Lachenal B/F# Anglo

[Roy H]

Hi. I recently decided I wanted to learn to play the anglo concertina so I set about looking for one to buy. I ended up buying a secondhand Stagi. It's great fun and not a bad instrument but I yearned after a vintage instrument, especially one that maybe needs some work so I could fix it up whilst playing the Stagi.

 

So, I took a punt on a 32 button Lachenal anglo that was being sold in a local auction, serial number 57377. It was a gamble as I didn't get a chance to see it before the sale. It has fretted rosewood ends that have some significant cracks and there are a couple of marks that look like a rodent has been gnawing at it. I think the gamble paid off though as it definitely in repairable condition. The bellows look salvageable, the reeds are mostly free from rust, I've already mostly fixed the fretwork. The worst problem being a more-than-slightly warped reed pad from two failed support blocks but this is not beyond saving.

 

However, the most interesting thing about this instrument is the fact that it is in B/F#.  The reed shoes are all stamped with note names consistent with this. The F reeds are even labelled E#.

 

Has anyone else got or seen a Lachenal anglo in B/F#? I've searched through this forum and on Google. There are references to Jeffries and Crabb instruments with this tuning but no mention of any Lachenals.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Roy H
Misnamed part.

[Ken_Coles]

A very old survey, by yours truly, from the days of static pages on concertina.net: Known keys survey

 

I should add that since I wrote that article, reports of German diatonic concertinas in E/B have turned up.

 

Ken

[Roy H]

Thanks Ken. Yes I saw your survey. Very interesting. I note though that the Lachenal you mention in the B/F# section 'seems to be Bb/F' whereas mine has reed stamps that are consistent with being a true B/F# anglo.

[Roger Hare]

1 hour ago, Ken_Coles said:

A very old survey, by yours truly, from the days of static pages on concertina.net: Known keys survey

Drifting OT slightly, that keys survey has a link to an article on Pitch by Wes Wiilliams (https://www.concertina.net/ww_pitch.html). That link is broken. Any idea where the

pitch article might be lurking?

 

Thank you.

[Ken_Coles]

Many of the old articles were removed years ago. You could try a wayback machine search.

 

Ken

[Roger Hare]

7 hours ago, Ken_Coles said:

Many of the old articles were removed years ago. You could try a wayback machine search.

Pity. I'll try the wayback machine - I always forget that...

 

Ta.

[paaudio]

Hi Roy, I have  a 27 key Lachenal (60792 ) (apparently originally a 26 key with a 27th added retrospectively) in B/F# which is its original key..... looks just like yours.... :)

[Roy H]

Hi paaudio. That's interesting - there's at least one other out there then! Thanks for that.

 

I've been busy working on mine. There is still some work to do but it's mostly airtight now and apart from a couple of buzzy and slow starting reeds it seems to be playing well and mostly perfectly in tune (in B/F#). It sounds beautiful.

 

I'll post some pics soon.

[paaudio]

Roy, Dave Elliot (miraculously) fettled mine into playable condition.... it was in its original old (Philharmonic?) tuning and he retuned it to A=440, replaced valves, pads, .......•    

"The valves are all but original, replace all
•    The pads are totally unserviceable, replace all
•    The cross bushes are some missing other a bit tatty, change all
•    The long structural screws are wrong, they need possibly drilling out and replacing (one per end)
•    The innards need a good clean
•    The pad board has shrunk and needs packing/ gluing
•    There are a number of missing/ loose reedpan support blocks to replace/ re-fix
•    The reeds have corrosion on the steel tongues which needs removal
•    The reeds need tuning to A=440Hz standard."

some missing fretwork was also rebuilt..... a great job!!

[paaudio]

Roy, This is my B/F# Lachenal

[Celtickev]

Just recently came across a Dipper in B/F# belonging to a friend.Lovely instrument and a really nice key for accompaning singers

[Richard Mellish]

I'm all for having concertinas available in alternative pitches, but I am a little dubious how much help it is for a singer to have the accompaniment just one semitone lower.

[d.elliott]

Whilst not the most common keying, B/F#'s Anglos do pop up from time, they are to be treated like any other concertina in their servicing and refurbishment, once you have worked out the fingering in six sharps. The only down side is their lack of easy fit into common session tunes. The key of F major does have some more regular applications.

[Peter Laban]

Quote

once you have worked out the fingering in six sharps

 

Doesn't it make more sense to just use it as a transposing instrument without ever thinking about sharps or flats?

[Anglo-Irishman]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:58 PM, Richard Mellish said:

I'm all for having concertinas available in alternative pitches, but I am a little dubious how much help it is for a singer to have the accompaniment just one semitone lower.

As a singer myself, I'd say your doubt is justified!

In the context of folk songs and the like, which are the staple diet of the Anglo and the singers that use it, one semitone certainly doesn't make the difference between comfort and discomfort with a particular song and a particular key.

I'm a bass-baritone, and accompany myself on a C/G Anglo. I can sing most folk-songs in C, and those that I can't, I can sing in G. I don't think I've ever had a case in which one key was too high for comfort and the other key too low.

I must admit that I do have a few songs in my repertoire that I can manage best in F (which works well on my other main accompaniment, the 5-string banjo), but if I had to sing them in G, it wouldn't be a show-stopper.

However, that's my take on it. A soprano, for instance, might prefer most songs in G, with D as an alternative. At any rate, any two keys a fifth apart are fine for singing.

Cheers,

John

[wes williams]

On 10/26/2020 at 12:17 AM, lachenal74693 said:

Drifting OT slightly, that keys survey has a link to an article on Pitch by Wes Wiilliams (https://www.concertina.net/ww_pitch.html). That link is broken. Any idea where the

pitch article might be lurking?

 

Thank you.

If you haven't already found it on the wayback machine its here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150303120725/http://www.concertina.net:80/ww_pitch.html

[Roger Hare]

6 hours ago, wes williams said:

If you haven't already found it on the wayback machine its here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150303120725/http://www.concertina.net:80/ww_pitch.html

Thank you. As I said at the time (getting on for 2 years ago), I did have a look on WBM - and I

found it! I should have said so at the time - my apologies.

 

I took a copy of both this item and the 'Known keys...' article, so I didn't lose 'em again!

Edited August 8, 2022 by lachenal74693

[Theo]

I came across a B/F# jeffries a few years back.   It was in a terrible state apart from the reeds which were clean and bright and apparently untouched since leaving the factory.  I debated with myself whether to tune it up to C/G.  In the end I kept it in original pitch and I found a buyer quite quickly.   There are players who value the more unusual tunings so I would recommend keeping it as B/F#, someone will want to play it!  Perhaps someone who plays with Irish pipes in C#?