[Peculiar Viennese concertina]

On 2/27/2021 at 1:22 AM, Oberon said:

Do you have a closer up shot of the reeds perhaps?

 

On 2/27/2021 at 10:32 AM, charleschar said:

Any chance you'd be willing to share a sound sample of the instrument? 

 

On 2/27/2021 at 11:43 AM, David Barnert said:

Is there much difference in timbre between the concertina reeds on the left and the accordion reeds on the right?

I've put pictures of the reeds and sound samples here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/256qf3x33xyabdb/AAAQ5KrDBDQ-PR95z_ek-_Sqa

"timbre" specifically is playing the same note alternately by the two hands.

 

On 2/27/2021 at 8:51 AM, alex_holden said:

I Googled the maker's name and this came up:

http://www.eiou.at/wiener/weitere/suchan/suchan.html

The translation says he was a maker of harmonicas, reeds, and melophones.

 

This page is not entirely accurate - as Stephen mentioned, the name "Melofon" was used to describe concertinas in Vienna. In addition the dates there are inaccurate as well. They are basing the times on Lehmann's address book of Vienna, whose first edition was released in 1859. As to when he stopped working, I've checked and found Adalbert Suchan in the guide after 1882, and he switches with (presumably) his son Norbert around 1890. Since both names appear on this instrument, I suspect that's around when it was built.

 

On 2/27/2021 at 8:46 AM, alex_holden said:

I wonder if they built any more.

The serial number seems to be 500.8, I have no idea how to read it, though (the one in Horniman Museum is 206.4).

[Peculiar Viennese concertina]

I've managed to acquire an end-of-19th-century 78 button Concertina made in Vienna by one Adalbert Suchan. I hope you will find it as interesting as I do.

It's quite large - here next to a Wheatstone:

 

As you can see, the system is non standard - buttons go up a semitone upwards and 5 semitones forward.

The left hand is the "Basso" going from  C2 to D5 and the right hand is the "Primo" going from G3 to A6 -  interestingly they have a significant overlap.

I wondered what kind of reeds I will find inside, concertina or accordion. I was defniitely not prepared to find both when I opened it:

 

The left hand has concertina style single reeds while the right hand has accordion style reeds on what I think are brass plates.

 

A picture of the mechanism:

 

The bellows have a few tiny holes in them, but other than that it's in surprisingly good shape!

[I'm now an owner of a concertina, what next?]

2 hours ago, Frank Edgley said:

With leather that old, it may be dried out. More playing may lead to disintegration of the leather, especially in the middle east. I would think something to rejuvenate the leather should be used before damage is done.

That is quite possible. I have never worked with leather, though. Any pointers?

[I'm now an owner of a concertina, what next?]

6 hours ago, Tradewinds Ted said:

This is then gently lifted out to get to the reed pan.   Half of the reeds will then be visible, and you can gently pull out the reed pan to see the other half.  There will be a hole in the reed pan to help in removing it.

 

Thank you Ted, I've now managed to reach the reed pan and align the rattling reeds, so I can strike one item off the list!

Apparently my problem was that I applied too much gentleness in my previous attempt 

 

I haven't measured it, but I suspect that now there's a little bit more leak, could it be that the things I propped open had dust or muck sealing them for a few decades that is now gone. Fixed this leak, a pad needed some wiggling. Now it's just the old leak.

 

 

One interesting thing is that the reeds are brass, I suspect that's what they meant by the "Special Non-corrosive Metal Reeds for Damp and Tropical Climates without extra charge" option advertised in the pricelist.

[I'm now an owner of a concertina, what next?]

Hi there!

Yesterday I took an opportunity and bought this lovely box which thanks to the Wheatstone ledgers I know is a model 5 from 1936.

It is relatively well preserved (not a scratch on the wood) and I'm greatly enjoying playing it, but some things are off, which is why I'm asking this learned forum for advice.

 

• It is mostly in tune with itself, but slightly lower than concert pitch (could it be that it stayed in C=522Hz?).
• A reed or two rattle.
• One of the thumb straps i all but disintegrated.
• There is a slight leak (I think) that I can't locate yet.
• The bellows gussets (I hope I'm using the term correctly) leave a little bit of black powder on my finger if touched (maybe on the process of disintegrating, similar to the strap?).

 

As I'm located in the middle east, quite far from most reputable repairmen, I'd prefer fixing what I can on my own. I have some experience fiddling with melodeons and doing small repairs/tuning and I have some technical aptitude, but I don't have a full fledged workshop.

Any input regarding whether/what I can/should fix on my own would be appreciated!

 

In the meanwhile, I've tried disassembling the box. While I've managed to find the rogue screw hidden in the thumbstrap and remove the top, I have no idea how to get to the reeds. Guidance in that matter could also be nice

 

Thanks!