20-Button Lachenal With Unusual Layout...

[Roger Hare]

A few weeks ago I acquired a 20-button C/G Lachenal, 'mahogany' ends, 5-fold bellows, right-hand handrest

stamped with the Lachenal trademark leading me to think it has brass reeds, serial number indicating a date

some time in the 1920s(?).

 

It was in an 'unplayable' condition with at least two reeds not sounding, and one or two others badly 'out of

tune'. All this on the left-hand end. Basically, the instrument needed some TLC

 

Today, I decided it was time I had a look at it, and I had the left hand end off (yes, the reeds are brass) and

gave all reeds a 'tweak', and pressed one reed frame home into its seating, with the result that all the reeds

now sound.

 

As a consequence of this, I realised that the reeds are not out of tune, but that the layout of the C-row is

(push/pull):

 

5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5
C/G G/B C/E♭ E/F A/B♭ C/B E/D G/F C/A E/B
Left Hand C-Row Right Hand

 

Instead of the more usual:

 

5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5
C/G G/B C/D E/F G/A C/B E/D G/F C/A E/B
Left Hand C-Row Right Hand

 

The 3 and 1 buttons are 'non-standard'. The G-row is laid out as I would have expected...

 

Is this common? Is there a good reason to lay the notes out like this? The only reason I can think of is that

doing this gives a little flexibility by making a couple of accidentals available. Are Eb and Bb particularly

desirable 'extra' notes to have on a 20-button C/G instrument? I can see that these notes make the keys

of F and Bb available, but only in the one octave - is it 'worth it' - or am I missing something blindingly

obvious?

 

Thanks.

 

Roger

Edited November 8, 2016 by lachenal74693

[Sal79]

I am not a regular on this site but I just had a similar experience. My lefthand side is upsidedown or backwards if you will. Thought it was unheard of but now I hear from you. Maybe they were customs, or were they mistakes?

 

Sal

[Roger Hare]

Maybe they were customs, or were they mistakes?

 

Since my OP, I've spoken with a well-respected concertina fettler about having

this instrument brought 'up to scratch'. He suggested that it's possible that the

instrument had been in the possession of an enthusiast with several concertinas,

and that the unusual reeds were there because the owner had removed the

original reeds to put into another (better) concertina, and then put any old spare

reeds into the vacant slots...

 

I hadn't thought of that, and knowing where this instrument came from, it's not

an unreasonable suggestion...

 

FWIW, I now think that by moving reeds from the G-row to the C-row,and placing

them 'correctly', I could get a conventional C-row, making the instrument much

more usable. As I'm almost certainly going to have it fettled, I probably won't bother.

 

Roger

Edited December 13, 2016 by lachenal74693