Ruairi

Been thinking about this a lot too, Simon, here in Midwest USA; I just got a hygrometer yesterday that showed about 43% humidity in the house. Introduced some hot water and it went up to about 50 which I think is normally recommended. This morning it showed 68% humidity. I wonder if these fluctuations are too much for instruments (esp. my concertina) or is that an acceptable range. I don't want to spend the rest of my days checking these levels but I do want to keep things in the proper range too... Thanks, Ruairi

Having just received my order from Mark at Concertina Spares, I hope everything goes well for him. I will mention that on my first (of two, and no more!) concertinas there developed an issue with one button/spring catching it's neighbour and sounding both notes at once. Since I have no proper concertina people nearby I ended up clipping a tiny amount of safety pin and ever-so-gently tapping it into the gap between the two, and it worked perfectly. I admit I would have taken it to someone who does this properly but it wasn't an option; sometimes necessity can force you to get creative, but I don't think I would like to push it too much:). Good luck, Ruairi

Interesting, Frank Edgley; do you incorporate the sharp end to affix it or do you use a different method? Just curious, thanks... Ruairi

That's a relief to know, thanks Chris, only 999 concertina problems left to solve,,,,

Also, it just occurred to me that if you don't enjoy the confusion you might want to choose a different instrument than concertina (he said, crying a little inside )

Hi Geraghty, it does indeed seem like you don't want to make any concrete plans... that being said the gear looks perfectly fine and in a bizarre way I almost enjoyed the confusion :). The real problems will start if I ever try to replace these parts.... Best of luck Ruairi

Hello All, Just checking in say that my order did arrive yesterday, so it looks like it's just a slow process but still working. All the best, Ruairi

Hello All, I was just wondering if anyone has a further update on this topic, since I placed an order about three months ago with no response; like JackJ I don't want to make a big deal of it; but I do work for my money so would appreciate any information.... Thanks very much, Ruairi

That's very helpful; I think I live in the same kind of environment in Ohio, very hot and humid summers and very cold and dry winters, so I will definitely follow this advice. Sohcahtoa, my tenor banjo has never exploded despite my wife's wishes, but we'll see how summer treats the new concertina (which she loves!) Also, it was mentioned in a related discussion that certain woods react differently to humidity and such, which I assumed to be true but I don't know the extent of their reaction; my concertina has Rosewood ends, mainly due to my preference for it on guitar necks which is probably not the best reason for picking it; does anyone have any thoughts on how this affects these issues? Many thanks, Ruairi

Jody, that's good to knonononononononow But on a serious note, can I just clarify that you're saying that the tension/tightness of the end screws is that relevant to helping with expanding/contracting frames? Are they not at risk of being stripped if they're not sufficiently tight? And I don't mean really tight, but just more so than you mention? Or is it the opposite case? I'm returning to my natural state of confusion with this instrument.... Thanks Ruairi

PS Also, Simon, I did go through a routine of boiling a pot of water and leaving it in the room where I keep my instruments, but I honestly don't know how much difference it made; I feel like it helped and certainly didn't harm, but really the concertina seemed to just recover overnight when I took it out as a side note to a gig I was playing in a balmy outdoors setting. Mysterious stuff, but again I am new to all this. I used to live with an uilleann piper who would make a point of doing this boiling water thing, so I picked up that habit there. He sounded good Ruairi

As per recent postings I've made, John, I couldn't agree more - I'm now playing my wonderful Irish Concertina company Eiru for what feels like the first time, after a few months of torture that was brought on by extreme changes in temperature and humidity. After numerous tinkerings and such it feels like it suddenly came into it's own with a little warm weather here in Ohio, after a brutal winter (during which it was shipped over from Dublin, via who knows where..). Anyway, yes, the lesson is to pay attention to humidity - which is probably beneficial to humans also.. Hope you're able to fully restore your instrument, I'm still amazed at how my own seemed to recover itself with just a little help from me and nature; my wife mentioned to me last night how it sounds like she thought it should all along... All the best, Ruairi

Ah, I think I see what I'm missing here, thanks; but as long as I live I don't think I'll understand a C/G# option, which again is probably my own fault. I think I've been conditioned from years of playing Irish music with a wonderful uilleann piper to understand the term 'drone' differently though. Howard, would something like a C/D option make any more sense? I honestly don't know, I think I might be exhibiting a too-narrow view of the concertina's capabilities... All the Best Ruairi

My instrument has a wonderful D/D drone which I'm really enjoying; gives a whole Hardanger fiddle feel to suitable tunes which is great. Following the concept of the uilleann pipes (also D drone) I also find it sounds good even on some tunes that aren't in D, perhaps G mainly? I'm a bit confused by the idea of a drone button that has two different notes but I think that's more a lack of experience on my part. Thanks, Ruairi

Hi Marcus and others, Not sure if you're still following this thread but I can say that having bought a newly-made Eiru model from the Irish Concertina Company (and after some teething problems that I asked about recently - caused by shipping and weather assaults on the instrument) I'm really starting to warm to this instrument. I'm not an expert or even amateur concertina player but I'm also not a complete novice to quality instruments so I can certainly recommend the make. I am happier with it every time I play it, so I would heartily recommend their products, and they (ie Sean) seems like a very decent fellow - he also leant me an Eiru model to try out while I was back in Dublin which was extremely decent and helpful. Anyway, you've probably figured something out by now, and I hope it worked out great. Ruairi