What to do about a reed out of tune?

[L'Albatroce]

I recently put my concertina down for a couple of months (shame on me!), and when I came back to it one of the reeds was out of tune. I've used up all my repair knowledge by opening it up and making sure the reed shoe is properly fitted in the pan, but that hasn't had any effect. It's been in a pretty stable environment since I played it last, no radical humidity or temperature changes. And it hasn't been knocked around any. Any ideas for what could cause this? I'm a little loath to send it anywhere by mail for repairs since I had some minor issues crop up because of it's transit when I first got it, so extra points for solutions I can do myself.

[Chris Ghent]

I recently put my concertina down for a couple of months (shame on me!), and when I came back to it one of the reeds was out of tune. I've used up all my repair knowledge by opening it up and making sure the reed shoe is properly fitted in the pan, but that hasn't had any effect. It's been in a pretty stable environment since I played it last, no radical humidity or temperature changes. And it hasn't been knocked around any. Any ideas for what could cause this? I'm a little loath to send it anywhere by mail for repairs since I had some minor issues crop up because of it's transit when I first got it, so extra points for solutions I can do myself.

 

Is it just out of tune but otherwise sounding fine? Many of the most benign causes of an out of tune reed also produce other symptoms, buzzes and rattles, or a dull sound. These can mean something impeding the reed, dust etc, or as you thought, a loose frame. Dust can be very small so you need to look close. If it sounds otherwise OK but is just out of tune, is the opposing valve working OK? Anything impeding the opening of the valve can affect the tune. Lastly, is the degree of out-of-tune increasing? Give it a few good hard plays. A cracked reed, very unlikely in an older instrument, will not be stable. The period of no-use makes dust the most likely cause. Don't give up on fixing it yourself too quickly; any repairer will admit to having to open a concertina a few times chasing a tiny particle of dust.

 

Chris

[Michael Marino]

Chris is spot on. Best thing to do is get a thin shim (.05mm or thinner) and go between the reed and the shoe to see if that is you problem. If that clears it up your good to go. Nice side effect of doing this is you tend to remove any micro burs on the edge of the shoe and/or reed while doing this. Hope it helps.

 

Michael

[Guest HallelujahAl!]

Just got one question first off - is it out of tune sharp or flat?

AL