Jeremy

So it turns out the fulcrums were fine as far as I could tell. The pad for the button that was always sounding was the left hand B/C, quite a long action arm to the pad, and for whatever reason it wasn't consistently covering the hole. Looking at the bottom of the pad, I can see the hole's wear mark, and it's -right- up against the edge of the pad. It's been barely covering that hole for decades. A careful, tiny bend to the action arm brought the pad solidly over the hole, and now it's playing beautifully again. Thanks everyone for your replies! Hopefully this resolves it for good, at least for that button.

Alas, there are none within a thousand km. I'd have to ship it off somewhere, likely across an international border, which I'll do if I have to but would prefer to avoid!

The button that's currently giving me issues is sitting noticeably higher than the surrounding buttons. Nearly 1mm. Looking at the rest of the buttons, there is definitely a height variation from button to button. When depressed, no visible height difference. I did replace one key cross bushing myself for another key that had been giving me the same problem, but that's because the bushing was missing - it must have fallen out and gotten lost when I took the endplates off, before I even got to the business of figuring out what was wrong.

I'm having a recurring issue with my 38 button C/G Jeffries where various pads don't quite form airtight seals, resulting in notes that play all the time when the buttons aren't depressed. It's happening with several different buttons intermittently. I bought the instrument, which was made in 1897, in Ireland in January, and it now lives in my home in Halifax, Canada. Until recently, the instrument worked flawlessly. I've taken the ends off several times as the issue has presented itself and gently tweaked the lever arms and pads in the hopes of kind of nudging things into place, but that hasn't helped. There is no visible damage to the pads and there is good resistance to pushing down the affected buttons. Anyone have any ideas on what's causing this or how to fix it in a lasting way? Thanks!

Now that I have my C# and D#'s where I like them, I think I'm just going to abandon changing the drone for now. I have 7 other new buttons to get comfortable with as it is. Maybe I'll feel differently in a few years! Even if I do end up making this change, I'll at least be more confident I'm not rushing into it. Thanks all!

The reason is to make it easier to add a D drone while otherwise playing a melody normally. I realize it's possible to achieve the same result with some fancy left hand fingering while also playing a melody. This was really just a simpler way of doing something I can already do. If I played B flat sessions or more tunes in C or flatter, a C/F option would be more useful to me! But maybe it's time I dove in to tougher repertoire. I didn't mean a low D, and understand that would be a much larger reed. I had considered replacing the low F with a low D, which would get more use, but am leaning away from that.

Thank you! So you use that button like any other rather than a drone. I can see how that would be handy. What type of music do you play on concertina? I don't often find myself wishing I had more options for F's and C's on my 30 button concertina. Maybe I'm not adventurous enough!

Thanks! Yup I've already swapped around a D# and a C# reed. When I got the instrument, it was C# both directions on the right hand index finger and D# both directions on the middle finger. I swapped a C# and a D# reed so I can have a more "standard" Jeffries layout. Thank you for the advice!

Hi everyone! I own a 38 button C/G Jeffries anglo concertina. There is a drone button on the left thumb, tuned to C/F, which is not very useful for me. I’d prefer D in both directions. I don’t want to alter the reeds, would prefer to take them out and keep them safe and put new D reeds in for the drone. Any advice? Anyone know where to find suitable reeds? Any concerns about my plan? I live in Halifax, Canada, more than 1000 km from the nearest concertina repair shop, so anything DIY (and safe) involving simply ordering parts is much preferred. Thanks!

Hey! Interested in taking a look at this instrument if it’s still available. I’m in Ireland until Tuesday, visiting from Canada. Let me know! Thanks!

I bought one of these through their webpage and promptly returned it. It does have a nice tone, the buttons do have quick action and it looked nice, but it is not an instrument that punches above its weight cost-wise. The bellows action is stiff, the air button feels like sucking through a tiny straw and there is a fair bit of empty air before a note is produced with the other buttons. Result, you really have to work and use a lot of force to play at speed with the Phoenix. It is a chore to play quickly. Also pay attention to the details of the button layout, I was expecting to find a F natural on button 30 but not so. Price wise it is about halfway between a Concertina Connection Rochelle and a Button Box Morse, and that’s exactly what you get. It is a lot better than the Rochelle and well short of the Morse. Great for a beginner or an early intermediate player but set your expectations accordingly.