Steel v Brass reeds

[Phillip T]

I would like to know do all Lachenal english concertinas come with steel reeds, and what about Tenor / Treble Lachenals? do they always have steel reeds? , are steel or brass reeds 'standard'? I am playing to accompany myself singing, what are the negatives or positives of the two? I'd appreciate any imput.

[Geoff Wooff]

You could try asking this question in a different forum.... perhaps people will not notice it here as this for questions about Forums.

Geoff

[Ken_Coles]

Topic moved from Help forum to General Discussion.

 

Lachenal ECs, both treble and other ranges do occur in both brass-reed and steel-reed versions. I'll let others tell us how they compare in practice.

 

Ken

[Chris Timson]

Brass reeds are very sweet and hence very suitable for song accompaniment. Steel reeds are harsher in tone; however they are much more durable than brass reeds which makes them more suitable if the concertina has to work hard, e.g. when playing tunes in sessions or for dance. The result is that steel reeded concertinas cost quite a bit more than equivalent brass reeded instruments.

 

In my experience Wheatstone brass reeds are better than Lachenal brass reeds. We have a brass-reeded baritone English that Anne has been using for song accompaniment for many years without trouble and it sounds beautiful.

 

Chris

[Geoff Wooff]

My Lachenal Brass reed experiences have only been with those at the cheap end of the range. These are not wonderfull things and usually have very little dynamic range and are coupled with poor quality woodwork.

 

All the high quality Lachenals I have seen did have Steel reeds. As Chris has said, a good set of Wheatstone Brass reeds are a different thing indeed. A good friend of mine has a Brass Reeded Baritone Wheaststone Aeola (with Metal Ends) and I agree the sound is beautifull.. I have asked for "first refusal" if he ever wishes to sell !

 

One other point... because there generally is more dynamic range available with Steel reeds.. often they can be played as quietly as Brass reeds.. however your results may differ.. These old instruments are very variable , one to the next.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Geoff Wooff

[d.elliott]

I would like to know do all Lachenal english concertinas come with steel reeds, and what about Tenor / Treble Lachenals? do they always have steel reeds? , are steel or brass reeds 'standard'? I am playing to accompany myself singing, what are the negatives or positives of the two? I'd appreciate any imput.

 

Philip,

There are various grade of Wheatstone and Lachenal concertina, the lowest grades were the Lachenal range of mahogany ended concertinas, usually fitted with very basic brass reeds, these instruments have gone a long way to give brass reeds a poor name; but at the higher end of the market there were various options, bone or nickel topped keys; brass reeds or steel reeds, green or black leather. These brass reeds, whilst more 'mellow' to the ear are finely crafted and responsive.

 

So what is important is the grade of the instrument, as well as the reed metal choice. The other important point to remember is that the Baritones and Tenor instruments hit bang into the male singing voice pitch range. As there is not octave separation the combination can sound very muddy, unless you have a very powerful / distinctive voice or can play an accompaniment which way away from the melody.

 

Dave

[Phillip T]

Thanks everybody that's all good information Phillip