Leaky notes on my lachenal

[Long Haired David]

Hi ther everyone

 

I have a 20 key Ango Lachenal Sn: 74298. I bought it on an EBay buy it now from Hobgoblin at a good price. I had previously been refurbished to a nice finish and playing tone. When it arrived it had a leaky button - by that I mean that when I play a certain note, I get a sympathetic note playing softly in the background. I talked to them about it and under their guidance, I opened it up and managed to straighten out the problem.

 

That was about 9 months ago. Now I have a couple of 'leaky' buttons and I have opened up both ends but cannot see anything that is particularly out of alignment.

 

I could do with some advice.

 

Any suggestions of what I should look for in trying to resolve this.

 

You should be able to hear the problem here http://snd.sc/yoKVQO.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

David

[Geoff Wooff]

Well,David,

you have not given us a very long example to listen to. Do you get any noises without pressing any buttons ? If so You might have a leaky pad or two. If not then you could have air traveling from one reed chamber to the next caused by a leak over the chamber wall or around the joint between the reedpan and the bellows frame. This could be due to a warp in the internal woodwork,slack in the fit of the parts due to the chamois gaskets getting old and hard or worn. Perhaps the little corner blocks that keep the reedpans in place have come loose and are allowing the pans to sink down and fail to seal tight against the action board (ends).

 

If that is as long a note as you can make on that (or those) reeds then you certainly are loosing air somewhere.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Geoff Wooff

[Long Haired David]

Well,David,

you have not given us a very long example to listen to. Do you get any noises without pressing any buttons ? If so You might have a leaky pad or two. If not then you could have air traveling from one reed chamber to the next caused by a leak over the chamber wall or around the joint between the reedpan and the bellows frame. This could be due to a warp in the internal woodwork,slack in the fit of the parts due to the chamois gaskets getting old and hard or worn. Perhaps the little corner blocks that keep the reedpans in place have come loose and are allowing the pans to sink down and fail to seal tight against the action board (ends).

 

If that is as long a note as you can make on that (or those) reeds then you certainly are loosing air somewhere.

 

I will record a longer note and take some photos of the inside. The pads are all in as-new condition so I don't think that it is hard pads.

 

David

[Rod]

Hi ther everyone

 

I have a 20 key Ango Lachenal Sn: 74298. I bought it on an EBay buy it now from Hobgoblin at a good price. I had previously been refurbished to a nice finish and playing tone. When it arrived it had a leaky button - by that I mean that when I play a certain note, I get a sympathetic note playing softly in the background. I talked to them about it and under their guidance, I opened it up and managed to straighten out the problem.

 

That was about 9 months ago. Now I have a couple of 'leaky' buttons and I have opened up both ends but cannot see anything that is particularly out of alignment.

 

I could do with some advice.

 

Any suggestions of what I should look for in trying to resolve this.

 

You should be able to hear the problem here http://snd.sc/yoKVQO.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

David

 

Possibly a weak or mal-functioning spring, (or springs)? Check the condition and strength of the spring related to

the intruding/unwanted secondary note and if necessary replace it with a new spring.

[jrintaha]

Hi ther everyone

 

I have a 20 key Ango Lachenal Sn: 74298. I bought it on an EBay buy it now from Hobgoblin at a good price. I had previously been refurbished to a nice finish and playing tone. When it arrived it had a leaky button - by that I mean that when I play a certain note, I get a sympathetic note playing softly in the background. I talked to them about it and under their guidance, I opened it up and managed to straighten out the problem.

 

That was about 9 months ago. Now I have a couple of 'leaky' buttons and I have opened up both ends but cannot see anything that is particularly out of alignment.

 

I could do with some advice.

 

Any suggestions of what I should look for in trying to resolve this.

 

You should be able to hear the problem here http://snd.sc/yoKVQO.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

David

 

Possibly a weak or mal-functioning spring, (or springs)? Check the condition and strength of the spring related to

the intruding/unwanted secondary note and if necessary replace it with a new spring.

 

Have you tried shining a light through the reedpan from the other side in a dark room? I'm still waiting for my first concertina to arrive in the mail, so I'm not 100% sure if this is possible to do easily in a concertina, but I've restored several old (up to ~80 years old) accordions, and that's a very handy trick in finding the leaking pads. Might be a misaligned (due to weakening string, warping of the wood etc.) pad?

[Alan Day]

Sorry I cannot listen to your recording but worth checking a few things.

Have you lost a little corner block that has caused the reed pan to drop on one corner.

Is the pad sticking on the side of the box without proper clearance.

Is the reed not in the dovetail properly

Al