Inquiry on button repair

[maticoncertina]

Hello everyone,

 

 

I got a new concertina in December and have noticed that a few of the buttons on the right side are behaving a bit differently than the others. For those few buttons I have to push/pull the bellows harder before the concertina starts playing. If I just push/pull weakly then all I can hear is air coming out, but no sound. 

 

An annoying result is for instance if I'm pressing two buttons at once (one normal and one with this issue) without much force then the concertina will only play one sound, until I use more force and both sounds are produced. 

 

I'm wondering if this is a common problem, and if this is something that is easy or difficult to fix if I do it myself. If I open up my concertina, what will I see, what should I look for, and how can I fix this issue?

 

This is affecting about 9 buttons on the right side. The buttons do not look or feel any different (until I play them) than the normally functioning buttons.

 

My concertina is the quite cheap Gear4Music 30 button C/G concertina bought from here: https://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-Brass-Strings/Concertina-by-Gear4music-C-G/15PB

 

I'm quite new to the world of concertinas (but I am very much enjoying it), so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! 

 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

I am sure others will give you useful advice apart from myself. Other than to say that there may be issues with certain brands of concertina, which may well be produced in huge numbers ( hence the lower prices).

Often there seems to be less quality control ( if any)!

I would not open it up yourself but take it back straightaway or even consider replacement..or refund, under consumer issues, and your rights to expect the goods  to work as described. Just a thought.

 

 

 

 

[Theo]

The problem is likely to be caused by badly adjusted reeds rather than buttons.  It’s pretty common on cheap Chinese concertinas. It might be possible to improve them by adjustment, but it might just be the way the reeds are.  The reeds in these are accordion reeds, so if you know anyone who repairs accordions they may be able to help.

[Cathasach]

As Theo said this is almost certain misadjusted reeds. If you are feeling adventurous it is one of the less daunting repairs in my experience. It may take a little time to adjust the reeds but there's less chance of messing up than on some other repairs.

[Kevin Knippa]

If you would like to try and repair yourself, your concertina is pretty much identical to the first generation McNeela Wren. The Wren is painted black but otherwise yours and the Wren appear to be the same.

 

McNeela has a webpage where they walk through repairing a stuck button and freeing a reed that won't sound -- https://blog.mcneelamusic.com/how-to-care-for-your-concertina/

[maticoncertina]

Okay, sounds like something I can try to fix myself! Hopefully I just have to adjust the reeds like many of you are saying. I have a few questions though. First write a plan to make it clear what I should do.

1. Before I open the concertina up I map out which buttons and which directions have issues I want to fix.
2. Unscrew the top to expose the reed pan.
3. Identify which reeds correspond to the different buttons I want to fix.
4. Take the reed pan out.
5. "Adjust" the reeds in the reed pan until it looks better.
6. Put the reed pan back in the concertina.
7. Screw the top back on.

How are the reeds connected to the reed pan? Are they screwed on or glued on, and how do I handle them? Do I have to bend anything, or just "move them around"? Is there anything in particular I should look for?

 

Is there a way I can test how they sound without putting the whole instrument back together?

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

If you have not started taking it apart I would say still consider getting replacement from the store itself!

As you will stand better chance if not tampered with at this stage.

You should get new one sent and hopefully working better.

Just a thought for you before you open it up, because at that stage you .will void any guarantee🤔

 

[maticoncertina]

11 minutes ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

If you have not started taking it apart I would say still consider getting replacement from the store itself!

As you will stand better chance if not tampered with at this stage.

You should get new one sent and hopefully working better.

Just a thought for you before you open it up, because at that stage you .will void any guarantee🤔

 

I guess that is an alternative but considering that this is a cheap concertina from a cheap website, I'm not sure there's any guarantee that the replacement I maybe could get is any better than the one I have. This is the only concertina I have used, so I'm not sure what sort of quality I can expect.

[Kevin Knippa]

If the instrument is, in fact, the same or similar to a McNeela Wren the reeds are "waxed in" as in an accordion. The McNeela instructions I linked in my previous response show removing and reinstalling a waxed in reed. This would be easy for an accordion repairer, so that is always an option. 

[d.elliott]

If you start opening up the instrument or getting someone else to do so you will invalidate any warranty. If the reeds are waxed into place and you do not have to right sort of wax and tools then you are entering a different level of risk. I would send it back for exchange or repair. Expensive instrument or not, it should be at least playable. The concertina is not playable unless all reeds sound at more or less the same bellows pressure. 

[Tiposx]

The lady in this YouTube video bought a similar concertina. She liked it but pointed out a couple of issues. You might look through the comments section of the video, around the 14th comment is by “@TheHolyMeeps”. After a couple of months he/she had some trouble with the instrument and his money was refunded by Gear4Music. This might not be relevant, but it could be of interest. Actually, many of the comments are interesting.

https://youtu.be/vNyMQeIRI3Q?si=6wYsZYIcjdZpdQzj

[maticoncertina]

Okay, I think you've dissuaded me from opening it up and having a look at it myself. If the reeds are waxed into place then that sounds like something beyond my ability to easily fix at home. I'll try to talk to the website and see if I can use my warranty to get it fixed or replaced. 

 

My next worry is that I'll have to go some days without a concertina until I get something in return. I'm playing my concertina every day and I'll definitely miss it while it's not here!

 

Thank you everyone for the information on how to open it up and for reminding me that I can actually use my warranty! 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

The Gear4musuc store is under a mile from where I live ( York UK).

And it is a warehouse and showroom set up which supplies virtually every instrument you could want.. most at affordable prices overall. Many come in from stock, mostly imported, it does not mean it's all bad, just there's a lot of it.

Behind scenes there is a huge stock room.. very much a catalogue shop set up ..you select, buy, and collect.

Don't let it put you off concertinas, there's no reason why you cannot be happy with a purchase, at bargain price. I get reeds for my other musical instrument ( my Chalumeau) there..  every now and again, and there's little communication overall, although staff try to be obliging there feeling it is a select and see and pay place or set up.

 

Best of luck.

 

 

Edited February 11 by SIMON GABRIELOW