SteveS Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 (edited) I recently acquired a Wheatstone single action bass for restoration - I estimate from around 1850 - havent yet found the serial number. Looking at the reeds yesterday I noticed that they had French note names impressed into the reed frames, along with the usual C, C# etc. All reeds are square edged, and are screwed to the reed pan as is common with large reeds in bass concertinas. Set me wondering if these could be French-made harmonium reeds? Edited July 23, 2018 by SteveS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 (edited) Wheatstone made harmoniums too, so using them in a bass concertina is probably no great surprise. Perhaps harmonium reeds were stamped with Do Re Mi etc. so that they could be understood when exported. It looks as though your bass has valves for re-filling the bellows in the ends. I had a previous bass and found these valves refilled the bellows relatively slowly. Mine has “gills” in the bellows, which refills them very quickly. It was built in 1886 and the bellows valves still work perfectly. I think they are original. As your bass is single acting, there are no valves for the reeds. This might make the reeds very responsive, so it could play pretty quickly (until you run out of air, of course). Mine is fast enough to play melodies at a reasonable speed, but this is quite hard work. Do you know what range it covers? Steve Edited July 24, 2018 by Lofty Minor correction again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 12 hours ago, Lofty said: Wheatstone made harmoniums too, so using them in a bass concertina is probably no great surprise. Perhaps harmonium reeds were stamped with Do Re Mi etc. so that they could be understood when exported. It looks as though your bass has valves for re-filling the bellows in the ends. I had a previous bass and found these valves refilled the bellows relatively slowly. Mine has “gills” in the bellows, which refills them very quickly. It was built in 1886 and the bellows valves still work perfectly. I think they are original. As it is single acting, there are no valves for the reeds. This might make the reeds very responsive, so it could play pretty quickly (until you run out of air, of course). Mine is fast enough to play melodies at a reasonable speed, but this is quite hard work. Do you know what range it covers? Steve I wasn't aware that Wheatstone also made harmoniums - thanks for that info. My bass also has gills underneath - though maybe these are a later addition. I don't have access to the bass right now, but I believe it to be a 44 key C bass. It's unplayable and needs restoration, but the reeds look to be in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Mitchell Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 These are the reeds in my Wheatstone single action baritone. They look very similar with the double rivets but they're fixed with domed screws rather than countersunk. No tonic sofa here, just the normal note names. Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 6 hours ago, SteveS said: I wasn't aware that Wheatstone also made harmoniums - thanks for that info. My bass also has gills underneath - though maybe these are a later addition. I don't have access to the bass right now, but I believe it to be a 44 key C bass. It's unplayable and needs restoration, but the reeds look to be in good condition. See http://www.concertina.com/pricelists/wheatstone-english/Wheatstone-MDRA-1859.pdf for information on Wheatstone harmoniums. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Further research shows that Wheatstone also imported harmoniums made by Alexandre in France Perhaps the reeds were taken out of an Alexandre harmonium to build a one-off or a prototype bass. This would explain the markings on the reeds. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 5 hours ago, Lofty said: See http://www.concertina.com/pricelists/wheatstone-english/Wheatstone-MDRA-1859.pdf for information on Wheatstone harmoniums. Steve Thanks for this. Such a large variety of instruments they offered. I'd love to acquire a portable Wheatstone harmonium ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reeds Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 How do I know if my harmonium has French reeds in them do they have a special marking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Crossland Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) Can you post any pictures of the reeds? And who is the maker? Edited November 7, 2020 by Bill Crossland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail_Smith Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 if anyone wants a harmonium as a restoration project, I have one you could have (near Liverpool, UK) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.e5ef9a111c1064c0bbea848f22aab7fe.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now