries anglos have a push F, while other makers seem to have the more logical push B. Is this an ITM thing too? Seems unlikely. To be fair, I rarely, if ever, need to play a B note up that high, and neither do most players I know; but I've often been asked about this and can offer no answer except to joke about upsetting the neighbours' dogs at 100 yards distance. I guess it's easier to make an F reed than a B reed of such a high pitch, so maybe the reason is as simple as that; a slight cost saving on making a reed that no one plays...or is that too cynical a view???

Yes, John, that's where I first heard of it too, though I think it was just a trouser leg rather than the entire garment. I have suggested it to several players, at least one of whom took up the idea, but abandoned it when her hearing began to deteriorate in later years.

I reckon it's a still from one of those TV ads which include an irrelevant feature to introduce a "wtf" reaction from viewers which is probably more memorable than the crap they're peddling. Supermarket ALDI (or their advertising agency) in Australia is very fond of this idea, and they are not alone. In Oz, we have a TV panel show called The Gruen Transfer, which examines, critically and humorously, product advertising, and this sort of campaign is featured regularly. Well worth a look on GooTube to see the latest (and the oldest) marketing tricks.

I don't think the current owners of the Bastari/Stagi business have done themself any favours by their condemnation of the concertina in question as being a Chinese knock-off. I've repaired quite a few of these over the years. their main fault being poor quality bellows binding material for top runs (easily replaced with leather before the wear gets too advanced). However, I did hear a rumour (from a usually reliable source) that the bellows were manufactured in China.... The ingenious reed mounting design works well and the response and sound produced is imho quite reasonable, if not quite what one would expect from "real" concertina reeds. No doubt in my mind that the instrument in the OP's photos is a product of the Bastari/Stagi factory, and a cut above any other concertina model that I've seen out of Italy, even allowing for the bellows manufacture perhaps having been outsourced.

I have only ever seen daisy wheel papers on Wheatstones, (I own one such), so they, or the entire bellows, may have been replaced as I can see little evidence of this concertina being of Wheatstone origin, though riveted reeds were a feature of some late C19th Wheatstone models. Brass bound corners (campaign wear, as the auctioneers call it) seem to perhaps indicate use by a member of the military, or at least of some profession where a fair amount of overseas travel in potentially hostile environments may have been involved (missionary work in tropical climes perhaps?) (All just random speculation for which I will happily stand corrected....)

Tuned to A:443, or maybe A:439 (Just wondering what as in the coffee, John?)