Paul Read

Steve, The colour of #7 doesn't look as rich as that of the other Walnut Burl instrument. I assume that is just the lighting for the photos?

Matt Heumann's was in the line of the bellows (i.e. open and close direction)

Aren't there two 't's' in butt?

Matt Heumann talked about vibrato at Goderich. He does it all in the bellows. We tried it and it isn't easy to avoid overdoing it. It needs to be very subtle and the concertina needs to be a responsive one.

Sounds rather odd. Any chance of a photograph?

I'll agree with Frank, it was a great - but exhausting - week. I attended one of Frank's classes and had a blast. Thanks for the well thought out class Frank, it was a pleasure to get to chat with you again. The English concertina classes with Matt Heumann were fun too - I must learn to sight read though. Brian McNeill was there and had some impressive performances on a beautiful Aeola tenor-treble. The standard of musicianship was quite stunning with performances from the likes of Nancy Kerr and James Fagen, Crucible, Anna Massey and Sean Keane. All in all a magical week.

Do you have friend who plays fiddle or guitar? If you can get hold of a chromatic tuner (such as used for guitar tuning) and play any note, it will tell approximately how far off tune the instrument is. It won't be exact because these tuners are notoriously inaccurate. It will be within a few cents though. It will give you a good idea of whether it is in an old tuning or not. Unless there is rust on the reeds, it should be roughly in tune with itself.

So that's how Jimi Hendrix's guitar kept catching fire?

Boney, Thanks, I copied the http then forgot to add it. Good job I put 'Jones' in the title!

Very nice 32B Jones. The bidder's I.D. kept secret. I may be wrong, but I smell a scam. Anybody recognise these pictures from earlier in the year?

It isn't a big deal to do this. Just unscrew the 6 end bolts from the end you want to remove the reed and lift the end away from the bellows. By keeping the end aligned with the reed pan and pressing the button for the note you are happy to remove, you can see which is the relevant reed. It will probably be the smallest reed that you see. Mark the top of the reed pan and the bellows to make sure that the reed pan is replaced in the same position as it started off and then pull out the reed pan, keeping track of the location of the reed. The reeds are dovetailed in and will slide out of the pan with a little encouragement. You want to remove the one you identified (the one that sounds on a pull) and the coinciding reed on the opposite side (the push). Replace the reed pan and the reed exactly as they were before removal and refir the ends and tighten the bolts (again be aware of orientation) That should do it. Store the reeds where they won't be exposed to moisture. No other adjustments should be needed

Sally Army InitialsHere's a nice example of a Sally Army one. Is this a Jones?

Do these gravity defying models come in anglo and concertina? This could be a serious advance!

Do any of these tune books include chords?

Where are you based? Perhaps you could contact me direct. I am in Toronto. Paul

I would suggest you track down previous threads on baffles. these addressed this very question.

Pictures would be good. I wonder if #15 is the first to be sold outside the US. Mine is 16, going to Canada.

In the Toronto area most folk-concert goers are of 'that age' but there is a growing interest in folk music and a number of committed youngsters. it is nothing compared to the young folk who seem to be getting involved in the folk music scene in the UK (Lisa Carthy, Spiers and Boden, Kerr and Fagan etc etc). Also, last time at Sidmouth there was definitely a large young contingent. In contrast, I was at Old Songs near Albany NY last weekend and, as you say, the youngsters were greatly outnumbered.

Ebay listingNow this guy can't be too smart. No pics and the feedback makes great reading. Edited to add the url! Maybe I'm as bad as he is.

I suspect someone is trying a new approach to scamming - no pictures at all!Jeffries

Well done Bob. I think this should keep everybody happy for months, if not years.

I guess where I'm going with this is that the reeds on the Lachenals of this period generally appear to be of a higher quality and possibly as good as the Wheatstone ones of the same era.

It has been said to me that approximately 1900 - 1914 was the prime period for Wheatstone concertinas. I have noticed that lachenals of this period also tend to be superior to earlier and later dates. I think the outlying dates are very debatable and I know this is a can of worms, but what are the opinions held out there as to what were the prime periods for the various makers, particularly Lachenal, Wheatstone and Jeffries. I'm sure there are many sub-sets of these opinions too.

I think this is one of the later Wheatstones. I believe that the quality went downhill in the later years but I haven't tried one and would be interested to hear what those who've tried them think.

I think it may be a Jones. The seller is a contributor here I believe.