concertinapanhead Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hi, I'm fairly new here, anyone help a newb? I have a 20-button Stagi C3 anglo, D/G tuning, and I was playing it a few days ago when all of a sudden one of the keys made a squeak instead of the planned F#. It almost appears that it might be an F# one octave higher, but that's not very helpful. I could take it apart and look at the reed, but this particular concertina it appears difficult to get apart. The ends seem whole except for pins on the side, which might be the bellow pins. Does anyone know how to get something like this apart? Does anyone know what the problem might be that all of the sudden out of the blue it changes notes on me? Any help would be welcome. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 (edited) Hi, I'm fairly new here, anyone help a newb? I have a 20-button Stagi C3 anglo, D/G tuning, and I was playing it a few days ago when all of a sudden one of the keys made a squeak instead of the planned F#. It almost appears that it might be an F# one octave higher, but that's not very helpful. I could take it apart and look at the reed, but this particular concertina it appears difficult to get apart. The ends seem whole except for pins on the side, which might be the bellow pins. Does anyone know how to get something like this apart? Does anyone know what the problem might be that all of the sudden out of the blue it changes notes on me? Any help would be welcome. Thanks. Pull out those pins and the ends should come off. Sounds like you either have something stuck in that reed,a very small piece of dirt/dust, or that the reed tongue is touching the side of its frame. Or it could be that the tongue has lost its 'set' and is now not wanting to start properly. If you cannot see what is causing this problem then you'd be best off to seek professional help. Good luck, Geoff. Edited April 15, 2011 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concertinapanhead Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 (edited) Thanks, Goeff, I always need to seek professional help. Get a check up... from the neck up! Anyhow, what would you recommend for getting the pins out? I've seen special tools for sale, but what do you think? Edited April 16, 2011 by concertinapanhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 (edited) Thanks, Goeff, I always need to seek professional help. Get a check up... from the neck up! Anyhow, what would you recommend for getting the pins out? I've seen special tools for sale, but what do you think? I really do not know what the professional accordion repairers use but a pair of small 'Pincers' would be my choice. These are like wire cutters with the pinching faces straight accross the front,thus at 90 degrees to the handles. With these it should be possible to grip under the head of the pin and pull it straight out without marking the body of the concertina. Other devices, such as 'Tack removers' that Upholsterers use, have a levering action which will press on the surface of the instrument and can be used if you put a protecting layer between the tool and the concertina. You could ask your Dentist for some sort of pliers type puller maybe ? Edited April 16, 2011 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I use those finegr nail clippers that seem to be dead cheap and fold up. 2 coins as grippers was the old melodeon player trick on the fly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concertinapanhead Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 I use those finegr nail clippers that seem to be dead cheap and fold up. 2 coins as grippers was the old melodeon player trick on the fly. OK, so maybe I can get it apart, how do I get it back together again? Anything can be taken apart, any suggestions for what to look for if I go in there and how to get it back together? Thank you for all the suggestions so far; this is a very friendly forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 OK, so maybe I can get it apart, how do I get it back together again? Anything can be taken apart, any suggestions for what to look for if I go in there and how to get it back together? Thank you for all the suggestions so far; this is a very friendly forum. Any re-assembly is just an exact reversal of the dis-assembly, not quite so easy with one's first Clock maybe by this is not that complicated. You will need to locate the offending reed and try to determine what is causing the problem. Like the by word of the Surgeon "do no harm"... try not to make things worse. So, pull out the pins and the end will come off... then you can see what you are up against... if it looks too complicated then shove the end back in place and push the pins back in and find an Accordion repairer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Just one other question. Is the problem F# on push or on pull? If it is on pull the reeds is difficult to get to, even with the end off. One other simple thing you can try. I'm assuming that the cause of the squeaky not is just some airborne object lodged in the reed. Hold your finger down on the offending button and just play that button in and out as hard as you can, and for as long as you can stand the noise. Really give it a powerful workout. This is sometimes enough to clear a reed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concertinapanhead Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Just one other question. Is the problem F# on push or on pull? If it is on pull the reeds is difficult to get to, even with the end off. One other simple thing you can try. I'm assuming that the cause of the squeaky not is just some airborne object lodged in the reed. Hold your finger down on the offending button and just play that button in and out as hard as you can, and for as long as you can stand the noise. Really give it a powerful workout. This is sometimes enough to clear a reed. Still haven't taken it apart yet, have recently found alternative key. Unfortunately, it is a pull note. I tried your suggestion a little, but no dice. In fact, could overtaxing it maybe have caused the problem in the first place? I had been learning "Amazing Grace" at the time. It uses a lot of push notes, so I have to expand the bellows quite a bit to get enough air. I know this is totally off the subject, but how do you get profile pictures into this website? It was telling me that my file size was too large or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I tried your suggestion a little, but no dice. It won't do any good if you try gently, it requires a firm hand to show who is boss! In fact, could overtaxing it maybe have caused the problem in the first place? No. Steel reeds are pretty tough. There is a risk of breaking a reed by playing hard, but to do that you probably need to play very loudly for a couple of hours a day, for a couple of years, and then a reed that has a slight surface flaw might develop fatigue and begin to fail. I'm not suggesting you should abuse your concertina, but you can play energetically without worrying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Jordan Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Not sure about the construction of your box...or how easy it is to get to offending reed, but In my little box of tweezers, scewdrivers, spare springs, copydex!, etc, etc, I will always have a pack of cigarette papers.(Rizla or similar) Gently sliding one between the reed and it's frame, always clears grit/splinters etc. Also, when I have to take the end off my box, I have one of those Aeresol compressed air sprays. and give the inside a good spraying. Might be worth having a fine haired artists paint brush to get those "hard to reach" places. The one thing to never attempt is to try and remove the reed from it's frame (even if it looks as though you can!) That way madness lies. You'll never get it back....I know, I tried it once! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concertinapanhead Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Not sure about the construction of your box...or how easy it is to get to offending reed, but In my little box of tweezers, scewdrivers, spare springs, copydex!, etc, etc, I will always have a pack of cigarette papers.(Rizla or similar) Gently sliding one between the reed and it's frame, always clears grit/splinters etc. Also, when I have to take the end off my box, I have one of those Aeresol compressed air sprays. and give the inside a good spraying. Might be worth having a fine haired artists paint brush to get those "hard to reach" places. The one thing to never attempt is to try and remove the reed from it's frame (even if it looks as though you can!) That way madness lies. You'll never get it back....I know, I tried it once! Thank you! Good to know about taking it apart. Where would you get cigarette papers? How much? What if you're a minor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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