Oberon

Bob Snope told me he will temporarily be closing up at the end of May (I think) as he will be moving south. It may take a little while he finds a appropriate home and work environment, but from what it sounded like he'll be back up and running once the living situation is sorted. But yes, he will be pausing work for some period of time

He's not in the UK, but Wim Wakker sells appropriate spares and he will dialogue with you about what you need if you want to confirm anything. You can find the spares here: https://www.concertinaconnection.com/spares.htm He's always been incredibly helpful when I've ordered spares, and the costs are reasonable. Also, Sandylaneman in Ireland offers various spares. I've contacted him directly before and he was able to provide valves I needed but did not have listed on eBay at the time. You can find his profile on this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115534703391?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=pG7iC6oCQBy&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3UxLqwikRkK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thank you Theo and Łukasz, I appreciate the feedback! The numbering system is sensible, I'll just have to go through each of the reeds currently in my concertina and measure the reed plates as well, as I suspect that one companies Super Dural middle C reed may be different from a Tipo A Mano from another company. I'll start digging through Carini and see if I can sort this out Harmonikas does seem to produce some pretty great reeds, and they actually put information on their site regarding their products which is refreshing next to companies like Binci. I'm looking to upgrade my Ceili and Bob Snope told me they used Antonelli/Voci Armoniche for their TAM reeds, but I could not get dimensions or data on them beyond that. The Button Box Repair Shop will be closing in May (I think) for some time as Bob moves down south to relocate, and I was hoping to get this repair in before then (I live only an hour away), though with the wait times and order fulfillment speeds these reed companies seem to have, that'll probably be unlikely. I did ask Bob if he still had Ceili TAM sets in stock still but he does not, so I've got some leg work to do.

This subject has probably been beaten to death, but I haven't found exactly the answer I'm looking for yet so here it is: If you're not a maker or dealer, how difficult is it to aquire a single set of say, Binci professional or Voci Armoniche A Mano reeds? I know sizing of reeds is different for every company and every line, but barring that particular issue, has anyone had much success in just ordering the 30 reedplates you'd need for a C/G just once? I'm considering ordering a set but I'm not sure how things go on that end. Many a tale has been told about various Italian reed makers being massively delayed in orders or non communicative entirely, and my attempts to reach out to Binci went nowhere. Is Harmonikas better to deal with in that respect? I'd love to hear your feedback! Thanks!

That'd be a smart idea, I reckon. I think they're only 1.5 hours away from each other. It'd be another story if fferrel lived in Lubec or Machias. Maine is a pretty big state, but 1.5 hours is nothin! Worth swinging by to try it for sure!

Updated description, title and amount. Willing to go up to $2200 / £1830 / €2075 Including shipping for the right box.

Willing to go up to $1900 for a Jefferies layout

Updated the above and still looking!

That's not the same concertina. Malcolm's had 38 buttons, this eBay one has 26 buttons.

I'm looking for a used Clover or Edgley or comparable box with screwed on reeds (if Hybrid), or any concertina with 30b and Jeffries layout. Willing to go as high as $2200 or £1830 (including shipping). Must be Jeffries layout. Thank you!

Update: Sold Elsewhere, thank you Hey folks, May be a bit of a stretch looking posting an accordion here for a trade, but figured Id put the feelers out. I currently own a Martin 4 voice in birds eye maple with Binci Professional Reeds, key of C, and I was looking for a trade for a concertina, preferably with jeffries layout. Its an utterly brilliant box. With all four (LMMH I believe) voices running it is stupendously full and powerful sounding, the wet voicing is pretty comfortable to my ear, and its a work of art. Action is fast and the basses are strong. It comes with a case and shoulder strap. I will also mention that this accordion was injured at some point, and someone had did some repair to the casework and section of the bellows frames. You can only see the repairs inside, not through the box itself. I'll take photos next time I get it apart. Theyre not seamless brilliant repairs, but they seem to get the job done just fine as Ive been able to play this box with no trouble. There are some scratches and nicks here and there also. Ive got a link to a short video clip detailing the stop selection and scale and several photos, which you can find below. My phone's camera and mic do not do this instrument justice, but if you know what Binci Pro reeds sound like, youll have a good idea of how it sounds. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oRI0MvltZGgckJGU6iEdSnPgw5Lk66qy?usp=sharing Im interested in a concertina that preferably has a jeffries layout (not a be all end all rule, ill consider wheatstone too) and is not something like a stagi. Hybrid or concertina reed options are both great in my book. Please feel to write me a pm if youre interested. Im based in New England in the United States. Cheers!

Though I love this instrument immensely, I must reluctantly sell it, so here it is: An AC Norman C/G with 30 buttons and a Jeffries layout. Its a Homewood badged model, sold by Homewood Music who was a distributor for some time. The concertina is fast, bright and in great shape and air tight. Theres some very light spots of wear. The black stain has faded a bit where it rests on the leg, as well as the palm rests a bit, but all in all its in great condition. It sounds similar to a concertina-reed instrument, and is wonderfully balanced. Here's a link to a video as well, please forgive my playing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19Ji9uNkD_MP35z91_8ztPgyoSxqPED4p/view?usp=drivesdk If youd like additional clips or photos, please feel free to ask. Price: $1400 Comes with a hardshell case. Shipping is not included. I'm in the Northeast USA and can also accommodate local pickup.

Does anyone know how the Phoenix's reeds are mounted to the reed pan? If its wax, its possible the wax has slackened its grip on the accordion reed, which makes one note behave differently in my experience. You'll get an unstable sound that might even sputter or moan. You can see if the reed will wiggle if you can get your fingers on the plate and try shifting it around. If you notice movement, it will be time to re wax the reed in place. If the reeds are secured by screws, its an easier job to see if the reed plate is loose and just needs to be snugged up by adjusting the two screws that hold it in place. If you're experiencing environmental changes frequently, it's possible wax would de-bond from the reedplate in question or for the screws holding the plate in to slacken a bit. Ive had both happen (I live in New England, where the weather is always shifting)

I'm fairly certain that he sold this on Facebook some months back and might have neglected to update the ad

Ive experienced a similar sounding issue before. The wax had loosened its grip on a reed in such a way that you couldn't really tell very easily at a glance, but if you shifted the reed by hand you could see it move ever so slightly. The push reed worked ok, but when activating the pull reed the thing would warble and buzz or not work at all. The solution there was re melting the wax and bam, all good. I live in New England and winters are incredibly dry, to echo Don's statement, and it wreaks havoc on musical instruments. My current concertina has screws holding the reeds in and I have had to snug them up when it gets too dry in the house, much to my trepidation.

Noel's first 'The Irish Concertina' record used to be on Spotify and Apple music, but when I went to find it a few months ago, it had vanished. All trace of it has gone from the internet it seems, even videos that were on youtube, mp3's from amazon, every streaming service. Poof! So I set out to find a physical copy of it to buy and managed to find one someone was selling on Discogs within the same state as me. I ordered 5 days ago and according to my tracking info it was delivered today, but after I saw the postman leave and checked my mail, it was not there. So its lost and Im back to square one, not a single copy available I can find anywhere. Does anyone have any leads? I love this record and taught myself concertina playing against this and its really frustrating not being able to find it. His documentary disappeared, the first and second albums disappeared... is it only a matter of time before the third one vanishes? (good thing I already own a copy of that record). Id appreciate any leads. If he was selling The Irish Concertina 1 in mp3 format Id have bought it by now, but its impossible to find physical and digital copies.

I had one from that era and it was actually quite lovely. Dovetailed steel reeds in aluminum shoes and even though the action was their style of 'hook action' it was swift and smooth. I miss its tone but I'm an Anglo man at heart

Bump for good measure! Anyone?

I own this instrument now and its an AC Norman standard through and through, down to the last detail. I wrote Andrew about it ahead of trading, just to be sure, and he explained the history of this branding at the time. Its a lovely fast (loud) player and no different from another Norman Id tried from a more recent year. It needed some adjustments when I recieved it but its a stellar machine now.

I'm putting the feelers out there to see if any folks have a C/G (or c#/g# or d/a even) 30 button, or more, Wheatstone from the 40's through the 60's. I know its not everyone's favorite era, for sure, and some of them can be worse than others but Ive been missing the concertina reed sound and was especially fond of the aluminum shoe'd reeds of the lasts 50s wheatstone I owned. I'm looking for models with dovetail reeds, not crimped please. It would need to be responsive enough for irish trad. Theres a Bb model being offered up that mostly fits the bill, but I'm most interested in c/g and higher pitches predominantly. I currently own a nicely fast playing and loud AC Norman C/G with Jeffries layout, tipo a mano reeds, badged Homewood. I love the thing, especially love jeffries layouts, but in the end its louder than I'd like. Id like to trade and add cash on my end for the right box, but its not a rule. Thanks!

I saw that too. The bellows were in a right state, but the initial price looked reasonable, until the bids started rising of course. I think that, considering the value and renown of a jeffries anglo instrument, there are people who will spend considerably on any jeffries instrument, even a duet. Theres always the possibility that whoever bought might have done so to convert the duet into an Anglo. Its certainly been done a number of times before.

Wow, this is certainly very interesting (and rather odd!). Do you have a closer up shot of the reeds perhaps? I'm quite curious about their construction. It looks like the low reeds on the left end have traditional styled reeds (with a rivet in place of a clamp). Are they in a dovetail slot?

A particular Suttner may be less, but its not a Steve Dickinson Wheatstone, just as a Jeffries isnt a Dipper. Its worth the money. Your comment seems to imply something negative about the value of this instrument

I tried digging around for answers to this but couldn't come up with anything, so here we are. Ive been thinking about this a lot lately as my trad playing requires ever bit of air in the bellows to be efficiently used, so when there's a problem its usually quite noticeable. Ive noticed for a while now that the speed at which my bellows will close changes depending on the reeds, and while that would make logical sense between low reeds and high reeds (lows using more air to cycle, highs less) the most surprising and frustrating rate is that of the D''' (right hand, first row, third button push). The neighboring push reeds consume at a pretty consistent rate for what you'd expect, but for some odd reason that D''' and maybe the neighboring G''' cause the bellows to close at an alarming rate comparatively. Additionally confusing is the fact that the reed set is pretty good, volume balance and intializing/swing cycle speed are all pretty consistent with the rest, but I cannot for the life of me figure it out, so im ordering a few other reeds in to see if there's a difference. The fact that they're not valved makes me wonder, but ive not run into this issue before with non-valved reeds. I imagined that if a reed cycled at the appropriate rate (which it would need to in order to produce the desired pitch, no?) Perhaps there would be air loss, but I cant come up with enough logic in that concept to buy it. I feel like I'd read something about this in the past but I simply cant recall. I'll see if I can slap a video together soon for reference.

My current concertina is equipped with some tipo a mano reeds (the brand of which I cannot detect) and I've had accordions with such reeds in the past as well and the sound and playing quality has always been very pleasant, but lately I've been curious about how potentially higher quality or varied profile reeds might affect the tone of my concertina, should I want to swap them out. I recalled seeing concertina reeds in the past that had a somewhat 'rounded' (the edges seem to be curved a bit) profile so I'd started looking into that and noticed that Salpa make A Mano reeds with flat OR rounded (Bombata) tongues. They also have brass reed plates. Would such a reed, a brass plate and rounded tongue, or just a rounded tongue alone, provide a slightly more concertina reed-like sound perhaps? And though I think that's probably unlikely, I do wonder what folks experience with such reeds has been. Have these been used in Hybrids before? Is the response faster or harmonic quality greater? Thoughts?