Jeffries layout sanity check/advice

[snoot]

I've recenly acquired a new hybrid anglo concertina with a Jeffries layout, and I'm not convinced that two of the buttons are sounding the notes they should.

 

I thought on a Jeffries the C#/D# (push/pull) should be on the right hand '2A' button in Gary Coover's notation.

This means that if I play 3A on the left then 2A on the right should play an octave higher on both the push and the pull, sounding pretty consonant being an octave apart.

 

This isn't the case as the concertina appears to have the C#/D# on the 1A (like I'd expect on the Wheatstone/Lachenal) with the 2A being the inverse  - D#/C#.
 

Am I mistaken or is this concertina neither Jeffries or Lachenal? Is this another common layout, or was it just put together with two(four?) of the reeds in the wrong place?

All of the other buttons match up with the charts I've seen.

 

I'm fairly new to the concertina but play guitar, banjo and fiddle, so I'm got a good ear and can read music, etc. This isn't my first instrument.

 

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

[adrian brown]

Hi Snoot,

 

Sounds like the reeds are simply around the wrong way on both RH 1a and 2a buttons. As you say, on the Jeffries layout, LH button 3a should be an octave parallel with RH 2a on both push and draw. Perhaps a previous owner was used to the Wheatstone C# position and simply flipped the reed block over? If I was you, I'd flip them back...

 

Adrian

[snoot]

Thanks for the confirmation, Adrian. I'm guessing swapping the two blocks is a little involved. I'll take it to Folk Club to see if anyone knows someone more competent, if not it'll be a trip to a music shop.

 

Thanks again!

[adrian brown]

In the hybrid concertinas I've seen, the reed blocks are simply fixed with screws, so it would be just a question of unscrewing the screws and turning the blocks over - just making sure the rivets are at the same end of the chamber as the pad hole. If the reed blocks are waxed in, I guess it's a bit more involved, but you just need a soldering iron to re seal them.

 

Adrian