pinko Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 (edited) hey all. i'm new to this whole concertina thing, so forgive me if i don't have the terminology down right. i was recently given a 20 key anglo C/G as a present. It's not an antique or anything, in fact i think it's new. Made in China. Anyway, my problem is that some of the high keys are sticking (they continue to play until i physically pull the button out) and others require that i push quite hard to get a good note. I'm hoping it's something that's fixable within reasonable expense. Anyone encounter this before? Thanks! Edited February 11, 2005 by pinko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 It would help if we knew where you are. If you're near somebody that can take it apart and fix it (and in the process, show you how to do it yourself in the future) that would be best. Otherwise, we'll have to talk you through it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 Anyone encounter this before?<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi pinko, You bet ! Sadly, what you describe could be regarded as "normal" with such inexpensive concertinas. Sticking buttons are also a major problem with the Italian-made ones on which the Chinese have based their design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinko Posted February 12, 2005 Author Share Posted February 12, 2005 oh sorry! i'm in toronto. so "normal" huh...strange. i actually just wanted to know if it's worth my time to take it to someone or if this problem is intrinsic to the construction and would result in replacing too many parts. thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sourdoh Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 Hello pinko, My suggestion is to open it up and see what you can do yourself. In my (very limited) experience, and without more symptoms on which to make a more reliable diagnosis, the sticking is most likely caused by the eyes of the buttons moving on their shafts. If doesn't take too much movement to cause the button angle to start catching the edges of the button hole. I would be very surprised to find that there are any parts that need to be replaced, given that it's not older. If it has more years experience than your post indicates, then the rubber "keepers" on the buttons could need replacing. (Again, I'm assuming design features based on what I've seen. Some pictures or a more thorough description after you've opened it up to look would help.) I did the replacing of the button sleeves on a friend's older concertina, and it is not difficult. I hope this helps, and that you're enjoying your concertina. - Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinko Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 thanks for the help, everyone. hopefully it's just a misalignment, but i'll have someone look at it. in the meantime i'm really enjoying the instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpomatic Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Pinko, I had the same problem with my chinese 30 button anglo. The difficulty is that you cannot take it apart(the mechanism is glued to the "fret board". So, this is what I did: My buttons will dive in deeper into the hole if I keep on pushing. Pushed in to the max, I kept it in the hole with a paper match between the body of a button and the "wall" of the hole (there was enough spaceto stick a match, so the button stays "stuck" very deep in the hole). Then, as you have edges of the hole exposed, I simply scraped the edge of a hole with a sharp razor blade, enlarging it by a tiny amount. That's all you need, as the button is being caught by the edge only. Initially I thought I'd re-drill it to make a holr litlle wider, untill realizing that the mechanism is hard to take apart. This process is neat and invisible to the naked eye, and my stuck buttons now work perfectly. Hope this helps, Misha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinko Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 My buttons will dive in deeper into the hole if I keep on pushing. Pushed in to the max, I kept it in the hole with a paper match between the body of a button and the "wall" of the hole (there was enough spaceto stick a match, so the button stays"stuck" very deep in the hole). ok i'm going to give this a shot first. but can you clarify how to hold the button down while keeping the edges of the hole free? thanks for the suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpomatic Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 There is space between the body of the button and the "wall" of the hole, so the button can go back and forth. Push the button in with a pencil, deeper into the hole, mine go in far enough to expose the edge of the hole. Stick a match(in my case), or anything else (a toothpick) in between the hole and button, to get the button in a real "stuck" position, so it stays"in". You only need to work on a tiny outer edge, sraping with an exacto knife, or a blade, shaving invisible amount of wood and perlaroid plastic. That's where the button gets stuck, not any deeper inside the hole. Do not overdo it, there is no need for anything drastic. Hope it helps, let me know if I made myself clear, or I can try to explain myself better, no problem. Misha. My buttons will dive in deeper into the hole if I keep on pushing. Pushed in to the max, I kept it in the hole with a paper match between the body of a button and the "wall" of the hole (there was enough spaceto stick a match, so the button stays"stuck" very deep in the hole). ok i'm going to give this a shot first. but can you clarify how to hold the button down while keeping the edges of the hole free? thanks for the suggestion! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff Worden Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 There is space between the body of the button and the "wall" of the hole, so the button can go back and forth. Push the button in with a pencil, deeper into the hole, mine go in far enough to expose the edge of the hole. Stick a match(in my case), or anything else (a toothpick) in between the hole and button, to get the button in a real "stuck" position, so it stays"in". You only need to work on a tiny outer edge, sraping with an exacto knife, or a blade, shaving invisible amount of wood and perlaroid plastic. That's where the button gets stuck, not any deeper inside the hole. Do not overdo it, there is no need for anything drastic. Hope it helps, let me know if I made myself clear, or I can try to explain myself better, no problem. Misha. My buttons will dive in deeper into the hole if I keep on pushing. Pushed in to the max, I kept it in the hole with a paper match between the body of a button and the "wall" of the hole (there was enough spaceto stick a match, so the button stays"stuck" very deep in the hole). Hi there - this stuck button bit sounds like the Chinese ´tina I got so I could try out an anglo cheaply before deciding on that or an English to spend good money on. I am also going to try this shaving of the hole to see if that helps, if not, I will go inside - which means removing the paper that hides the button mechanism - and see if the mechanism was bent in transit, which is entirely possible considering that the poor instrument arrived loose in a shoddy cardboard box with no insulation of any sort, and it had a broken piece of wood to which the reeds on one side were fastened, so a friendly local woodworker fixed that for me so that the reeds are seated fine and work well. I am surrounded by accordion players of all sorts, with various systems from piano to Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, German, etc., but no concertina players at all, so will need to do this on my own - or to borrow the knowledge of one of the button box players to help if I have questions. Muff in Iceland P.S. - have the Chinese anglo in an eye-scorching bright red, and a more sedate brand new Stagi baritone is arriving tomorrow from the Button Box, so the concertina population of east Iceland is about to double overnight. Nae bad, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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