Peter Smith

Thanks for your interest. I'm afraid the concertina is now in the USA. The G & F are G4 & F4. as Jim Lucas suggested, maybe they are drone buttons. The concertina would have been a bit easier to play, if the left hand went up to C or D. It is still a lovely concertina. Regards Peter

Thanks. Just checked again through your layout in Anglo Piano and its the same as my concertina plays. Thanks again.

Many thanks, Luke, for putting together the 'Anglo Piano' for the 42 button Jones. I have just checked through the layout on my concertina. As psmooze noted, in the Anglo Piano layout, the C5 & B4 on the second button on the right-hand side of the C-row are actually reversed. So its C5 on the push. (Strange to say, this button is labelled as Button 1 in Jones' patent and also on the concertina.) Thanks again Peter

Many thanks. The information I was after was right at the end. A picture from Stephen Chambers of an old advertisement for a similar concertina. Peter

I have come across a concertina with a piano layout one end and standard buttons the other (see pictures). I believe a similar concertina was discussed on Concertina.net a while ago but I cann't find the post. Could someone tell me a bit more about this type of concertina and direct me to the previous discussion? Many thanks Peter

I agree. It looks like a Jeffries Duet. I asked the auction house whether the concertina played a different note on each button when pushing & pulling the bellows and was told by someone there 'I would say a different note'. Perhaps a little inconclusive, so is it an anglo?

I bought that Jones 42 button 'perfect' concertina through Ebay in 2019. It was in a bit of a state and Andrew Norman undertook a full refurbishment, including new bellows, later the same year. The Jones concertina is number 15381. Looking back through Concertina.net, it was also owned by Chrism in 2011. Jim Lucas owned number 22795 and gave an excellent description of it's construction and range in http://www.nonce.dk/Jones-42/. I hardly ever play this concertina, so have put it up for sale on Ebay & Concertina.net (on 7th February 2022). I have added Jim Lucas' description of his 42-button Jones to each listing (with his permission), as it gives an excellent overview of this type of concertina. If you are interested, please contact me. Peter

This is now sold and a donation made to concertina.net. Peter

My rare 42-button Jones ‘Perfect’ Anglo (number 27140) was fully refurbished in 2019 by Andrew Norman. It has new bellows, new pads, new valves, new hand-straps and tuned the steel reeds to concert pitch. The fretwork each end is complete and any cracks have been repaired and stabilised. The levers have riveted action and the concertina is responsive. The concertina comes with a purpose-made lined case. The 42-button Jones ‘Perfect’ C/G Anglo is a very rare fully chromatic Anglo concertina, patented in 1884, with a range of around four octaves from C3 to C7. Several notes are duplicated and can be played either on the push or pull of the bellows. I am only aware of two of these - Jim Lucas’ one and mine. Jim Lucas described his 42-button Jones ‘Perfect’ Anglo in http://www.nonce.dk/Jones-42/ (used with his permission). This includes a layout of all the buttons and a detailed description and pictures of the instrument. He also includes some tunes, showing the capabilities of this type of anglo concertina. I can send you some more pictures or YouTube clips if you are interested. Also on UK Ebay - more pictures there. If you are interested and would like to try the concertina, please contact me and I will see what we can arrange, if you are in the UK. Postage by Royal Mail Special Delivery, including insurance up to £2000 or collection or delivery may be possible in the UK. I am looking for £2000.

Hope the restoration goes well. Gary Coover's Anglo 123 is also a good book for learning the anglo, if you need a starting point. Peter

Gary Coover has done a series of tune books for the Anglo. He has a book of sea shanties for the 20 button Anglo. Red Cow Music should have it in stock.

The key layout for a 20 Button Anglo in C/G is attached. It plays different notes pushing & pulling the bellows, which will make sorting out the reeds a bit more tricky. The top row all the way across is in the key of C & the second row in the key of G. There are a number of other tunings used for Anglo concertinas but C/G is the most common. I hope this helps. Peter 20 Button C-G Anglo.doc

Looks a good project. I have not worked on one of your type of concertina - generally with Scholer anglos which have the reeds in beds of five reeds. Jake's layout & comments should help you sort out which reed goes where. Peter

Could you add some pictures? I have some spare parts that might be useful. Peter

I agree. It does seem logical & sometime the buttons seem to fall in the right places. I am really interested to see whether any other Chidleys survive & are played. The only other one I found on Concertina.net was a Lachenal Chidley - which was believed to be original - not a converted MacCann. Its serial number was in the 60,000's. (Link below to part of the discussion in 2011).

Your concertina looks really good. Maybe worth putting it on Concertina.net Buy & Sell. As Stephen Chambers says, its a Rock Chidley English Baritone rather than K V Chidley Duet. I have amended the title of this discussion to avoid further confusion. Peter

Thanks for posting this. Could you post some pictures and tell me a bit about its range and history? Thanks Peter

The aluminium reed shoes also help with the weight. Its is still quite sizeable, weighing in at 3.275kg and measuring 27.5cm across the flats. The Wheatstone Chidley concertina is number 36349, built in December 1956, when I was 3!! I would still be interested to know whether any other Chidley duets still exist & are played. I wonder if some have been converted to MacCanns.

Thanks, Alex, for correcting the link for Chidley layout. I think it’s quite impressive. It doesn’t have the build quality of the earlier Wheastones, having a hook and lever action, rather than riveted. A couple of additional pictures below showing some of the internals. I think the concertina is dated in the 1950’s.

I have a 80-button Wheatstone Chidley duet concertina. I believe only 50-60 of these were ever made. The button layout is the same as a MacCann but the layout of notes is the same for every octave. My Chidley has a 5 octave range from C2. (See http://www.concertina.com /chidley-duet ) I just wondered if there is anyone else on Concertina.net who plays this system. Peter

Thanks. Could be. One is a G and the other an F.

Just added an Excel file with the layout of the buttons. Its is just like a piano with a range of over 2.5 octaves. The apparent air buttons are duplicate notes. As its a duet, a button plays the same note either pushing or pulling the bellows. I should have added this information before.

I am thinning out my collection a bit (in common with some others on Concertina.net!) and am selling my Jones Piano Duet Concertina (No 27140). It’s a quite rare and interesting concertina, measuring a slightly larger 17cm across the flats. This example is in excellent original condition and seems to have been played very little. I have done a little work on it by stabilising a few cracks in the ends and replacing the hand straps. Other than that, it is original, untouched and very clean. The steel reeds are clean and in tune with each other (though not at concert pitch). The bellows are original and airtight. It has its original case, which was very untidy on the outside, so I have refurbished the outside and added a handle. The concertina plays well and I have attached some pictures. If you want to know more about my Jones Piano Duet Concertina or see some more pictures of the insides, please contact me. I can send further pictures to you by e-mail. I am looking for £500 but am open to near offers. A contribution will be made to concertina.net, if it sells here. 35 key Jones Piano Concertina layout.xlsx

Congratulations. Hope you enjoy learning it. If you haven't got a tutor book, the Salvation Army tutor (https://concertina.info/tina.faq/images/Salvation_Army_Tutor_For_Triumph_Concertina_2nd_ed.pdf) or Bulstrode tutor (http://www.concertina.com/crane-duet/index.htm#wilston-bulstrode-crane-tutor) may be of help. Lots of exercises in the Salvation Army tutor!

Chris Algar says he has only a small proportion of his concertina stock on the website. I have visited his place near Stoke on Trent and it’s true! Worth a phone call to him. As you say, also worth asking on concertina.net. Peter