Geoff Wooff

One friend , who's house is virtually on the beach, had a new car rust away during the garantee period. The warrantee did not cover living so close to the Atlantic. But her concertinas have survived with no apparent problems at that address these last 25 years.... so I'd not worry too much.

Really it does depend on the weather conditions and playing location. If one is playing outdoors with a salty mist blowing off the ocean and at a temperature where moisture will rest on steel reeds, then rust will form quickly and cause tuning issues at the least. I lived for 18 months in a house on the cliffs above Doolin ( and many more years as a neighbour of Peter Laban) without any problems... but playing in the house or at sessions had no ill effects. Playing my Pipes at the beach for funerals (scattering of ashes into the sea) did its reeds no good at all. As long as one is sensible I can see no problems but the romantic picture of Barnicle Bill singing sailor songs on the deck of a square rigger rounding the horn in a hurricane is, I do believe, beyond fiction.

Gail, perhaps you could suggest a couple of tunes where you want to use this ' string rocking' effect. There are a couple of techniques I try to use on the English , so to suggest that it could either be done with timing; by playing the notes that are to be quieter as short a duration as possible or changing the volume by opening the button a tiny amount for the quiet notes whilst depressing buttons further for the louder notes.

Yep! Though it looks like someone has put new top runs on with black leather and those new looking papers cover the rest a wee bit.

So, what is the problem when playing some tunes ? Is the problem the English keyboard or something about this actual concertina ?

You'll find that your concertina actually has a green bellows which has darkened with age so that in most light conditions it looks almost black.

Sounds like an excellent result and quality service from the Boss.

Somewhere on these forums there are discussions about Tortoise shell ended instruments, that the material used was generally either some species of animal horn or a plastic. One can tell if the material is animal or artificial by pressing a hot wire into it and smelling the burning fumes. Earlier instruments are more likely made from natural animal material , perhaps ?

The question is, is this actually tortoise shell ( or any other endangered species material) or a celuloid substitute ?

Indeed Steve ,you beat me to it. The design of the Aeola is more genteel, that all notes should have similar tonal qualities and equal carrying power. Whilst a metal ended Aeola will hold its own against a Rosewood New Model Lachenal, a metal ended New Model or a Wheatstone model 22 or 24 can shine through a lot more background noise. Recently I had a very good Rosewood New Model and it sat in my double concertina box as a back up just in case my model 22 broke a spring in the middle of a gig, but it never got used in anger because it is not as loud. For playing at home or for a quieter session the wooden ended New Model is ideal... in fact my LOUD Model 22 is almost never played in the house, unless I want to duet with our dog. Not all Model 22's /24's are the same. In the early days they had very shallow 'flat' reedpans, which gave the instrument speed and volume... Later the tapered reedpan was adopted which helps to balance out the sounds in a similar way to the Aeola. At what date the design was changed I'm not sure but I do know that my flat reedpan type was made about 1898 and Alistair Anderson's concertina is the same vintage.

Indeed Frank, the Radio, it must have had a huge effect on home music making.

I'd be looking for a rebate of the person you bought it from... unless the faults were taken into consideration in the price.

I'd suggest getting a louder concertina. Being of a certain age myself I also have this problem. My Rosewood ended Wheatstone (model 5) was fine for Irish sessions in County Clare, but on moving to France and playing in dance bands with melodeons and various french bagpipes I just could not hear my EC. I tried clip-on microphones for each end ,plugged into a guitar amplifier placed just behind me... it sort of worked but was a cumbersome set up that interfered with the the rest of the band's amplification. So, I cast around for a louder box and I can now hear what I am playing in almost any situation. A good model 22 or 24 Wheatstone, or try a metal ended Lachenal New Model . There are types of ear plugs made for musicians, which will cut down excessive noise levels and may be of some use in your situation. I carry a small supply of cotton wool and use it to block the over loud sounds coming from other instruments...... this is sometimes effective.

Another suggestion for you Rich, or anyone interested in the older generation of concertina players: Two Vinyl LP's remastered on to CD format: Gordon Cutty on EC and Tommy Williams on McCann duet. Originally recorded in the early 1970's when the two players were in their 80's These I highly recommend, comes on one CD from Free Reed Music, Belper DE56 1DD. UK. www.free-reed.co.uk

Try this one and note how the bellows is pulled when it would be pushed on a modern melodeon.