One small step forward - ten back

[Long Haired David]

Having had some interesting discussions here about spending £300 on a new concertina, I ended up buying a 20 key Lachenal C/G.

 

I now have even more problems.

 

Firstly, when it arrived, it had a drone on the push from a stuck bottom G. In discussion with the sellers I got that fixed and am now confident about opening it up and re-aligning pads and so on.

 

So I set about starting to play it. Consider that all I had before was a yellow and blue Stagi Gremlin that cost £75 on EBay.

 

I have four problems that are making me wish sometimes that I should go back to El Cheapo.

 

Problem 1. The bellows have been refurbished and it has quite a stiff action. I am told that this should ease over the next six months but it is giving me problems due to the arthritis in my hands. It is also (not sure how to express this) bouncing back and playing the note on the other action.

 

Problem 2. Because of this stiff action, I am finding myself holding the right hand end with my finger tips to move the bellows and thus have a bit of an issue when playing anything on that side.

 

Problem 3. It is a 5 bellows instrument as opposed to the 9 that was on the previous one and it runs out of puff much quicker than I am used to. I suppose that the answer to this one is that, instead of just playing my way through the book, I will need to concentrate on a couple of tunes and get the fingering right to counteract this.

 

Problem 4. The keys are slightly different. The actual key layout is better as the problems I had playing D E F across the rows on the left hand, for instance, have gone away. However, the rows are in a different place and I am finding it hard to cover both rows on the left and to reach anything other than the first two buttons in both rows on the right.

 

Problem 2 will solve once Problem 1 eases. Problem 3 is a case of practicing properly rather than just expecting to get better just by playing any old tune I fancy and living with the mistakes. Problem 4 should solve with time but I am finding it hard to set the straps so that I can get enough pull on the bellows whilst providing enough movement to get to all the keys. I think that I need to get my right hand to the same place that my left hand ability is sitting.

 

All in all, I was really looking forward to getting a better concertina and have ended up frustrated. Getting back to learning the whistle sometimes seems easier.

 

Please tell me it will get better - smile.

 

David

[MikeE]

It won't get better, but you may get used to it. I have very large hands and I've found some cheap concertinas that I can't reach the outside row, or on others, the inside row. In the case of the one that I owned, I opened it up and moved the hand rest, when that didn't work, I made a new one that was not so tall.

 

After ten years and a lot of playing, the bellows on my Suttner are still stiff. Much stiffer than the much, much older Jefferies I own. And the action is stiffer too. I think I moved the hand rest of the Jeff too.

 

At least two local players have instruments, classics, not a modern build, that the action is so stiff I can't imagine playing it and any speed for any length of time. One of them claims to have double springed the action to get that stiffness desired. By contrast they can't stand the light touch of my Jefferies. I only have to think about a button and it plays. The action of the Suttner is light, but not so light as the Jeff.

 

They are all different

[apprenticeOF]

The bellows will loosen up as you play it. I made a new bellows for my Lachenal EC (6F) - partly because I wanted to maintain the original green, and partly because I'm a bit OCD. Anyway, thought I was going to have to give in and buy a bellows as it was so stiff. After playing it for about 3 months it is OK now, and should be fine in another 3 months. It helps a lot if you follow Dave Elliot's suggestion that it has to be stored tight. I use his suggested "temporary" of binding it closed with some rubber bands - as I haven't completed the new box yet.

[Ken_Coles]

David,

 

One question...many folks use use "stiff action" to refer to buttons that take a lot of force to push. That can be due to heavy springs inside. I have the impression that rather than this you are talking about stiff bellows (which I refer to as simply, stiff bellows). Am I under the correct impression?

 

You may also (Problem 3) be dealing with the leakiness or somewhat inefficient state of some Lachenals when it come to air use. You learn to work around this by using the air button as you play. One day I just got it, I don't remember any other tricks to learning it (except playing slowly).

 

Hang in there (or squeeze in there),

Ken

[Long Haired David]

David,

 

One question...many folks use use "stiff action" to refer to buttons that take a lot of force to push. That can be due to heavy springs inside. I have the impression that rather than this you are talking about stiff bellows (which I refer to as simply, stiff bellows). Am I under the correct impression?

 

You may also (Problem 3) be dealing with the leakiness or somewhat inefficient state of some Lachenals when it come to air use. You learn to work around this by using the air button as you play. One day I just got it, I don't remember any other tricks to learning it (except playing slowly).

 

Hang in there (or squeeze in there),

Ken

 

No, it is the bellows that seem very stiff. I have a problem moving them quickly and they tend to 'bounce'. I was assured that they would loosen up. I have attached two photos of the instrument.

 

David

[Alan Day]

A nice looking instrument David, very nicely restored. Bellows do loosen up as time goes by and also will stretch a bit.

As you progress with the instrument and take notice of the tips we have already given on lack of air playing, you will enjoy this instrument. Have a look at the wonderful playing of Chris Sherburn , he has only four fold bellows but with ornamentation hardly moves the bellows out to their maximum. Remember play quietly, short sharp notes and give the maximum thought to how to play the same note on the push as well as on the pull. There are a number there for you to find.

Just relax ,stick with it and it will come out nicely in the wash.

Al

[Steve_freereeder]

I agree with ApprenticeOF's comments a few entries previously.

It is important to store the instrument with the bellows firmly closed. This 'conditions' the bellows and stops them trying to rebound open whilst you are attempting to push them in. If you don't have a case which has internal blocks to keep the instrument closed, then get one or make one. Otherwise use rubber bands, etc. to do the job.

 

For my own instrument, during the course of a few days while I was building a case, I used a velcro strip which wrapped all the way round the instrument and kept the bellows closed.

[ocd]

The bellows will loosen up as you play it. I made a new bellows for my Lachenal EC (6F) - partly because I wanted to maintain the original green, and partly because I'm a bit OCD.

 

Nope, nope, *I* am ocd.

 

ocd