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billyboy

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Posts posted by billyboy

    Anglo concertina and piano accordian.....

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Hi - well, i went ahead with a new Hohner Bravo 72.  it sounds great (to this beginner PA player).

     

    it a little bigger and heavier than i thought it would be.   i am still figuring out how to see the bass buttons.   speaking of which, the "C" button of the fundamental bass row is slightly concave, but my guitar callous fingers can't really feel it.  so i am fingering blind so to speak. 

     

    any ideas on how i can either see the bass buttons or put something on the "C" button so i can feel it?

     

    thanks, Bill

    • Like 1

    Anglo concertina and piano accordian.....

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Wow - great input from everyone, thanks!   i am looking at the Hohner PA as my 'first' PA.  Assuming i progress as i did on the AC, then i would upgrade from the Hohner to something else. My AC path was a Buttonbox 'ceili', then an Edgely 'professional', finally a Suttner A2-32.  All were/are absolutely great for the what i needed.

     

    for a PA, they all seem to advertise/emphasize on how many bass buttons.   But doesn't how many treble keys a PA have  as equal or even more important?   or am i not seeing something?

     

    Bill

    Anglo concertina and piano accordian.....

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Hi - thanks so much for your replies.    i am a long time AC player of irish trad.  Recently got a Saltarelle B/C button accord.   Also diatonic, it's a great sound and works for nicely irish trad.  But now i want to expand into non-trad music like waltzes, mazurkas, etc. in different keys.  it seems better to get a PA for the different keys instead of looking for a BA that can accommodate many different keys.   but i am still a beginner in the accordian world so maybe i am not seeing something.

     

    and, yes, also wondering if the 'change in bellows' between AC and PA would be a problem but you all have allayed my concerns.

     

    Bill

     

    air leaking between pad bard and bellows.

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    Mike - woohoo!   that seemed to help a lot.    my suttner has square reed chambers and the chamois gasket is pretty thin, so i just used the edge of my fingernail as i was afraid of messing something up.   curiously, the chamois fabric around the hex outside edge is even thinner and more narrow for some reason.

     

    But your suggestion worked so thank you so much!

     

    Bill

     

     

    Muffled reeds on my new Suttner

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    Hi - i used a can of compressed air and very gently sprayed the reeds in question.   this seemed to do the trick for the reed that did not sound.   for the reeds that were muffled, it worked for a bit and the reeds sounded fine.  then the dust particles or whatever it was came back.

     

    so, i am viewing this as fixed over all, as i now know how to get to the reeds.

     

    thanks everyone so much for the input and help!

     

    bill

    Muffled reeds on my new Suttner

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    hi - several things.    thanks for everyone chipping in here.   i really appreciate it.

    -- i did get an email returned due to something on his end about an IP address failing to respond.  But i will continue sending email.

    -- this is a metal end concertina.

    -- i did get the face plate and pad board removed - thanks the Lawrence R's suggestion.  so i can see the reeds.

    -- to clarify, there are 2 buttons on left hand that sound muffled or like something is causing them to not vibrate freely.  one button is on pull an the button next to it is on the push.  also, there is one button on right hand that does not sound at all on the pull.

    -- on the left side, i cannot see any dust or particles in the reeds.   i have not looked at the right yet.

     

    can i slip a piece of paper or something very thing under the reed to make sure nothing is blocking?   will this hurt anything?

     

    thanks - bill

    Muffled reeds on my new Suttner

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Lawrence Reeves said:

    Can you see the reed pan? there is a very snug fitting leather gasket holding it in place. reaching a finger into the center hole should free it with minor effort. What part of the world are you in? If you fear damage, please reach out to someone close to assist. I am in central North Carolina and would be happy to help.

    I cannot see the reed pan.   i remove the 6 screws but the face plate still seem attached.  the pad box does come loose.    In the middle of the face plate there are several other screws, do any of these need to be removed?      Also, i live in Milwaukee, WI. 

    Muffled reeds on my new Suttner

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Lawrence Reeves said:

    Can you see the reed pan? there is a very snug fitting leather gasket holding it in place. reaching a finger into the center hole should free it with minor effort. What part of the world are you in? If you fear damage, please reach out to someone close to assist. I am in central North Carolina and would be happy to help.

    3 hours ago, Theo said:

    If its new from the maker it would be polite to contact Suttner fits to ask for advice,  or if it's from a shop contact the seller.

    i have reached out to Juergen Suttner over a month ago.  He suggested to remove the 6 screws on the face plate.   All other emails of mine, have not gotten a response.  i have tried 2 different email accounts.   So perhaps he is traveling or having issues with his email.

    Muffled reeds on my new Suttner

    in Instrument Construction & Repair

    Posted

    Hi,

    i have a new Suttner A2-32 where one reed does not work on the pull and 2 reeds sound muffled/distorted.   I removed the 6 screws from the face plate but the cannot remove the reed pan.  it seems to be stuck and i am afraid to pull too hard.

     

    Any ideas how i can get to the reeds see of there is dust or anything?

     

    thanks,

    Billyboy

    Milwaukee's Irish Fest

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Another successful "Irish Fest" just ended here in Milwaukee Wisconsin. It's billed as the world's largest Irish festival, and runs 4 days.

     

    Every year, as many know, there is an "Irish Fest Summer School" the week before the actual fest. There are classes ranging from fiddle and whistle to story-telling and weaving. The best class, of course, is the concertina class.

     

    In the past, the Irish Fest commintee has gotten top quality teachers for their concertina class, with the likes of Gearoid O hAllmhurain, Frank Edgely and Jacqueline McCarthy.

     

    This year was no different as Chicago's own multi-instrument wiz John Williams (www.johnwilliamsmusic.com/) stepped in. What a GREAT class and what fun. While his teaching style at first seems laid back, you quickly realize he's covering lots of gound. He brought and taught out of a booklet of music titled "Twenty Dead Handy Irish Tunes - distilled and collected in Chicago - by John Williams".

     

    He proviided some annotations and history with the tunes and played them two different ways - his "teaching" style, where he plays the notes as they appear on the page with occasional ornamentation and/or chords, and his "performance" style, where he plays it as if he were performing on stage with furiously fast flying fingers.

     

    The week or classes, unfortunately, went WAY too fast. We learned a lot, played a lot and had a lot of fun. Next year seems so far away.

     

    John also played at the fest several times with guitarist Dean Magraw. John switched between concertina, button accordian and irish flute.

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