Alex West

Robin I had exactly the same issue with a Lachenal New Model Duet which I restored. As Alex H suggests, the local jeweller helped me out and it wasn't too costly either Alex West

In doing some research for one of my instruments, I looked at the Wheatstone price lists available over at the Concertina Library. My instrument is a special so slightly bigger than a typical 40 key Wheatstone but that was my starting point to see how much my concertina might have cost when it was made in 1921 and what it might have cost relative to the average wage at the time. I'm only the second owner of it and I'm still curious as to why the original owner commissioned it, whether he was trading up from something less expensive and what he might have played on it. My first note was that there seem to be more Duet pricelists over a wider spread of dates than for Anglos. My second note was that Duets seem to be quite a bit more pricey than Anglos. My third observation was that the price difference between a Class C or Model 62 40 button Anglo and a Model 36 46 key Duet seemed to be relatively consistent from 1910 to 1934 at around £7. I can't see any logical reason for the price difference between the Duet and the Anglo, given that the specifications are very similar. Obviously, the reed count is greater on the Duet, but if you try to work out a "cost per reed" and then a "cost per woodwork", "cost per bellows", the Anglo seems relatively quite a bit cheaper not only as a complete instrument but also on a "per component" basis. It's not easy to work out the cost compared to the average salary - that could be anywhere between 6% and 10%; that might compare quite well with a brand new Wheatstone, Dipper, Carroll.... Was this Wheatstone simply charging what they thought the market would bear as their Duet and English customers would expect to pay more than a typical Anglo customer (compared to the cost of a Jeffries/Lachenal/Crabb)? Any thoughts? Alex West

I'd say Theo's got it about right - and very succinctly too! Dances are different in different places though so a tune played for Contra might be considerably faster than the same tune played for dancing in the UK (although there are regional differences even here - the tempo in Scotland tends to be a bit quicker than in Southern England where dances are "stepped" rather than walked or run through). I'd gauge ability in a slightly different way. To qualify as advanced, you should be able to keep up with a session playing a tune that you're familiar with, without fumbling for the note, slowing down for the tricky bits (and reciprocally not speeding up in the easy bits or where the triplets encourage folk to push the pace). You don't necessarily have to play at a breakneck speed - even in Irish music, there's a considerable variation in tempo between, say Mary MacNamara and Mohsen Amini - but your playing should be accurate and replicable, not just a lucky one-off! As for embellishments, I guess I'll leave others to comment, but I guess they mean that where there are grace notes, cuts, rolls and the occasional accompanying chord, you should be able to put them in without tripping over and losing the plot. I don't think it really matters whether you're playing alone, in a session or with a regular accompanist. Whether you choose to play fast, slow, with embellishments or unadorned can be musical choices rather than badges of merit. In a session, I very often adjust how and what I play in order to fit in with others in the room Alex West

Yes, it's still available and I can send more information and pictures to your email address if you send me a PM. My best guess as to age is around 1880-1890. It has mahogany action boards and bone buttons Alex West

Keith, Sorry to not reply earlier but I seemed to be having some problems with my computer or the site or both. I’m not a dealer and don’t run a shop. I play concertina and restore instruments as a hobby to get them back into playing condition. If you’re interested to know more about any of the instruments here, let me know your email address - via private message to be more secure - and I’ll happily send you more information, pictures and let you know what sort of price I’d like to get for it Alex West

I've now sold the 33 key Lachenal and made the usual donation to cnet - Thanks for this site Paul. There's interest in some of the others, but nothing confirmed yet so by all means get in touch. I also have a couple of 20 key Lachenals which are nearly ready to ship - just awaiting new papers Alex West

Chris Of course you're right - it's impossible to turn a poor Lachenal reed into a sparkling Jeffries, Wheatstone (or Dipper or...) reed, but not all Lachenal reeds are bad and it is possible to improve even a poor Lachenal reed. But only with even more work...!🙂 Alex West

I'll admit that I did exactly this last year. I was "gifted" a very run down 39 key Lachenal MacCann duet with beaten up fretwork but reasonable reeds and reed pans and I converted this into a GD Anglo. It has to be said that this was not a trivial conversion as the action had to be totally reconfigured, (and I took the opportunity to make a better action than a Lachenal "gate" mechanism), I had to make new bellows, the ends had to be completely remade, the reed pans had to be adapted and I had to make a few new reeds - about 13 as I recall. What I've now ended up with is a very nice looking instrument which plays fairly well and doesn't have a tremendous amount of inherent value so that I can take it sailing with me and not risk a more valuable instrument. A new 39 key anglo with concertina reeds and a slick action would have cost me what - over £2,000? And how long would I have had to wait? The donor instrument was worth very little even if restored; the cost of restoration as a playable duet could have been significant; how many players - even beginners - want a 39key Lachenal MacCann? I did think about the ethics, but I'm confident I wasn't taking an instrument out of the stock of playable, worthwhile prospects. However, if someone asked me to do it again, or wanted my advice on how to do it, I'd question their sanity! Alex West

Thanks for the reply Dave. I've since had it on very good authority that the instrument is more than likely (better than 90% certain) a Shakespeare, confirming what John Dipper thought. I don't think "my" instrument is very similar to David Aumann's - at least in the fretwork, but perhaps it does support the thinking that Shakespeare acquired his parts from a wide variety of makers. It'll remain a bit of a mystery, and it's now in a new home, but it still sounds and plays very well! Alex West

Sure Bill It's a 39 key Jeffries pattern instrument in concert pitch and equal temperament, which I got from the late Paul Davies, rebuilt by me and tuned by Colin Dipper. Send me your email address via a Private message and I'll send you some pictures, a key map and a bit more detail Alex West

The G Jones is now sold and a donation made to concertina.net. The rest are still available - make me an offer before I have to consider selling on ebay! Alex West

Yes, Mark's still in business and supplying. I've been communicating with him about supplies very recently Alex West

The difference in size in this case is rather small so wouldn't change the pressure/volume ratio significantly compared to a piano accordion. You could argue that a baritone concertina would have a very different ratio from a piccolo, but again, I'd suggest that the accordion would still be an order of magnitude different. I play Anglo, so I'm not sure about the English, but I prefer a slightly larger concertina, simply to fit my hand size Alex West

Dana Where do you get your UHB20C steel in appropriate reed thicknesses from? Are there any UK suppliers for small quantities? Alex West

The protrusion of the fretwork screw through to the action board face is fairly common I'd say. It looks a bit odd, and can be a source of a mysterious air leak until you put that screw in, but once it's seated, the leak goes away... Alex West

Whilst it's possible to find vintage Crabb and Jeffries 20key (and 26 key) instruments which are extremely good, these are not common and would be well outside a $500 budget. The "best" 20 key instruments would be the highly decorative rosewood ended Lachenal steel reeded instruments and you can find these as fixer-uppers for less than $500 and even potentially fully restored. If that's what you really want, then have a look out for one as they'll play better than your Scholer. But the Rochelle may well give you the extra challenge of a 30 key chromatic instrument as your next step up the concertina ladder Alex West

So what sort of vintage are we talking about Stephen - 1870s? Alex West

The George Jones 32 button is now taken. The rest are all available Alex West

Bump Still mostly available Alex West

Rod, Theo My usage of aliphatic resins is based on advice given by others and practical experience rather than theoretical knowledge of glues. I started using Chair Doctor as I found it gave the strongest result when I was attaching ebony veneer to the end frames of concertinas. However... I could be wrong, but relying on memory and based on a quick search, I'm not sure that Titebond III is an aliphatic resin. Titebond II is a PVA (according to Titebond's website). The main benefits of Titebond II and III over Titebond I is that they are waterproof so is OK for exterior applications. I've never had a problem with the open time of either Titebond 1 or Chair Doctor. I would use Chair Doctor in this application since Titebond is more viscous and harder to get into all the tiny cracks. I've never used it but the blurb says that the Titebond Cold Press is a PVA. None of this means that you should throw your Titebond III away - the ultimate strength may be pefectly acceptable For making laminated new ends, I use Cascamite and I believe Alex Holden uses a Wessex resin system. Horses for courses, your mileage may differ etc. Alex West

Rod Rather than a PVA wood glue, I'd consider using an aliphatic resin based glue such as Titebond or Chair Doctor. Chair Doctor is very watery so will creep into all the cracks which may be useful if you dont want to peel all the laminate plies apart. The advantage of both is that they swell the wood and get into all the tiny crevices so you get a very solid set. The big advantage of hide glue is that it's reversible - but why would you want this to come apart again? Alex West

Louis My apologies for not replying earlier - I haven't checked the site for a while. There have been a number of threads about which instrument is the best for a beginner. If your son is already interested in the concertina and has played a few concertinas, he may have his own opinions. If he's completely new to the instrument, then you may not want to spend a lot on something which may not survive the passage of time and the need to practice to become extremely proficient. All of the instruments I have are vintage and have survived for a good number of years so with reasonable care and occasional maintenance, they will last for a few decades yet and hopefully hold their value. And of course it does slightly depend on what sort of music your son wants to play. Some of the instruments are all you would ever need without ever needing to upgrade - for example the 39 key Jeffries or even the 32 key Jones if that was tuned to CG. But these are both towards the top rend of teh price bracket. The 27 key Crabb CG and the 30 key Jeffries are both fine for a beginner but you might want to upgrade after a while if you're playing an "English" style and really miss the lowest notes for full chords The Lachenal CGs are both beginner friendly and have a full range of notes. They'd be priced lower than an equivalent Jeffries, Crabb or Wheatstone because their action is a little "looser" but a beginner should have few issues with that. The Koot Brits GD would be a decent instrument for a beginner who wants to play in "English" sessions where the home keys are those of the instrument. Like the Lachenal, the action is a litlle loose compared to a rivetted action concertina but that needn't be a big concern. The Bb/F instruments may not be so suitable for someone who wants to play in regular traditional music sessions. It's possible to play these in common session keys of C, G, D and A, but I'd suggest that's beyond the beginner. The same goes for the Ab/Eb Jeffries. They're fine instruments but probably not as a beginner's first "vintage" concertina Finally, the 62 key MacCann is a fine instrument if you want a decent sized Duet rather than an anglo. It's a New Model Lachenal so the action is better than the lower grade Lachenals I hope this long reply gives you some help - let me know if there's anything that seems to fit the bill for your son Alex West

Bump Most are still available. I'd rather sell here than ebay so please take a look Alex West

Paul I'll send you some details later today Alex West

Fred I've got one I can fix up for you which would be less than £200. I can email you some pictures if you want Alex West