Tuning A Rochelle Concertina?

[LoM]

Hello all, my Rochelle concertina recently went out of tune. I've only found one local shop that tunes accordions, but they only service Hohner instruments. I'm in Nashville, Tn. at the moment. Is there anyone within 250miles who could tune a Rochelle? Or is it something I'll have to do on my own?

[Chris Ghent]

Send it to the Button Box...

[cboody]

Contact Greg Jowaisas in Covington KY. He might. Tunes concertina reeded instruments beautifully.

[Greg Jowaisas]

Thanks for the compliment, Chuck. In general I repair and tune vintage concertinas with traditional UK construction, except in dire, local emergencies.

 

You would think there should be someone competent in Nashville who does melodeons or accordions..... Bob Tedrow in the Birmingham. Alabama suburbs could make it right

 

Greg

[David Barnert]

Greg’s point is well-taken. It has accordion reeds, not concertina reeds, so you don’t need a concertina specialist.

 

Both Bob Tedrow and the Button Box make concertinas with accordion reeds, so either should be able to handle your problem through the mail. Bob Tedrow is a member of this forum (although he hasn’t visited the site in a year). You might try sending a private message by clicking the link I just gave you. He should get it by email even if he doesn’t check in here. Here’s his web site: http://hmi.homewood.net. The Button Box (http://www.buttonbox.com) can be emailed at squeeze@buttonbox.com.

 

I must say, however, that I’m not sure I understand what’s going on, here. It’s a bit of a puzzle. Is it just one reed that has gone out of tune, or has the whole thing drifted? Free reeds don’t go out of tune very quickly unless they fracture, which is unlikely to happen to more than one at a time, and would require replacement of the reed rather than tuning.

[LoM]

"I must say, however, that I’m not sure I understand what’s going on, here. It’s a bit of a puzzle. Is it just one reed that has gone out of tune, or has the whole thing drifted? Free reeds don’t go out of tune very quickly unless they fracture, which is unlikely to happen to more than one at a time, and would require replacement of the reed rather than tuning."

 

Just the one central A, (It's a C/G), left side, top row, middle button. Not even the G on the same button is out of tune. Just the A.

[David Barnert]

Just the one central A, (It's a C/G), left side, top row, middle button. Not even the G on the same button is out of tune. Just the A.

 

 

So it’s just one reed. I suspect that if you examine it carefully you will find a hairline fracture. If it’s fractured, it will need to be replaced. It can’t be tuned. Perhaps the thing to do would be to get in touch with Concertina Connection (info@concertinaconnection.com) as the Rochelle it their product and ask for advice.

[Anglo-Irishman]

I recently had one reed go dramatically out of tune on my trad.-reeded Anglo. It not only went progressively flat, but also sounded muffled. When I took the reed out, I found that the slot had some sort of deposit or "crud" in the corners. I cleaned it up, and it was loud and in tune again. (See my thread entitled "Don't panic.")

 

Cheers,

John

Edited October 6, 2017 by Anglo-Irishman

[David Barnert]

Yes, but this isn’t a trad reeded instrument, it’s a Rochelle, with accordion reeds. No slots.

[LoM]

The reeds are also glued in, rather than set and screwed in.

[Don Taylor]

The reeds are also glued in, rather than set and screwed in.

Wax not glue:

http://www.concertinaconnection.com/reed%20exchange%20instructions.htm

 

Any accordion tech should be able to help you.

[LoM]

Thank you for the help everyone!

[d.elliott]

"I must say, however, that I’m not sure I understand what’s going on, here. It’s a bit of a puzzle. Is it just one reed that has gone out of tune, or has the whole thing drifted? Free reeds don’t go out of tune very quickly unless they fracture, which is unlikely to happen to more than one at a time, and would require replacement of the reed rather than tuning."

 

Just the one central A, (It's a C/G), left side, top row, middle button. Not even the G on the same button is out of tune. Just the A.

 

If it's gone flat then odd are that the reed tongue is cracked

 

Dave