daviseri

PROBLEM RESOLVED. THANKS. Hello, Everyone. I have a Wheatstone Crane concertina that has a reed which is not firing properly. Sounds muted and a dull buzz. see video. I had taken the reed out and put it tightly in the slot again. But no luck. Any ideas? Best, Eric 56635836874__F6A258A6-E554-44DE-9164-EC968910C86F.MOV

Hello, all. I am looking for a Crane with Brass reeds with at least 48 keys and good condition. Please let me know of any leads Best, Eric redbastard .com

Anybody have one they're willing to sell?

But thanks for the info, Bob Maybe it will help others!

Great picture; perhaps the best yet! Awwww, Shucks! You guys are pretty beautifuuuuuul.

I have an insurance co. I'm more interested in what was the issue that you had to make the claim for?

Voila! It's true. I really look like this

Hmmm. Sounds like this happens from time to time- air leakage between the chambers. I had this happen in a lachenal- but I think it was due to a crack of some sort. And it's juuuuuuust starting to happen with the Wheatstone, even though I used a dampit. Any idea where I can learn more about dealing with Air leakage between chambers? threads etc? or things to look out for? Ways of dealing with it?

Hi. I'm getting ready to insure my concertina- and my insurance says it covers everything except for natural wear and tear and overseas travel. I was wondering if people can cite me experiences of when their insurance came in handy? Best, Eric

Mine has s/n 60 and 60 internally too, and C&S 413 impressed into the right hand bar. It also has brass reeds. I'd love to hear those brass reeds. I remember trying a student model that hand only 30 something keys on it. Very Simple Lachenal, that my friend Howie let me borrow for a bit. I thought the brass reeds had such a sweet sound compared to the steel reeds. I now have a Wheatstone Aeola Crane from 1929 with steel reeds. It's beautiful, but sometimes, I think it would be nice to also have that small little brass reed crane to play softly in the evening, as my girlfriend is sleeping on the couch!

thanks guys I appreciate the ideas. I'll speak to the person I bought the concertina from and see if he has ideas regarding its history. phew! It's so delicate in there, I hate opening it up, but it's good to learn about what to do, because I can see its just something that will need attention from time to time. Great to have a support group. Best, Eric

Thanks for your question- No. It's not a bushings issue. I removed the top of the action box ( so the the button is no longer having any contact with the bushings) I also unlatched the spring. At this point, the lever should be able to move freely, however the mechanism itself of the hinge of the post and the lever is sticky. It seems to be kind of too tight or gummed up or something. My first thought for such a thing would be that it needs oiling or cleaning, but I don't want to do something that would be bad for the instrument. Anyone have experience with such a thing?

So- I spoke to Algar- his thoughts were as follows. The 8 sided Wheatstone Cranes only came with Black Leather bellows as far as he knew. He thought that any papers added, even if using a water soluble glue would leave residue. He also said he would not recommend using water near the bellows. As for me, I've done some initial cutouts of even traditional paper designs just to lay them on the bellows and decided I liked it better black. So there it is. Hope it helps some other person in the future. Thanks to all for your input. Best, Eric

Hello, all. I received a Wheatstone Crane concertina recently from the U.K. It's a wonderful instrument, however about a week into having it my high C on the treble side is stuck. I opened the action box to check it out. The pad is not stuck, I unlatched the spring (which seems to be fine) from the lever and noticed that the lever itself is sticking at the post. It was fine when I received it. I wonder 1. What might cause such a thing to happen? 2. Any ideas of how to proceed in repairing the action? Best, Eric

uhm? that was not my question. Thanks for giving me your opinion about my instrument and life. all i can think of is all those episodes of antique's roadshow: "oh, you polished it? now it's worthless..." personally, i've been wrestling with getting an antique flute from 1864 tuned into modern pitch. currently it is in Eb and out of tune with itself... if i get it retuned, it will be in D and in tune with itself. as it is now, it cannot be played in sessions. if i change it, the historical providence will be lost but it will have a new life. 3 years later and i still haven't made up my mind. the only reason i am even considering retuning it is because it is an unbelievably great flute from a completely unknown maker. if it was a rudall & rose, i wouldn't dare change it... You know, it's a really interesting topic, I guess. My first reaction was to bit reactionary. Meaning, I was a bit pissed off because I didn't like the tone and the fact my question wasn't even addressed. My apologies if I seemed rude. But someone has brought up the idea of whether or not the effects would be replaceable. Ultimately, I know who can answer these questions. I'll just ask Algar, whom I bought it from what the effects of putting papers on would be and if they are reversible without harming the instrument. My understanding from research is that with certain glues it can be removed. And I don't know if it is the original bellows or not anyway. But perhaps he will tell me differently. And Yes. THE GRAVE!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm taking it to the GRAAAAAAAAVE. Wow you people love that GUINNESS concertina. looks like it's given all of you considerable joy, eh. Ha! Not my style... My current idea is to take original papers and photoshop them to custom colors to compliment the tones of black and red.

Thanks, Ken.

uhm? that was not my question. Thanks for giving me your opinion about my instrument and life.

I am considering making custom bellows papers to glue onto my Wheatstone. It's a wheatstone black ebony ends. I think it would look nice with some red papers to match the bright red bushings. I saw some sites about how to glue on papers, but nobody mentioned if it requires a certain type or gauge of paper... Anybody have knowledge on this? Thanks, Eric

starting with a dampit and an electronic humidity gage. got them both at sam ash. Feel like this is a good solution to start with Thanks for everyone's advice!

Hi, Jody. The humidifier you mentioned. is it kept in the furniture for your concertinas, or is it just in the room where you keep the concertinas. Hope you are well. Eric (formerly from Brooklyn )

Not into the show. I did a couple small performances. But I had not gotten too far with it. So now I am surrounded by musicians both at work and at home, so I'm going to take advantage of that for a couple of years and really dig into it. the new instrument is a beauty!

Hi, Jody! I took a lesson from you and we used to live a few blocks from each other in Brooklyn. I wondered if it was you when you said you lived in the N.E. ! Hope you are well and thanks for the advice. Best, Eric Dampit's ok but you need a humidistat to measure the humidity. I've got a Caliber III Thermometer Hygrometer, http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0007W1EA6/?tag=blog-fv4-20 for about $15 works fine. As for the dampit, I used a plastic soap box with holes drilled in it and a sponge inside that I would moisten from time to time and keep in the case. That worked well when I remembered to add the water... until I had more than a few concertinas. Now I have a dedicated piece of furniture with shelves and a Sunpentown Digital Ultrasonic Humidifier with Hygrostat Sensor that keeps everything at about 50%. This works a treat and I only have to add water once a month during my heating season. Because I live in the North East US the winter heating really messes up my instruments and without this solution I would have to open them up and make adjustments twice a year, but no more.

Hello, All. I just received a 57 K Wheatstone Crane Duet from Algar and want to keep it as nice as it has arrived. I'm in California, but I still have central heating for the cool evenings. I have a hard case for the instrument. What tools/ techniques do you experienced concertina owners use to keep your instruments at about 50 % humidity? I saw something called a dampit which looked like it could fit into my case with the instrument. any ideas out there? Best, Eric

My duet was lost by movers. . Looking to replace. With a new duet. I want an instrument with good action. Ericdavis at gmail.com

Hello. I am curious what is the definition of raised or flat ends and what difference does it make in the sound, feel and price of the instrument? Thanks for your counsel. Eric