Ken_Coles

Well, I should revise (and for once actually post) the north american schools list once details come out, which is usually around new year's. For you, Noel Hill school in Kentucky perhaps? Ken

Read all about it here. Thank you for your willingness to support Concertina.net. Ken

It's entirely appropriate Geoff. It happens to many of us in this digital age. Ken

Good question, but please start a new topic to discuss it. Thanks. Ken

Very nice! Many of us wish we had a family instrument with such a story, so do give a try before passing it on! Welcome aboard in any case. Ken

I recall the late Rich Morse posting here that he used thickened shellac to attach valves (but not pads). Ken

Thanks Michael for sharing so much news about your amazing efforts. And play a few tunes when life allows! Ken (who made it to the Long Beach session to meet you once or twice over the years)

I remember 25 or 30 years ago seeing mention of a custom early Suttner anglo in B/C/G. There have been custom-built arrangements tried by someone somewhere every few years in the three decades I've been paying attention. Ken

Most every concertina of modern manufacture that I've owned has needed adjustment of some sort. (and let's not even talk about the antiques!) They are complex things and made by hand. Nevertheless, you'll have fun with it. Ken

And that one is clearly one of the better models from the time of Dr. Bastari - individual reeds mounted flat, like the one I found many years ago in a junk shop. A good chance for someone willing to do some fixing to start on anglo. Ken

Here it is. It was based on my anecdotal experience, and is out of date. Many of the missing combinations have since turned up, at least once or twice. Ken

Either the dealers or the folks doing the Lachenal dating project could give you an estimate of proportions by tuning - they've made records of hundreds of instruments from the largest maker of yore. Maybe they will chime in here. Ken

Yes, SFAIK Wim is still going. His website has been up and down over the years; I get the impression he prefers to spend time on concertinas to web programming (like some other makers I can think of). Ken

Marvelous information and insight as always! Ken

Why are concertinas so expensive? Two things come to mind. First, there is much less space inside to fit an action that is expected to be uniform in feel and response over a range of three octaves (or more). Some of us tried to count the parts in a trad concertina once (over some beers, which probably didn't help!) and gave up somewhere around 1500. It is almost a piano in a tiny box! Accordion reed blocks are simpler construction than chambered reed pans, and so on. Labor is important too. Makers give me the impression it is not possible to make a concertina to meet the traditional standard with less than about 100 hours of skilled labor. I'll bet that number is lower for an accordion, which ties into the next point: Second, the market scale is different. A clarinet has very elaborate key work, but you can buy a decent used one very cheap where I live - the economies of scale are important. Contrast the guitar market with the concertina market. At least a factor of 1,000, maybe more. This question has been asked more times than I can count. Welcome to the bafflement. Ken