Frank Edgley

Richard has pretty well covered it as far as types of concertinas and accordions and pitches of instruments. However, within any given type of concertina, reed response and sensitivity are important as well as style of playing. Obviously, if your style involve lots of chords, and especially if you are playing slower music, a larger capacity bellows is desirable. If you concertina has very sensitive reeds, it will sound with less air, and a larger capacity bellows is not as important. Gearoid OhAllmuirhain was playing one of his Jeffries a number of years ago, and when I had a look at it I noticed there was a hole in one of the corners that you could "drive a truck through." It didn't affect his playing, and, in fact he was unaware that it was even there.

Flexibility, not dogmatism is the answer to any awkward sequence of notes on the concertina. There is a local concertina player (30 button) who learned his fingering style from a certain tutor. He, for whatever reason, will not deviate from it. This means that the way he plays the B-C#-D sequence of notes "draw B-push C# (with the same finger), and draw D. This makes tunes like the slide Connie Walsh VERY difficult and awkward sounding. If he would use the push B and push D, his playing would be much easier for him. Not that I would recommend wandering all over the keyboard and not having set "default buttons." But for ease of playing and phrasing, one should come up with an efficient way to play certain note patterns that occur frequently, even if they do not fall within your chosen "default button" patterns. In other words, even if you usually play a draw B, and D, you should consider a press B and D for the fairly frequent B-C#-D sequences, as Craig mentioned. (At least on a 30 button) As I use the G row for my "default buttons" this run is very easy for me, but I very frequently cross over to the first two buttons of the L.H. C row for certain limited note sequences.

Whoever said that multiple personalities was a bad thing? Just as long as it goes with the bodies required to get the job(s) done.

Absolutely!

Well, I'm pretty sure Colin hasn't made thousands of concertinas, but along with repair work it may be approaching that number. However, Colin is never satisfied with his work and is always striving to produce better and better concertinas. I have owned two and repaired or examined several more. They are often different internally. Usually as time goes on he manages to improve tone, response etc. Add the fact that seldom does he make instruments which appear the same externally. He does not make "cookie cutter" concertinas i.e. concertinas which are all the same internally, and have the same grill pattern, etc. Because he is always looking at ways to improve the tone of his instruments and can make your concertina sound like a jeffries or a Wheatstone aeola by the way he profiles the reeds, for example, it makes me shake my head when a new maker comes on the market and people say things like "It plays (or sounds) as well as a Dipper." As if a new maker can suddenly, and without experience produce an instrument to equal one of Colin's. If they can do this right out of the box, they must indeed be geniuses. That's not to say they aren't very good instruments, but as good as Colin's---that would be a remarkable feat.

CHRIS: "What I would expect to happen is that you would play a 38 button using your 30 button approach, then over time you would explore the additional facilities ofered to you." FRANK: I agree with Chris. However, once you've played a 36-38 button it is difficult to switch back to a 30 button to play the tunes you've learned using the extra keys.

Sounds like a good idea.

To touch upon a recent discussion thread is this shape for "improved sound quality, or just a "gimmick"?

Did he say whether he was producing his own reeds?

A factor to consider with old vintage instruments regarding end bolts: Frequently you will find stripped end bolts. The cause of this can be the unthreaded holes of the action box that the end bolts pass through on their way to the threaded plates of the bellows frame. You will often find the end bolts binding in the holes in the action box due to corrosion of the screws, shrinking of the wood, etc. This puts a drag on the end bolts causing wear on the threads which will sooner or later wear out. The end bolts should pass easily through the action board. If they don't, you need to take action or it is only a matter of time before the threads are worn out. This problem also puts more stress on the heads of the end bolts, wearing out the slots and making it more likely that the screwdriver will slip.

Just a small comment here. I think virtually all Wheatstone & Lachenal concertinas have tapered chambers with a small straight end nearer the centre and a longer one at the outer side. They are all shaped that way whether they are 6, 8, or 12 sided, if they have wedge-shaped chambers. The only thing that would be different with a round concertina would be that one side would have a very slight curve to it. The shape of the chambers on 6,8, & 12 sided instruments would be the same. The shape of the chambers i.e. parallel sides vs. tapered sides wasn't, I think, part of the original discussion, just the shape of the body. I do agree that the shape of the chambers is very significant, but that's not what we were discussing. Maybe chamber size & shape would be a good topic for another discussion, however.

I think Jim got it right. I was talking about round concertinas, and if you will look back at my comment I think you can see what I was talking about. Round concertinas were obviously a gimmick to get sales. I have heard that Wheatstone came up with the 8-sided aeola for that reason, and Lachenal, not to be outdone, came up with a 12-sided one, the Edeophone. These were remarkable instruments, but whether or not the number of sides had anything to do with it I don't know. Do Edeophones sound better than Aeolas because they have more sides? If round concertinas had had ANY advantages, either marketable ones or musical ones, many more would have been made. The history seems to indicate that any advantages (and I doubt there were any) were far outweighed by the added work making them. It seems that from time to time up to and including the present, there have been those ready to redesign and radically change the concertina, from typewriter-sized & shaped buttons, to neckstraps, to bendable-pitch concertinas to midi concertinas. It goes on and on. I realise that the concertina catches all our imaginations, or we wouldn't be on this site. But we aren't at the stage that many of us have even a good "regular" instrument, and even now, most people give you a blank stare when you say the word "concertina". The concertina revival is only in its early stages. There will be more & more players as decent instruments become more common. Rich, Harold, Bob and I, and the other makers in Europe are doing our best to achieve that end. But let's not "take our eyes off the ball". Let's get a good instrument and learn to play it. Others will see & hear us and our numbers will grow. Personally, I like the instrument just as it is. It is small, portable, versatile ( just listen to "The Anglo International"), not that difficult to play (notice I didn't say "master"), and has a very pleasant sound. It is a link to our past, and that has its own attraction. Change it? Only to make it better, not different.

Square concertinas may be easier, but hexagonal concertinas aren't all that much more time consuming once you have the right jigs. It's all the other things that have to be done "just right", that make the concertina so labour intensive, and thus expensive. Making a round concertina would probably take a lot more time than a hex. But, as I haven't done one (and have no plans to do so) I don't know how much. But the question remains --- Why bother? It's still a gimmick. I'd rather spend my time getting it right than making it cute.

I think the answer to the questions, "Why isn't anyone making round concertinas?" is that there is really no good reason to. Constructing a round concertina is unneccessarily complicated. Making concertinas is VERY labour-intensive as it is without making it more so. I suspect that a round shape is not ideal for the bellows as well. Regular bellow have flexible gussets, which allow the sides of the flats to flex outwards. A round bellows does not appear to, which means that there is more stressing of the cardboard skeleton as it tries to form a more conical shape. This, after time, would tend to break down the material. The wood working would also be much more involved. These problems, along with the obvious ones, like rolling off tables, etc. make round concertinas not really practical. It may have been an acoustic experiment, or just another sales gimmick, but is now just a curiosity. (Now watch, someone may do it, just to prove me wrong, or as another sales gimmick. Am I thowing down a challenge? In any case, I'm not likely to waste time doing it, much to the the relief of waiting customers.

You're best to use a non-permanent glue (one which can easily be removed)---a touch of liquid hide glue, or even the liquid from a children's "glue tube". This is a clear liquid meant for paper, and has an applicator at one end.

Iv'e noticed this, as well. Several years back, I noticed a note on my concertina about 5 cents flat. When I took it out to tune it, I noticed it was a bit dull in colour. I wiped it with my finger and it came off. I think I also then cleaned under the tongue. When I put it all back together, I found it was no longer flat!

We used to hear that it was the world's friendliest border, or something like that. Recently, or so I've been told, one US senator suggested building a wall between the US and Canada for reasons of "National Security." Now we are told that special identity cards will be needed in 2007 in order to cross the border, so we may be approaching your description, Brian! Unfortunately!

"Brass-reeded" is the key. While brass reeds do have a mellow tone, you can expect only so much(as far as response is concerned) from a brass-reeded instrument.

I have often said that if it weren't for the internet and this site I most likely wouldn't be making concertinas today. Probably several of the newer makers would be in the same situation. It would be very difficult, no matter how good an instrument you could make, to become known quickly enough to make a go of it. I suspect that even Colin & Rosalie Dipper and Jurgen Suttner have seen their orders increase, in part, because of the internet and the discussions on this site. Kudos to you, Paul!

Brian, I think this is a great idea. We can't have too much concertina exposure around here! Good luck!

I've seen a lot worse. If the reedpan is warped, it's not as bad if the ends have also warped to the same degree, in the same direction. It's hard to tell without actually seeing it, but I wouldn't write this one off.

I recently was sent a fairlynew instrument. The owner said that it had gone out of tune and some of the reeds wouldn't sound. When I took it apart, almost all the reeds had thick black rust on both sides of the blades. He said he had been humidfying it, but I can't imagine just what he had done. The inside of the case smelled of mould, and the edges of the hinges had rust on, as well. If you do humidify, do so with caution.

Yes, I spoke to Chris earlier this week. He mentioned that he liked this CD much better than his previous one, and that he had played at a more relaxed tempo. I had listened to his earlier recordings, and he had played a concert in Detroit a couple of years ago. I remarked that his "in person" concert was better than his recordings. Well, this latest recording is much more like the live concert than his earlier recordings. Most people who have recorded will probably agree that the tension involved in the recording process can change the way you normally play. Chris had a professional producer work with him on this CD, which probably helped set the stage for this outstanding recording, making it more like the way he would normally play, live. Also, Chris informed me that this latest CD got five star ratings from a couple of music magazines a week or so ago.

No problem. I agree with your comments about the three points.

Tony, I think my comments were in response to Pete's suggestion: "Seriously though Dave, if it isn't possible to swap a few reeds around to end up with straighter levers, would this not be a suitable case for changing both the lever AND post to a rivetted action along the lines of Wim Wakker's action?"