I own my first ‘tina which is a Rochelle, a Morse, and a 24 button Lachenal. I love all three but for different reasons. Playability at a low price point is the Rochelle’s strength. The Morse is an exquisite instrument that plays like a dream. The little Lachenal, however, is the first instrument I reach for when I want to play a ditty in my living room. How it got there is the purpose of this post.
I bought her from Don through ebay as an instrument which he had replaced leathers and done some minor work. I paid $500 for her. She played, though not as well as I had hoped, and was certainly worth the money spent. Unbeknownst to Don, the Lachenal had two notes which didn’t sound fully when it got to me. Perhaps the folks at UPS or the climate here in the U.P. of Michigan were the culprits. Either way, Don wasn’t responsible and thought he was selling a perfectly playable instrument. The story could have ended right there but Don had followed up with an email asking how the Lachenal was. I explained and he immediately set up an appointment with Greg Jowaisis to have it repaired at no charge to me. Don proved that he was a stand-up guy who was good to his word.
Once the Lachenal went to Greg’s, he took a look inside and saw that the fix was minor. I had asked him to evaluate the instrument and recommend what else might be needed to make her a great instrument instead of a good one. Long story short, Greg added a new 7 fold bellows, rebushed all buttons, fixed the fretwork cracks, and adjusted the action. It added another $500 to the price of the instrument. But in the end I have a truly great instrument that sounds sweet and is quiet enough to play in my living room without scaring the cat for just around a thousand dollars.
I can’t say enough about the integrity of Don and the repair work of Greg. Thanks to these two fine folks I have an 1897 Lachenal that my kids are already fighting over who gets it in the will. A heartfelt thanks to both of them.