accordian Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 How do I remove the reeds from the pan of a concertina? Thought I'd try out a cheap lachenal duet macann (100£) and have found it needs some serious tuning. Also just a quick question if I want to make the sound lower or higher which area do I need to file. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Removing the reeds should be simple: just push the shoes out. Tuning them is another matter. It isn’t just a matter of where to file. Unsuitable filing will destroy the reeds and they are probably the most important part of the instrument. It is best done by somebody who has built up the necessary skills. I suggest you buy a copy of the Concertina Maintenance Manual by David Elliot. It is full of helpful information on maintenance, tuning, etc. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) in any event it is of high importance that you wouldn’t file „steps“ into the reeds (as they‘d be likely to break at some point then), particularly in the case of brass reeds best wishes - ? Edited December 15, 2018 by Wolf Molkentin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 9 hours ago, accordian said: Thought I'd try out a cheap lachenal duet macann (100£) and have found it needs some serious tuning. Are you sure it is out of tune? The Maccann layout is not logical at first glance and is nothing like an Anglo or any other concertina or accordion layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accordian Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 1 minute ago, Don Taylor said: Are you sure it is out of tune? The Maccann layout is not logical at first glance and is nothing like an Anglo or any other concertina or accordion layout. When I change direction on the same button it sounds different like a anglo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 you might consider that just the reeds have been falsely swapped... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accordian Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 26 minutes ago, Wolf Molkentin said: you might consider that just the reeds have been falsely swapped... I doubt it. When I said like an Anglo I meant 2 different tones however they sound different like a pitch bend. As well as this some of the reeds take a lot of effort to get them to sound so I think that means that the reeds need a bit of gentle bending back to its centre point. Thanks for all the info guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 in the first place I would slide a thin piece of paper under the reed from tip to root in order to free it from dust bits that might have altered response and pitch of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accordian Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 51 minutes ago, Wolf Molkentin said: in the first place I would slide a thin piece of paper under the reed from tip to root in order to free it from dust bits that might have altered response and pitch of it... didn't know that could be a reason as to why the reeds would sound off, i mean it doesn't look like the reeds are really dirty. hmm i will have to try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 5 minutes ago, accordian said: didn't know that could be a reason as to why the reeds would sound off, i mean it doesn't look like the reeds are really dirty. hmm i will have to try that. could well be the reason, particularly if the same reed is slow speak too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accordian Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Just now, Wolf Molkentin said: could well be the reason, particularly if the same reed is slow speak too... when you say slow speak do you mean takes longer to get into its pull volume? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 possibly - but I was thinking of longer to start sounding at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accordian Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 1 minute ago, Wolf Molkentin said: possibly - but I was thinking of longer to start sounding at all... well that's what i meant as well just described slightly differently. some of the reeds i need to put alot more work in the bellows in order to get any sound and this instruments air leakge is huge so that doesn't help. I bought this instrument hoping to try out a duet however I think that all I have done is buy a instrument which is in a bit of a wrecked state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunks Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 47 minutes ago, accordian said: well that's what i meant as well just described slightly differently. some of the reeds i need to put alot more work in the bellows in order to get any sound and this instruments air leakge is huge so that doesn't help. I bought this instrument hoping to try out a duet however I think that all I have done is buy a instrument which is in a bit of a wrecked state. I'm facing a similar situation with a pretty rosewood ended Lachenal tutor that I bought right from a friend. It's a mess. After a period of "why the heck did I buy this piece of junk?" I started thinking of it's problems individually. I've never worked on a concertina and have done only minor repairs and adjustments to fiddles, banjos and such. I began to realize that there are cosmetic issues, mechanical issues.and acoustical issues To quote my daughter when she was around two years old: " Look, daddy it's a bouquet of motorcycles!". Setting aside the cosmetic, solve the mechanics and the acoustical problems disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 10 hours ago, accordian said: I bought this instrument hoping to try out a duet however I think that all I have done is buy a instrument which is in a bit of a wrecked state. If it’s in such a bad state, you don’t have a lot to lose. Why not not buy the book I mentioned earlier and use your duet to learn about concertina repair, tuning and maintenance? These are skills which will be useful in the future as most instruments are likely to need a bit of tweaking now and then. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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