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Showing results for tags 'Concertina'.
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repair Who's taken over from The Button Box?
Keshlam posted a topic in General Concertina Discussion
Many years ago, bought a fully reconditioned Anglo concertina from The Button Box. I've always been within day-trippable distance of the store since then, so I hadn't had much reason to shop elsewhere. Unfortunately they closed down in 2021. And I just had a spring fail. (With, of course, an informal performance scheduled for this weekend. Murphy was an optimist.) So who *are* the most reputable concertina repair shops these days? I'm currently in the Greater Boston area, but Im willing to consider traveling. And, while I'm asking: Should I take this as a warning that it's worth doing a full overhaul again? If E fails, C and G are presumably not too far behind, and the only maintenance in the past decade has been my occasionally recentering a reed or removing dust. Tnx in advance! -
To Whom is Skilled and Generous with Their Time: I am a guitarist that loves the sound of reed instruments. I wanted to add an instrument to my music, and the harmonica or mouth organ sound too thin for me. So I chose the concertina. I purchased a Jackie, as it is a new beginner instrument that was not junk, for $500. During an emergency I had to leave it in my not hot, but warm car. When I got it home there was a big rattle of one side, and as I checked the buttons, about ⅓ did not sound. So I opened it up for the first time and discovered that 4 of the reeds had detached. And as I inspected the damage, I noticed that the reeds have no markings on them to help me know where they belong. There are some scuff marks on them however, that seem to be some sort of marking in length? And the reeds themselves are different lengths. So by matching the length of the reed to the air chambers I was able to determine where they belong, and by matching the wax patterns on the edges of the reeds, I am pretty sure I have them all facing the correct direction. The reeds kinda stuck back on to the wax, but I just loosely placed them. I live very far out in the country, and I doubt if I could find anyone to repair the instrument within a 3-5 hour drive. Also I should note that I work as a luthier, and can fix anything. I know I need to test the reeds with a tuner to make sure they are placed correctly. But as I am new to this instrument, I wanted to make sure I am repairing this correctly, and ask how I should reattach the reeds. In particular, do I need to obtain some new wax? If so, what brand is the best, and where do I get it? And what kind of tools are used for this? And where can I get those? As I have a strong inclination to believe this type of repair will need to be performed many times in the future, and I might as well have the correct tools. I've worked in wax before for encaustic paintings, and we had hot wax "pens" for this, but I don't own any of these currently. I think they might work well for this, but I'd rather use the tools of the trade. What are my steps to a repair that is going to be superior to the factory? Thanks in advanve to anyone who replies. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to answer my questions. God bless you! patrick scheidegger fom tooley ☞ UPDATE ☞ my laptop had a meltdown of ram chips right when i sent this first part, and it took me a couple days to get it fixed. anyways, i decided to press the reeds into the wax and give it a try. Everything worked, except 2 of the buttons wouldn't sound the reed on extension, but would on compression. The reeds make the same note forwards and backwards. If this is true, is there still a front and a back? I was happy to have places all the reeds in the correct locations, and I played for a moment; then one popped back off. So I definitely need some informational help in terms of: ☞ am I doing the repair correctly? ☞ where do I order wax from, and what brand is the best? ☞ are there any tools i need? ☞ etc. Thanks again and a special blessing for anyone that helps. patrick scheidegger fom tooley -
Seth Hamon professional C/G Anglo, jeffries system. Tuned and modded from Wheatsone to Jeffries by Karel van der Leeuw. As new state. Fast responding and loud instrument, i played a few Anglo and English brands and this would be quite a fav for gigs. Only selling because of the wife complaining that it's too loud and i want to keep her happy .... PS EU import duties have been paid for, 2100 Euros, VAT invoice possible, or deducted for EU based VAT registered buyers. 21% less if sold outside the European Union, like the UK or USA. UK price 1550 GBP, USA 1970 U$D, shipping excluded. Shipping to UK and USA can be expensive; for safety i would recommend UPS or FedEx-TNT. Case included ...
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Hello. Edgley C/G heritage; handmade reeds. Jeffries layout. Serial 431, recently tuned, with a sweet sound and in quite mint condition. Flightcase included 2500 GBP (2900 Euros) excl shipping. Bellows perfect, no damages, see last pic for bottom view. Located Netherlands, so maybe too expensive for UK imports due Brexit?
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I am selling a Hohner C48 2 x 24 button english concertina - rarely played. As I hardly find the time to play this english concertina, it searches a good house where it will be played and not just be stored in its gig bag. Details: Wooden ends - A suitable beginners instrument It is in concert pitch, it has 48 white keys - playing smoothly and sounding okay on push and pull. It has an air release key. The bellows is air tight. The condition is very good - like it just left the factory, the Hohner gig bag is included Shop price is 400 UK pounds. Asking 200 pounds. PM me if you want pictures or if you're interested to buy Marien
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Hi guys, I’m considering taking up Anglo concertina, mainly with the desire to play Irish tunes etc. My background is in piano/pipe organ, but I do also play B/C Irish button accordion. Recently I’ve become more and more enchanted by the sweet single reed sound of the conc, and I think I will pick it up quickly due to my experience with another bisonoric instrument. I don’t own a concertina yet. My concern is that my hands are quite large. They are not overly wide but I have long and skinny fingers. On a piano I can easily reach an 11th interval (eg C1 to F2). On a standard 30 button 3 row concertina, I’m worried that I would have to curl my fingers too much to reach the inside row and that my hands would cramp - this could have an effect on my speed and accuracy of playing. The other issue is that I live in Brisbane, Australia and there are literally no music stores which sell concertinas so I don’t even have the opportunity to play one or hold one to see what the spacing and comfort is like. Of course if anyone here lives in Brisbane and would be happy for me to have a look at their concertina that would be great! Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Are there any other large-handed Anglo players out there? Am I wasting my time learning and should I just stick to diatonic accordion? Any suggestions or a good intermediate starter instrument better suited to larger hands? And out of curiosity what is the distance between the palm rest and the inner most row of buttons? Thank you so much, Andrew (excited newbie)
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Hi, I am looking to figure out the maker of this little wooden concertina, I found it 2nd hand and I would love to fix it, The bellows seem in good condition, but there is something rattling around inside that I would like to get out. Some of the buttons were pushed in when I got it and I have some of them out... have 4 more to go. There is a metal emblem that is partially there on one side. the letters end in what look like **ontali,?? or **owtali ?? I can't find a maker anywhere...ending in those letters. Help!! Its rough, but I love it...my mom dabbled on the accordion when I was a kid and this reminds me of that.
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I am a beginner looking for a concertina not over $370. I know it's a far stretch, but I don't have much money to spend. I would like it to be English/Duet but it doesn't really matter which one it is out of these. Thanks so much!
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Hi All, I am selling a Jefrries concertina. This instrument is in the key of Bb/F. It requires tuning. I have put a new set of hand straps on. I am asking €5,000 euro If anybody has any questions or needs any information feel free to ask. Based outside Dublin. Patrick
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Hey, I'd love to learn the concertina and surprise my family when I go back to Ireland. I'm a total beginner and can be a quick learner with the right teacher. Can anyone advise of group classes or tutors. Thanks
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I recently purchased a NANUK 908 case for my VINTAGE concertina. An option with the 908 is a padded divider. On the right and left, the padded dividers are fine and will snuggly fit an anglo concertina. The front and back, however, are too thick. I sliced open the front and back pads at the bottom and removed the styrofoam. Replace the padded liner and insert concertina. The concertina is padded snuggly on top, bottm, right, and left. The front and back are padded by two layers of material. Perhaps some very thin foam or other padding might be added. I plan to add spacers made from the leftover pads to block the concertina on both sides as it was in the original case.
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Seth Hamon Professional with Voci a Mano reeds. C/G 30 button Wheatstone layout. 7-fold bellows! Very light and fast player, very well made; alas selling since i recently bought a traditionally built and quite expensive one. Instrument is in as new state. Bellows smell that way LoL. Due 450 Euro EU import duties that have been paid (mainly VAT charges) it makes sense for a buyer within the EU. No import duties then. Price 1900 Euros. BTW I stopped with paypal, it's a scam these days. Tip: get a free money wiring subscription with WISE.com or Intarem, and pay by Mastercard or Visa: You're off far cheaper for eventual exchange-rates and your money transfer is secure and almost immediate. Economy EU insured parcel shipping is around 70 euro's, Fedex is faster but more expensive. Case included. PM me if you live outside the EU, as i can probably get VAT back when exported again within a few months, and thus sell depending location about 19% cheaper. For US buyers i will include a COO form to avoid paying import duties. At costs of approx 100 euro's extra i can arrange a conversion to jeffries system layout, using 4 new Voci a Mano reeds. This will take about 10 days before shipping out.
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Beautiful, mostly unused Frank Edgley 186 Anglo Concertina. Practiced on a separate one, so this rarely sees daylight. (Actually, neither see daylight) 586 four nine one 4858 or, slower response to idontcheckitbutits@hotmail.com Metro Detroit area
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I've got an old East German Scholer Concertina with leaky bellows. It seams like the leaks are at the corner fabric parts. Could it be that the fabric is no longer air-proof? And if so, is there something I can paint on it to make it air-proof? I've had a look at "Coghlans Airstop", which is actually made for PVC products, but I doubt it will work. I've tried opening up the ends to look inside the bellows, but after unscrewing the ends, the part containing the reeds are stapled/nailed in place. So I can't see the inside of the bellows. Does anyone have any advice for repair, or is it advisable to completely replace the bellows? I'm trying to see if there is a cheap fix, rather than complete bellows replacement, which could be costly. I live in South Africa and I know Danie Labuschagne can replace the bellows. I'm just trying to see what other options there are -
Hi, One of the springs on my Anglo broke last night when I was practicing. When I opened it up the spring was broken off in the hole it sits in and I can’t get it out to be replaced with a new one. I’ve tried getting it out with a pointy nose pliers, but there isn’t enough of it showing to grip to pull it out. I have two questions that hopefully someone can help with, it would be very much appreciated. Any ideas on how to get the broken end of the spring out of its hole? Can a new spring be placed beside where the old hole is? Would it be pushed in or is a hole drilled before placing the spring end into the hole? Or how does one go about it? Thanks for any and all help!
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Evening all, I thought i'd share my recent emotional roller coaster with my new Lachenal 20 key with brass reeds. it's had some pretty heavy use what with my renewed motivation upgrading from a Scarlatti and to my dismay 2 nights ago I realised the a1 button not sounding! being a novice I had no idea why this might be- broken reed, a broken mechanism- i envisaged an expensive repair job and stewed over the posts describing these instruments as inferior and prone to breaking down. Boo hoo i thought. However, i stumbled across some threads here regarding fluff/debris in the reeds- with great trepidation I opened my anglo and after working out which reed it was I gently flicked it with a stanley blade and gave it a jolly good blow- Success! The note returns, and I can plough on with my Zelda iterations. What relief. The highs and lows of a new instrument. A great satisfaction in diagnosing and treating this simple problem myself. Has anyone had similar experiences?
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This is a short review of the book 'There was None of this Lazy Dancing' by Bob Ellis. The book is about the music played at dances in the Yorkshire Dales. There are a lot of good (folk) tune books. There is a smaller but significant number of books dealing with the social history of (folk) music. There are very few books which deal with both the music and the social history of the music. This book is a significant addition to that small sub-genre. The book is a collection of tunes played at dances in the Yorkshire Dales. The tunes are presented in a way which describes and discusses their use by placing them in the context of the social events at which the tunes were played, and by using short biographies of some of the musicians who played the music. It is an absolutely splendid mix of academic rigour, relevance and readability. The tunes themselves are a mix of the familiar and the not-so-familiar. Where necessary, tunes in 'unfriendly' keys are also supplied in transpositions to a 'friendly' key (usually G, so the tunes should be easily accessible to G/D and C/G concertina players?). The book is also well-illustrated and well made (hard cover, stitched signatures, lay-flat binding). The fortunate purchaser of the book will also receive a password giving access to ABC transcriptions of all the tunes. The author asks, (very reasonably), that this password not be passed on to those who have not purchased the book. The ABC code appears to be of original transcriptions by the author. The style of coding is consistent, concise (minimalist, if you prefer), unambiguous and correct. As with the printed text, where the original of the tune was in an 'unfriendly' key, the author has provided a transcription into a 'friendly' key. In brief, this is a superb book! The only irritating thing about the book is that there is a picture of the author on page 5. I'm sure I know the man from somewhere, and can't for the life of me remember where or when I encountered him. Bloody infuriating! -
a musical sign of life - a spontaneous live recording (first take) after having set up a decent audio recorder for my smartphone https://soundcloud.com/blue-eyed-sailor/kolomtanz-sailors-hornpipe as always, any comments are appreciated. edited to add: playing my model 24 Wheatstone EC here
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OK, so I just became the proud parent (servant?) of a Hohner 20-button C/G concertina. I want to play pirate songs and Irish session tunes. Ordered Gary Coover's books on Amazon. Any other advice for the beginning player? I play stringed instruments mostly, with a bit of drum and other miscellaneous, but mostly I'm a singer. So I do have some musical experience, but the concertina mystifies me. Watched some YouTube videos where they basically said, "Yeah, these buttons seem to be arranged randomly, but I have no idea why." Any guidance appreciated.
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Collected October 28 of 2013 I saw Bruce Thomson's video today and thought it might be of interest to the group and so decided to explore other recent YouTube additions to flesh out this posting. These are listed in the order found: Bruce Thomson - Knee straps experiment http://youtube.com/watch?v=a26xSS8VrP8 Katyusha - balalaika and concertina http://youtube.com/watch?v=8vSCBeibduI Comparison of Stagi and Chinese concertinas http://youtube.com/watch?v=nPDf4vWTRPU A New Player http://youtube.com/watch?v=RfYQ6S_3F7M http://youtube.com/watch?v=c-haW0l3jRY Oria Quirke with Draíocht Nua http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lw9pWSa3kow Yvonne Bolton and Alan Jordan at Custy's http://youtube.com/watch?v=eQF1PxGLdu8 After watching the Custy's video of Yvonne and Alan a second time I was motivated to further explore their YouTube offerings. I especially liked this one (placed on YouTube in September of this year) and decided to edit it into my posting here today. While clearly promotional for their CD, I think it's very well done: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cwjJ5C348no
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I have Lachenal concertina with a number 2435 it has 21 buttons on one side and 19 on the other it is still in its original box, which unfortunately requires some attention. can anyone please date this and give me an idea as to it’s value.
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New arrival now for sale - a fine condition TANZBAR automatic player concertina. These were made in Leipzig, Germany with most dating between 1900 & the 1930's. This instrument takes some musical & muscular coordination to get the best results, but it's loads of fun once you get the hang of it. And, its just in time for it to be a fabulous Holiday gift for your 'loved' one. Plus, this one comes with 40 original paper music rolls & a newly made roll rewind crank. Price - $1200.- plus shipping, which can be estimated if you forward me your address & zip. Shipment would be made immediately after payment is received (Paypal) &/or cleared if by CK. Our contact - amltd-at-voicenet.com Take a look at the video made today: https://youtu.be/MmPBhKPG8GM Thanks, Jere R.
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Vintage early 20th century Concertina for sale. Hello everybody, I have a fantastic German diatonic concertina which needs a little of care, while button levers are detached on the left side and the handle needs to be fixed. Music enthusiasts will definitely know what the potential of this instrument is. I'll be happy to send more pictures to anyone interested. I have fully working accordeons available as well. regards MM
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Although this is primarily accordion focused, the concertina has a brief presence. I've included this video here not so much for its limited concertina content as for the fascinating window it provides into the world of bellows driven free reed instruments and some perspective on their many forms. It's dated 2009, somehow I missed it then but Martin Donohoe of Cavan (Ireland) recently posted a link to it elsewhere that brought it to my attention today. Behind the Bellows
