New Concertina Making Company, Wolverton Concertinas

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

Good morning!

 

 

After a long period of careful designing and testing I am happy to announce that my small company Wolverton Concertinas is open for business. The instruments I am currently offering are high quality hybrid 30 button Anglo concertinas, in either C/G or G/D with either Jeffries or Wheatstone accidentals. They are clear, responsive, loud and fun instruments.

 

My personal area of focus has been to make an instrument which is very comfortable to play. As such I am happy to offer two optional extra features:

 

1: Air levers (as opposed to air buttons) off the shelf.

2: custom hand rests fitted to the players hands. To have these made the player just needs to try out our display concertinas which have a quick release hand rest system. A logical sizing system of different size and shape hand rests can be attached so the player can decide what works best for them. These new hand rests could be applied to any Anglo or duet concertina.

 

More details are all on here: www.wolvertonconcertinas.com

 

Have a lovely week everyone!

Jake Middleton-Metcalfe (profile name previously "jake of hertford")

 

Edited to add! Sound samples now online at: https://wolvertonconcertinas.com/sound-samples/

Edited May 16, 2017 by Jake Middleton-Metcalfe

[Andy Sugden]

It looks very impressive Jake, nice website. I like the option of the air lever and bespoke hand rests. Good luck with your project.

[adrian brown]

Good luck with your new venture Jake - looks very good clean work and at an attractive price to boot.

 

Adrian

[Geoff Wooff]

I wish you success Jake... best of luck.

 

Geoff.

[RP3]

Jake, your workmanship looks first rate and the design features you have included look well thought out. Have you got a video to demonstrate the sound of your concertinas?

 

Good luck with your business,

 

Ross Schlabach

[Jeff Loen]

Jake, please tell us about the reeds used in your concertinas. The reed pan design looks a bit different. Thanks.

[gcoover]

Absolutely gorgeous - let's hear it in action please!

 

Gary

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

Hello

 

I will be uploading some sound files very soon. Hopefully some videos as well.

 

Jeff - The reeds used in these instruments are Italian hand finished accordion reeds (tipo a mano) they are of a high quality. The reeds are flat mounted in a reed pan made of a hardwood ply for structural stability and strength.

 

Further info on the reed pans as I experimented quite a bit here: When I was prototyping I decided on fairly deep reed chambers as this raised the volume and make a fuller less 'flat' sound. The chambers are shallower on the highest reeds as this improves response up that end. This practice of smaller reed chambers for the higher reeds is very much followed on traditional concertina reed pans as well.

[wayman]

Well done on variably-deep chambers -- particularly useful for the bass notes on the G/D as well, I should think!

[Jim Besser]

I'll be interested to see if your instruments will minimize what seems to me to be the biggest weakness of the better hybrids - the G/Ds sound much more accordion-like (and less like concertinas with traditional reeds) than the better C/Gs.

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

Jim, indeed, this is something I have noticed as well. Soon I will have some recordings so people can decide what they think. I was hoping my mate John Timpany could help me with the sound recording as he has an ace home studio. For a short while he also made concertinas in I believe the late 70s

[StuartEstell]

Jake, this is terrific news -- congratulations on an excellent-looking instrument. I wish you every success with this.

[Jeff Loen]

Jake, thanks for answering my question. Clearly you have put a lot of thought into this. It is nice to see another nice choice in what has been a rather limited marketplace for concertinas. Best of luck!

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

Sound samples now added to the website, check them out here:

 

https://wolvertonconcertinas.com/sound-samples/

[wayman]

Nicely done! Bright and even. Now, can you come up with an internet widget that lets us see what these feel like to play from the comfort of home? (... If so, I imagine that by selling the technology you'll make more than anyone ever could from concertina making!... )

 

I'll just have to hope we cross paths sometime this summer -- I look forward to trying these out.

 

Nice playing on the Valiant. And I love the unexpected-to-me key change in the C tune! Anybody know what that tune is?

Edited May 16, 2017 by wayman

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

That is The Quarry. A lovely traditional English tune, not widely known. Thanks for pointing that out, the tunes are all titled now.

 

Hopefully I will see you at a festival this year!

Edited May 16, 2017 by Jake Middleton-Metcalfe

[Robin Tims]

Wonderful stuff Jake, especially The Quarry, loved that. Have sent you a PM.

 

Rob

[Andy Sugden]

They sound as good as they look, and the Valiant; one of my favourite tunes.